Spokane College

The first non-native settlers pitched their tents in 1871, and barely twenty years later the bustling town of 1,500 felt that Spokane was permanent enough to warrant an institute of higher education. The first such school was Spokane College, founded by Civil War veteran and lawyer Colonel David P. Jenkins. After a donation of land on the north bank of the river and working with Methodist ministers in the area, Spokane College opened its doors on September 19, 1883 in what was then still the Oregon Territory.
Tuition was a staggering $15.

Photo from the Spokesman-Review, Thursday, April 24, 1969.

Death by Encroachment

The school grew slowly, gaining a maximum of 200 students by 1890, but by this point, new competition had risen. Gonzaga University, a Jesuit school, had begun admitting students three years prior in 1887.

The Morrill Act, a federal bill signed into law by Abraham Lincoln in 1862, had created a land grant university in Pullman that opened in 1890. This would become Washington State University, and it siphoned more potential students away from Spokane College.

A school to train teachers was founded in Cheney in 1882, eventually becoming a public school in 1937. This school, named State Normal School, was renamed Eastern Washington College of Education. By the fall of 1891 enrollment at Spokane College had shrunk to 60.The nascent Spokane College closed its doors in May of 1892. Too bad, so sad.

Norwegians to the Rescue

In 1906 a new school bearing the same name was founded by the Norwegian Lutheran Church, and built a building on the east side of Grand Avenue between 29th and 31st. The School severed ties with the church in 1908 and operated until 1929. After being vacant for a few years it was turned into Spokane Junior College in 1935. That too ceased operation in 1942, and was finally absorbed by Whitworth.

While Gonzaga and Whitworth thrived, the state of local public education remained barren until 1963 when the Spokane Community College was finally established. The Spokane Falls campus followed four years later in 1967. It was not until 1977 that Eastern was accredited to award four year degrees and the possibility of getting a complete local undergraduate public education became impossible.

In spite of this glaring historical absence, there is now hope that expanding medical programs on the Riverpoint Campus will further make up for lost ground. I read that Seattle has one of the highest concentrations of people with four year degrees in the country, with one in four residents having obtained a bachelors degree or higher. In Spokane County we are still lagging behind the state average of around one in five earning a four year degree.

Don’t get me wrong, the University District is a huge boon to this city and is a good start. But I think an independent research institution and facility headed up by one office rather than three would be better. Currently our U-District has all the charm and culture of a parking lot. I would love a large group of undergraduates in the area, so that things like hip bars and used clothing stores and coffee shops are more viable. Go fightin’ Marmots!

Spokane is like one of those hologram pictures that you got in the Cracker Jack box as a kid. If you hold it one way it appears to be one image, yet when you shift your viewing angle you get an entirely different scene. There are so many layers, so many different expressions of faith here I am often pleasantly surprised by their diversity.

Just the other day I was treating myself to a little retail adventure in a lovely second hand store called Area 58. Such thrifty retro shops renew my imagination and invite me to remember a past to which I did not belong. You can always find something strange and interesting in these eclectic stores. This time I found a statue of Guan Yin, the Goddess of Compassion. I thought to myself, “How oddly fantastic! A statue of Guan Yin in Spokane!”

Despite the fact that the majority of local churches are some branch of Christian, Spokane is the kind of place where non-Christian religious relics may be found. The ideal of religious pluralism is to have many different religions on the ground, with the people who profess them living more or less peacefully with each other. This does not dilute the essence of the different faiths as some deterrents might claim, rather it can enhance the perspectives and worldviews of people where religious pluralism is thriving. Not to mention it makes for far more interesting thrift shopping.

Cheers To My Spokane

By Anonymous on Pg. 58 in the September 3rd Inlander, 2009

Cheers to the mid-size city by the river, my home. To all of its grittiness and subtle beauties, to its modest residents and unexpectedly varied urban scene, to its self-consciousness and self-depreciating sense of humor, to its neighborhoods, and to the shared experience of belonging someplace completely average and loving it and hating it all at once.

Cheers to the river that cuts so vigorously through the center of town and to the many spots along it to feed marmots, eat blackberries, and to sleep undisturbed. Cheers to the not overly quaint park that borders the river and cheers to the large servings of ice cream at the carousel always under repair and to the garbage-eating goat also frequently clogged.

Cheers to the aging architecture that softens the skyline and reminds us of the booming city it once was and cheers to the cheap apartments with vaulted ceilings that now occupy them. Cheers to conveniently located watering holes centering on a main arterial and cheers to their non-west-coast-like oeuvres.

Cheers to the taco trucks open ’til three and cheers to the drag queens that pour out of the local establishments at that time and call you honey. Cheers to the potholes and the unplowed streets in winter. Cheers to the cougars in the bus plaza and to the dead end skywalks and to the mysterious unoccupied, art deco food court.

Cheers to the flute player in the king hat who serenades my neighborhood every morning. Cheers to the unassuming. Cheers to the resilient, hard-working residents who make time to pig out at the park every summer. Though not glamorous or worldly, no city can hold a torch, or a light, or a parade to my working-class, lilac-fragranced city by the river.

You and your ground squirrel-loving residents will be greatly missed. Cheers to my family and friends, and friends of friends, and acquaintances. Cheers to eight years well spent, my love.

The oft repeated storyline explains that Sonora Smart Dodd first thought of creating the holiday one Sunday in 1909 while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church in Spokane. While Sonora has a tombstone over in Greenwood Memorial Terrace, there is another rather unassuming marker to her father’s day efforts near her home. This modest pillar of concrete topped with an iron plaque was once pointed out to me by my mother on a busy road somewhere between downtown and East Central Spokane. Can anyone confirm the location of this monument?

The Battle of the Fatherly Flowers

In early times, wearing flowers was a traditional way of celebrating Father’s Day. Mrs. Dodd favored the red rose to honor a father still living, while a white flower honored a deceased dad. J.H. Berringer, who also held Father’s Day celebrations in Washington State as early as 1912, chose a white lilac as the Father’s Day Flower.

VS

Funny how these are the same flowers of Portland vs Spokane, no? Sonora is often mentioned as a poet, but attempts to find any samples online were unsuccessful. I wonder if a trip to the Northwest room would turn up some of her work?

Before we go, let’s pay picture tribute to the Father of the Father’s Day city:

Thanks for the rad old mansion old man!

Related Links:

• 1st Annual Engaging Fatherhood Conference here in Spokane.
• “Two men stand tall in effort to boost dads’ rights,” by Rebecca Nappi, Spokesman-Review. June 20, 2009.

We were greeted at the door by Tiny the Clown, busy entertaining kids with twisted up wiener dogs and hat balloons.

Nearby sat a friendly representative of the Washington State Quilters Spokane Chapter, diligently stitching away. The 2009 Spokane Quilt Show is themed “Carousel Centennial” and Spokane WSQ members are creating a commemorative grand raffle quilt called “Reaching for the Gold Ring”.

With all the TLC that goes into these figures, it is a wonder that the public is allowed to touch them at all! “Carousel Lady” Bette Largent has been lovingly maintaining and promoting our antique ride since ’91.

Having spent the last two weeks in South America as a tourist, we experienced a weird moment looking at all the Spokane souvenirs available in the Carousel Gift Shop. Everything from magnets to stickers, they had it all. When a troop of Mukogawa students swarmed into the viewing area, the knick-knackery  started to make more sense: Why wouldn’t people from all over the world want a piece of this local treasure? The carousel is like Spokane itself in that it is both lavish and simple. It’s persistence into the modern age seems baffling, yet no one could imagine the park without it. Replete with a feature rich website (don’t miss the online coloring book!), the carousel has weathered the fickleness of the 21st century and is here to stay.

The spare Looff goat used to fill in for horses undergoing repairs, however, is not. So go and meet Billy Bob while you still can!

The carousel is a classic date for any couple wondering what to do before the evenings activites on a lazy Spokane afternoon. It is also an inspiring spot to sit and read a novel, or write a letter to a friend.

With Auntie’s and 4 Season’s Coffee Company so nearby, it is easy to loose yourself in the old world charm of the city.

Its interesting that the slick marketing of the Green Bluff Grower’s Association results from the collective interests of independent growers rather than a committee charged with driving traffic to the area.

Green Bluff is to Spokane what Sauvie’s Island is to Portland. While lacking in sandy beaches the Emerald of Spokane has plenty of other enviable assets. In addition to proximity to Mt. Spokane and heartwarming brand identity is the impressive density of small farm establishments on the Green Bluff loops.

Spovangelist’s three favorite Green Bluff stops:

1. Walter’s Fruit Ranch (#4) – For the sheer nostalgia of elemetary school field trips and tractor rides with Farmer Walter.
2. The Barn on Trezzi Farm (#33) – For their locally grown ready made meals and recycled rooster statue art.
3. Cole’s Family Orchard (#15) – Because they’re Green Bluff’s only all-organic growers.

Every once in a while, however, this please-all super blog gets a little edgy – commenting on weird Spokane phenomena, local cultural ticks, objects of interest, and other random bits.

Presenting the Top 10 most punk rock Metro posts of all time:

1. Mannequins protest condo development
2. Guerrilla Street Art: Ornate Oil Barrels…
3. The Best Expo ’74 Souvenir…EVER
4. Street Art? Vandalism?
5. Psychogeography – Deconstructing your neighborhood…
6. Bucky Fuller STILL owns the friggin’ lower South Hill
7. How to deal with those pesky solicitors…
8. The New People’s Billboard?
9. Helpful hints from the Peaceful Valley welcome wagon…
10. Kendall Yards – Controlled Explosion Goodness

Did I miss one? Please, by all means let me know!

First a local flooring company would take advantage of this publicity stunt of a lifetime by volunteering to roll a couple carpet pads down the hill. They could be used, donated, recalled, whatever. Then Firefighters or Parks or some other agency along with neighborhood volunteers would line the lane with sand bags to create a berm to keep people on track. Cabella’s or The General Store could pitch in some tarps, or maybe some used pool liners or rolls of industrial plastic would do the trick. Last, we’d pump water from the bottom to the top, creating a closed loop system that conserves the aquifer. There is a local pump company on Trent that could probably be talked into the task.

People would have to sign waivers before experiencing The Great Spokane Slide. Roll up plastic sleds or garbage bags would be provided to avoid friction directly on the skin. Depending on the physics of how the slide is constructed, there might be a couple of “bail out points” in the middle of the course for those who decide that one hump is quite enough.

The benefits to the city and community at large would be multi-fold. First Spokane would gain national media recognition for pulling off such a feat. We would demonstrate our community fitness and ability to work together on creative projects that no one thought were possible. People around the country would come to know Spokane as a place where neighbors have imagination, like to think big, and know how to have some good old-fashioned fun.

If The Slide were ever constructed, turn-out would be overwhelming. People from all over the region would drive in to Spokane to witness the spectacle , and pay to participate. What do you think, $5-$10 per slide? In addition to attracting outsiders, The Slide would retain the business of locals that too often disappear to “the lake” in the summer, making downtown feel empty and actionless. No longer would Spokane families have to drive to Idaho to get their yearly water park fix – the Downtown Spokane community would step up to the plate providing this affordable world-class entertainment.

When I think Bloomsday I think about belly-dancers, storm troopers, energy drinks, thrash metal bands, cute Japanese girls, military squads, overflowing bars, balsam root, hot dog cravings, mass communication, guys in gorilla suits, chewing gum, grandmas, plates of Vaseline, STA buses, starchy T-shirts and this kid, hangin’ out on the sidelines:

Seriously, though, people watching just doesn’t get much better than this!

Some walk it (7.4 miles) in high heels, others wear balloons or put their Cheese Heads on. I myself did a good 5 and 1/2 miles one year including Doomsday Hill three-legged. This year I’m walking with mom (a family tradition) but next year I want to take it to a whole new level.

What if a human knot of about 30 were to attempt to untie themselves over the duration of the course? What if they were all fastened together with those stretchy resistance bands? I can see the Spokesman headline now: “Human Amoeba walks Bloomsday in Bondage”.