Easternm Was the Right Decesion For Me

I’m not one to get caught up in “what If” because you can’t do any thing about it after the fact.  I still think I made the right decision about schools.  I liked the Eastern campus and after I decided on my major this school was the logical one in which to pursue my studies.  I made life long friends and we have done things together that created many memories.  The guys on the teams that played and shared good times and bad with me will always be remembered.

My room mate, Tom Plant and I have enjoyed special experiences that will stay as memories with me.

One thing Tom instigated was our day old bread and pastry business.  On Sunday the dining hall served breakfast and lunch only.  We bought

day old goodies from the bakery down town at reduced prices.  Everyone in the dorm missed Sunday dinner, so they were prime targets for our sale.  We made enough by increasing the prices a little to pay for the share we ate and cover all costs.  Finally word of mouth got the business going better than we wanted with all the hassle of buying and distributing the food, so we closed.

My job on the firemen squad replaced the locker room beat.  When you are playing a sport you’re placed on the firemen squad.  We checked the fire extinguishers on campus and attended safety meetings.  It was a far cry from mopping the floor in the locker room.  This lasted all winter quarter and spring quarter the job reverted back to a cleaning assignment.  With my winter quarter work hours, I actually had time to get involved in some of the campus activities.  Every Wednesday evening a college band would play for a dance called “a mixer,” held in the activity room in Showalter Hall.  It was one hour of Glen Miller music.  Afterward couples would walk down to a popular main street malt shop.  I didn’t dance often, but enjoyed watching and listening to the music.  It was a good change of pace and there was plenty of time to hit the books after the dance. 

                                                          

There were many activities sponsored by various clubs, classes and instructional programs.  One music event I attended was a performance by world famous master of the Spanish guitar, Andrea Segovia.  His performance was wonderful.  The drama department produced several plays during the year and there were several major balls.  I didn’t attend many activities due to lack of interest, time, wardrobe and finances.

There were many things about the campus that I thought interesting, particularly a story that went with the following photo.  A statue of Sacajawea stood in the main downstairs rotunda of Showalter Hall.  She was more or less the mascot of the college when the teams were called Savages.  One day Eastern students and staff noticed she was gone.  The word got around of seeing her by the front gate, and sure enough as this  photo shows, she was there. 

 This was reported in the college newspaper:

“Sacajawea went for a stroll down “hello” walk and ended at the entrance.  Rumor has it that several Whitworth students accompanied the fair maid in her walk"  After political correctness and renaming of the teams as Eagles, I’m not sure what happened to Sacajawea, but I hope she still stands in the rotunda                                                                             

Whitworth College , a private college located in Spokane, and EWC were rivals.There was always something going on between the two schools.  The favorite heist was Eastern’s victory bell.  When the savages won a game the bell was rung well up into the night by assigned freshmen.  Whitworth students had also been known to paint a big W in the football field                                                                                  .                                                         

just before a game. One special custom that was established many years earlier was 
“hello” walk.  A walkway leading from the front entrance pillars to the main entrance to Showalter Hall was named, “hello”.  As people passed each other on this walk the custom encouraged them to exchange the greeting: HELLO.                     

Another cute idea was the kissing rock.  It was slightly off the beaten path.  The idea was if you got a girl to sit in your lap on kissing rock you would be rewarded with a kiss.  In the environment with those young hearts it is only natural that numerous engagements began this way

*Taken from "Which Road Should I Follow?, Volume 1, Growing up in the country", an autobiography by Edwin K. Hill.