Visiting Old Haunts, Part I: A Pilgrimage of Memories on Whitworth University’s Campus, 50 Years After I First Matriculated as a Student
“Be You. Be Here. BELONG!” flashed the electronic billboard at Whitworth University as my husband and I turned into the campus. If only that sentiment were true when I was a college student, I thought to myself, my life would’ve been different today. On our pilgrimage/road trip from Seattle to Spokane, my husband Christian Halstead and I first stopped in Seattle. It was the first time since 1991 that I had been in Spokane, after my then-wife and I and our young daughter, Adrianne, moved in 1991 to Melbourne, FL, and I was given “leave” from my teaching position at Whitworth College. I went to Whitworth College(it’s prior name) in the fall of 1973, moving from Portland, OR, with my mom being sure I settled into my dorm in West Warren before she drove back to Portland. My dad stayed at home. And didn’t quite know what I had gotten myself into. I knew it was a Christian related college, connected with the then-United Presbyterian Church (USA). Today, it is no longer affiliated with th