Whitworth Friendship

Without a doubt the most significant friendship I made while at Whitworth is with Margaret Saunders Ott.  Mrs. Ott was my professor of piano.  I have sought her support and wise counsel for all aspects of my life and count her as the most influential person in my life.  I spoke with her just the other day.  She had been on a train trip to Montana to visit with Phil Aaberg, another of her students.  Since I’m from Montana she knows I love to hear about Montana and catch up on Phil’s latest success.  Some may think of Mrs. Ott as a Master Teacher of Piano, and she is that, but I believe she is a Master Teacher of a rich and productive life.  I am most grateful for her friendship.  Thanks, Whitworth!

Joy Anderson Kimball (1971)

The Bruisers

Cathy (Dapples) Goettel '92

'The Bruisers'. That sums up my time at Whitworth, my inseparable roommates of three years in Stewart Hall on the top floor in that last room on the right. Dana (Rogers) Whitney and Jennifer (Ludlam) Von Lintel, plus Kim (Manful) Childers who lived across the hall or actually slept across the hall as she was in our room most of the time. They made Whitworth a wonderful place to live and learn. Flag football, impromptu camping trips in city parks, and chili cheese fries at Wolffy's are just a few memories that I will never forget. Needless to say we bonded... over boys, late night study sessions and SAGA meals. We still get together for the "Bruiser Reunion" every other year despite the fact we live hundreds of miles away from each other. True friends who share a love for God and each other.

Other memories worthy of mentioning... passing notes with Tim Dennis in Core 350, my heart brother from BJ, Dan Hoffman, Core 250 in Europe, and a ski trip to Nelson BC.
I also met my husband, Don at Whitworth too. We wouldn't marry or even date until years after we graduated but am so glad we can share our Whitworth memories together.

Greg Orwig, ‘91

Certainly the most important friendship I made at Whitworth was with the incredible woman to whom I’ve been married for more than 17 years – Kristin (Miller) Orwig, ’91. We met on the first day of freshman orientation when we were paired up in the classic get-acquainted game – Birdie on a Perch. With such an auspicious introduction, it’s surprising it took more than a year to convince her to go out with me. Another great Whitworth friendship has been with Chris Bruzzo who was my roommate for three great years in Stewart Hall. I remember well Chris’ original Mac Plus computer that intimidated most of who were still unfamiliar with personal computers, his enormous pile of dirty laundry, his infamous Gaucho bell key chain, and the many great talks about girls, politics, God, girls, L.A. Law, the relative merits of Sir Mix-a-Lot vs. the Scorpions, and girls. We had several different roommates live in the other bedroom in our suite – Tony (‘what’s with all this snow?’) Pacheco, Dave (Greek God) Reeder, Sung Wook (‘Let God be God’) Chung, Derek (‘Let’s go for a swim, fellas’) Richman and Jonn (‘I can’t be here’) Moomaw. Jonn’s influence led to several memorable moments, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers dash, blue flame contests, and impromptu praise songfests. And I can’t fail to mention the inestimable Keith “Huge” Clerihue with whom I shared many double dates in the Sahara Shark, great times planning The Weekend retreats and doing the best imitation ever of Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman in “Rain Man.” Good times. It’s possible, I suppose, that I could have met this great collection of people and developed such deep and meaningful friendships with them at any other college. But I doubt it. Whitworth’s distinctive mission attracts the kind of students who are serious about faith without being dogmatic and uptight and serious about ideas without being humorless and overly-intellectual. I hope that never changes.

Pizza Nights...

Amanda (Ayars) Nevin, ’99

I remember pizza nights, searching for enough change for McDonald's ice cream sunday's, pj trips to McDonald's, "studying at Starbucks," Nacho nights, Bagles on Sundays, movies, and long conversations about life, ministry, hopes, dreams and where God would take us all in the future. My roommates in college were my life support, my joy and my fellowship and today I would say that that is still true about their friendship and support. We have walked down some similar roads and some that are very different and yet through it all we have remained friends. One of my roommates is still one of my dearest and closest friends and now we share the joy of both being ministers of the Word and Sacrament and while we live on opposite coasts we still pray for each other, e-mail each other and help each other with our various ministry joys and challenges. I know that where ever life takes us God will always be directing and leading us, helping us grow in our friendship and keeping us connected through all of life's journey. I am grateful for my 4 years at Whitworth and for the lessons that went far beyond the classroom walls. May those lessons continue to remain in my heart as I continue to serve God each and every day and may those friendships always be grounded in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Whitworth Memories, 60 years later

T.J. Summerson, Class of '49

There was a freshmen “mixer” soon after we registered. It was held in the Jay P. Graves Hall (gym). Carol Moss, neighbor and freshman too, and I attended. What a shock because we played child games like “drop the handkerchief”! Whitworth, you have come a long way!

Who can forget Dr. Mark Koehler’s bible classes. I recall one spring quarter, one of his classes was held just after lunch. It was a warm afternoon and some of the class fell asleep. But they were abruptly awakened with laughter from the class mates who were awake. Everyone was laughing at the nappers because they didn’t realize that Mark had spiced up his lecture by turning on the flashing lights on his bow tie. Then when all were awake and alert, he flashed them again. We all chuckled and Mark went on with his lecture. Talk about your flashers!

I could mention the episode of how a cow ended up in McMillan Hall library but Bill Gwinn says that he knows all about that.

Attendance at Chapel on Wednesday was mandatory, so skipping chapel was not the thing to do. Bill Chapman was scared one day because he skipped Chapel but was in the men’s dorm when Dr. Warren came through making a “bed check”. Bill was a very shy guy and probably had a good excuse for not attending Chapel. (I don’t think that Dr. Warren saw him.)

The basketball teams ‘43-44 and ’44-45 did not have very good seasons. But we had a lot of fun. Our losses were considered moral victories. There was great comradeship among the players. Al Brown, Dick Schwab, Larry White, George Yamamoto, Tom Haji, Sadao, Kureiwa, Tome Terao, Bert Kimura, Dan Masamoto, LaVerne Brassard and Dave Barnes. It is amazing that there were no photos of the basketball team in the 1944 Natsihi yearbook and only one in the 1945 Natsihi!. But the caption beside that photo on page 30 is today’s reality. “Basketball is a favorite sport, and the College should in the near future become a college of champion teams.” PS- If you want to see a picture of the team, you will have to look at Page 14 in the July 2003 issue of Nostalgia magazine.

My two sisters Betty (Elizabeth) and Georgene (Josie) were also at Whitworth when I was finishing the last two years of my BS degree. Betty was into drama and literature. She had major roles in some of the plays, while I had minor roles such as the ghost of Hamlet’s father. Georgene was journalism major and worked on the editorial staff of both the Whitworthian and the Natsihi. I spent some time as advertising manager, to help defray expenses. Interestingly, both Betty and Georgene found their husbands at Whitworth. Betty married Darrel Turner and Georgene married Les Patten.