Last week, local history buffs gathered on the east side of campus for the semi-annual WSU Walking Tour. Headed by history professor Jay Price and his students, this tour, which started at Braeburn Square, encompassed a loop around most of 21st Street, with stops at the Pizza Hut Museum, Eck Stadium, Cessna Stadium and the Corbin Education Center along the way.
Participants learned about Shocker sports history, the first sit-in of the Civil Rights Movement, the 21st Street Riot, Frank Lloyd Wright, the American Indian Institute and airplanes.
“We tend to think about history in these larger national, global pieces of information,” Price said. “And we forget that local stuff happens as part of a context too, that actually this is a window into larger pieces that may get overlooked if we’re just going to look at, you know, Washington D.C. and New York, and so forth.”
Not only did this tour give residents a chance to learn more about their local history, but it also provided graduate students a unique opportunity to apply their learning.
“This walking tour has become an important part of our offerings … think of it as an internship or a lab if you will,” Price said. “It’s easy to sit and do your own research, but when you’re talking to people who have lived through a lot of these topics, that’s part of this learning process.”
One student, Abigail Dehaven, who is currently working on their museum certificate, said they greatly benefited from their involvement in the tour.
“History is a passion of mine, especially art history, community history, considering that I’ve lived a lot of history in a lot of different ways, so what I really love was being able to share my experiences, answer questions, and hear other people’s stories as well,” Dehaven said.
Gary Steed, who is enrolled at WSU as an auditor, also enjoyed the event.
“I was excited to see so many people participating,” Steed said. “Their questions have been good, and the presenters have done an excellent job.”
Price emphasized the insight that walking tours like this one can bring to participants.
“Every local community has a story that has something to tell us and teach us, as has often been said, all history is local. Everything has to happen somewhere.”
