Mementos of trips taken are the subjects of a WSU Libraries exhibit, “After Hours 6: Travel, Transport and Allied Trades.” The annual summer exhibit looks at the creative lives and interests of library employees after the workday is done.
The exhibit runs through July 31 in the Terrell Library display case next to the CUB entrance. Summer hours are 7:30 a.m.-8:45 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 7:30 a.m.-5:45 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m.-5:45 p.m. Saturday; and noon-8:45 p.m. Sunday.
“Is there anything in our lives that has not been touched by travel? Was there ever a time when transportation of some kind was not part of the human experience? This year’s ‘After Hours’ exhibit is a chance to share all kinds of journeys, and to celebrate every amazing thing that makes transportation imaginable, possible, enjoyable or memorable,” said Wendy Blake, a library and archives paraprofessional in the technical services unit and exhibit co-organizer.
From surf to summit
For the exhibit, Caty Enos, a library and archives paraprofessional in the access services unit, included photos and other memorabilia from two trips she took to Newport, Ore., and Colorado Springs, Colo. She traveled to Newport with her father.
“My dad and I both love the ocean, and we spent most of our time there walking on the beach and enjoying the readily available fresh seafood,” she said. “We also visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium and drove over to McMinnville [Ore.] to tour the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.”
Enos traveled solo to Colorado Springs and camped five nights in Cheyenne Mountain State Park, the first time she left Washington and Idaho on her own.
“I hiked many miles of the trails in the park, hiked Broadmoor Seven Falls, took a hot-air balloon ride and went zip-lining,” she said. “I also spent three evenings walking around the Garden of the Gods, which was my absolute favorite part of the trip.”
Traveling among the stars by book
Science librarian Betty Galbraith offered up science fiction books written by Andre Norton and Robert Heinlein, among other authors. One intriguing title is “Bimbos of the Death Sun,” a mystery by Sharyn McCrumb. Also on display for the exhibit are T-shirts Galbraith acquired from the National Air and Space Museum and the Johnson Space Center.
“For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to travel among the stars,” she said. “As a child and as an adult, I followed closely anything involving space travel and research. You can say I was glued to the television during the moon landing.
“I was sure we would continue exploring space and I would be able to travel at least in our solar system in my lifetime,” Galbraith added. “I was devastated when the NASA program was downgraded to a flying taxi service and flying labs. I am hopeful now that NASA is looking at further exploration of our solar system, especially the possibility for passenger service into space. But with the cost involved I won’t be able to put that on my bucket list. Science fiction books are as close as I will ever get.”
‘We brake for presidential monuments’
Social sciences reference and instruction librarian Lorena O’English submitted her prized collection of presidential magnets from the many travels she has taken with her husband, Mark, university archivist in Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections.
Among the couple’s roadside stops was the sign in Mississippi commemorating President Theodore Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot a black bear tied to a tree during a hunting trip, giving rise to the popular stuffed teddy bear.
“Mark and I enjoy road-tripping around the United States, and it’s let me indulge my fascination with U.S. presidents and history,” she said. “Our motto is, ‘We brake for presidential monuments.’ I started collecting magnets to remind us of our travels. We have a crowded refrigerator door now.”
Postcards instead of pictures
Margaret Paden, a library and archives paraprofessional in the technical services unit, provided postcards from family visits to various places in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including Yellowstone National Park, Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Sun Valley, Idaho. She also contributed postcards of Texas and specifically Houston where she lived.
“We moved from Houston in 1967 and drove to Seattle via the Southwest and San Diego,” Paden added. “My parents weren’t real big on wasting film, so instead they let me buy postcards.”
Peace Corps memories
Ben Rearick, web services and usability librarian, included keepsakes from his time serving near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as an education volunteer in the Peace Corps. The first of these is a framed picture of the capital city’s roads.
“For two years, I lived four hours away from Addis Ababa and rode many a line taxi across these streets, only getting lost a few times,” he said.
Also in the exhibit is a vintage Addis Ababa book that describes the city through personal photos and oral histories, as well as a thin red scarf Rearick gave to his wife, Jaime Chambers.
“This scarf—netelain Amharic—is a colorful version of the white variety that is often worn by Ethiopian Orthodox Christian women, especially on Sundays as they attend church,” he said.
Glass float and sand dollars
Estelle Sertich, a library and archives paraprofessional in the technical services unit, submitted a glass float, two sand dollars and photos from her travels to Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast. She made the float with the help of a glass artist and found the sand dollars while looking for glass floats during opening weekend of Finders Keepersin Lincoln City.
“My son lives in Lincoln City, so that is where I go for vacation,” Sertich said. “I blew my float over five years ago. I love to watch the glass artists work, so Aaron set up a time for me to blow a float. I picked the colors and movement to remind me of the ocean. I love how the glass artists make you feel that you are doing it all. I really think it’s a testament to how good they are that your piece is beautiful in spite of all your help.”
‘Transportation that delights all who see it’
Sue Shipman, manager of the access services unit, shared an unusual travel item for the exhibit. Here’s a hint: It has one wheel.
“Unicycling is my hobby. It’s one form of transportation that delights all who see it,” she said. “I like it because it’s hard and it’s rare. I’ve unicycled in Portland, Ore., Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Colville, Wash., Spokane, Pullman and Moscow.”
Kindle a light
Exhibit co-organizer Wendy Blake included matchbooks that came from her grandfather’s habit of keeping them as souvenirs as he traveled. They also became a fond memory for Blake whenever she visited her grandparents.
“When they lived in Seattle, there was a glass container full of the matchbooks,” she said. “As my grandmother moved to a smaller place, I ended up with them because I liked the graphics. They weren’t treated particularly special at the time—just a handy place to keep them if someone needed a light or to start the fireplace.”
Blake also contributed dice and playing cards to the exhibit, another souvenir that family members and friends brought back from trips to casinos.
“I’ve collected dice and playing cards for a long time,” she said. “I thought the casino-related ones would be fun for this year’s exhibit.”
