Campus Traditions

Walla Walla College Song

Out where the west winds blow,

With courage true

As skies are blue

Onward we'll ever go

With our song of admiration for you.

(Chorus)

O Walla Walla you're the fairest of the golden West.

Our every heart beats true and loyal for we love you best,

And may your banner bright shine out with glorious light,

And your standard be the emblem of the right.

Although the call of duty bears us to some distant clime,

We'll ne'er forget those days gone by,

Years will bring our cheers,

Dear Walla Walla College, here's to you.

Star of our aim shine on.

Though days be drear

We cannot fear.

On 'till the work is done

We will battle 'neath your beaming rays of cheer.

The Mountain Ash and the School Colors

The following excerpts describe the origins of the Mountain Ash tree and its significance to WWC. The first excerpt is from the book Bold Venture: A History of Walla Walla College, and describes the early development of curriculum at the college. The second excerpt, also from Bold Venture, is an endnote to the first excerpt.

 
"Even the 'dead languages,' Greek and Latin, became practical; they were billed as etymological tools for building an English vocabulary. Such a change in emphasis inevitably made the classical languages seem less important, and apparently one faculty member who was not yet ready for this result of reform was Lydia Sutherland Droll, the president's sister, who taught the ancient languages that year. To reassert their importance, she devised a ceremony in honor of the ancient languages. On April 25, 1897, her Greek class planted a Mountain Ash tree on campus. One of the students gave an oration in Greek, which his teacher translated into English for the benefit of less cultured people in the audience."

Bold Venture: A History of Walla Walla College, by Terrie Aamodt, page 31

 
"The tradition of the Mountain Ash tree turned out to be much more substantial that the ancient languages at Walla Walla College. Greek survived because it was used for reading the New Testament; Latin disappeared from the curriculum in 1940, although it has been taught occasionally since then. The student yearbook is still named the Mountain Ash, a title it acquired in 1917. Sometime after 1923, whenthe senior class chose royal blue and gold as the official Walla Walla College colors, the school colors were changed to the forest green and orange-red of the Mountain Ash leaves and berries. The date of this change has not survived, but it had occurred by 1931. Ceremonial Mountain Ash tree plantings have also been held in 1923, 1951, and 1980. The proliferation of these trees around Kretschmar Hall, and the tendency of the Mountain Ash berries to ferment in winter, has depressed the cedar waxwing population on campus; the birds eat the berries and fly drunkenly into the windows of the building."

Bold Venture: A History of Walla Walla College, by Terrie Aamodt, page 263

The Gateway to Service

"Walla Walla College students recognized the importance their school placed on training for missions, and they sought to create a symbolic statement of that emphasis. The class of 1918, led by class president John Weaver, chose a monument and a prominent campus location to commemorate the college's emphasis on service. They financed the construction of two pressed-brick light posts on the edge of the front campus, across the street from the church. This marked the main entrance to the college, and it was the most visible location to motorists traveling on the increasingly busy College Avenue. The posts were created by the architectural firm of Osterman and Siebert, who had designed the new county court house in Walla Walla.

"The lighted pillars were referred to by some as the 'College Eyes,' but the official name given to them was 'Gateway to Service.' Before Columbia Auditorium was built, graduation ceremonies were held in the church. New graduates marched out of the church, across College Avenue, and through the Gateway, which represented their entrance into a lifetime of service to their fellow man. The class of 1921, led by class president William Landeen, contributed a set of concrete steps, which led from the newly lowered and paved College Avenue up to the campus level. Service has continued to be a major theme at the college, and the importance of the Gateway to Service has been commemorated in the call letters of the college radio station, KGTS."

Bold Venture: A History of Walla Walla College, by Terrie Aamodt, page 241

Sonnenberg Series

"The most venerable sporting tradition at Walla Walla College is the basketball rivalry between dormitory and village students (after World War II it was reclassified as a Vets/Civvies rivalry). It began informally in the mid-1920s as an acceptable alternative to forbidden interschool match games. Records were not kept until 1951, however, because the college did not want to create publicity for the event.

"In 1957 the contest was named in the memory of Dr. Henry Louis Sonnenberg, who was a German teacher and academic dean at WWC from 1938 to 1954, when he became president of Pacific Union College. People thought of basketball when they saw Dr. Sonnenberg, because he was 6'5". He was also a member of the PE committee that directed the organization of physical education classes after Columbia Auditorium was built.

"Dr. Sonnenberg was in a serious car accident in January 1955 and was apparently recovering when he died of a heart attack on September 1, 1955, at the age of 40.

"In January 1957 the first Sonnenberg contest was won by the Village team, 45-44. The team received the Henry L. Sonnenberg Memorial Trophy, which represents excellence in achievement and sportsmanship, it was presented by Dr. Sonnenberg's wife and his 4-year-old son, Craig.

"The single game evolved into a best-of-three series that is played in February. The series is still capable of stirring intense loyalties. A women's Sonnenberg series was added in the 1980s."

Bold Venture: A History of Walla Walla College, by Terrie Aamodt, page 205