Alumni revisit favorite memories at WSU reunion

Pam Bredberg

Fire extinguishers filled with water lined the third floor of Stephens Hall, where the women without dates laid in wait for the women who did. 

Returning from their dates, women entered the hall and were greeted with blasts of water from Pam Bredberg, ‘70 double major in education and speech pathology, and her fellow residents. 

“When they came through the door, we would just nail them,” Bredberg said with a laugh. 

Once “everyone had a good laugh,” the women mopped up the mess and refilled the extinguishers for another day, unbeknownst to their house mother. 

Bredberg’s friendships from Stephens Hall were some of her best memories from WSU, she said. She enjoyed the dorm hosting Sunday tea each week, allowing the women to connect on a different level in a “lovely, old-fashioned room.” 

The university holds a rich family history for Bredberg; her father was an alum who played on the WSU football team, and her eldest son earned his degree in architecture at the same college. Bredberg was drawn to WSU’s small size and comforting feel as well. 

“You always felt safe, even at night walking home from the library or wherever,” she said. “I never felt unsafe walking by myself.”

Bredberg often found herself studying in Holland Library because she needed a quiet space away from the sounds of chatter and music on the radio in her dorm. Books and libraries are also a “big thing” for her. 

“Libraries and bookstores are sort of an addiction to me,” she said with a laugh.

Bredberg moved to Guam after graduation, working as a speech therapist and a second-grade teacher for four years. She then returned to WSU for her master’s degree in speech pathology and eventually landed in Bozeman, Mont., where she was in the education field for 37 years.

Now that she is retired, Bredberg enjoys sitting on her deck with a glass of iced tea and a book. 

Sarah English

When journalism major Sarah English received her WSU ID card, it was a defining moment in her life. 

“I thought, ‘Gosh, now I’m in the big leagues. I’m a part of something giant,’” she said. 

English said she still holds onto her ID card, punched with each semester she completed leading up to her senior year in 1994. 

Her fondest memory of WSU was her participation in a pledge drive for then Northwest Public Radio, raising funds for the station to remain on the air and maintain its equipment. As a little girl, English grew up listening to the station. She said entering the hallowed studio and visualizing the voices behind the microphones were “really cool” as an aspiring journalist. 

“Everyone has a story,” she said. “As a journalist, I’d be able to help folks share their story and amplify it to a larger audience because you can learn from each other, and we’re all part of the human condition.”

Searching for stories extended to her time at the WSU Libraries as well. At the time, WSU housed an education library in Cleveland Hall, which had a picture-book collection students could access on campus rather than traveling downtown to Neill Public Library for it, English said. 

Today, English is a sustainer program manager at Northwest Public Broadcasting.

Dawn and Neal Pitsch

A movie night in Streit Hall led to 41 years of marriage for Dawn and Neal Pitsch.

Dawn, who studied history, lived on the dorm’s fifth floor while Neal, a mechanical engineering major, lived on the sixth. Both, however, had a mutual friend who invited Dawn to watch television with his group, which included Neal. 

“He came up and said to me, ‘You have a date tonight,’” Dawn said. 

Although Neal had a girlfriend at the time, the friend was determined to matchmake the two, saying Neal’s girlfriend was dating other men. When Dawn arrived, she said Neal was shocked because he was simply joking with his friend when he initially said, “Bring a girl for me too.”

“I thought she was very cute, and I was very happy the guy chose her,” Neal said. 

As the pair slowly got to know each other and became good friends, Dawn started her position at Holland Library in 1981. The library’s old cataloging system was replaced with a computerized version, so Dawn placed barcodes into books and inputted the data into the computers for most of the year. 

Neal, on the other hand, was fond of the Owen Science and Engineering Library. 

“I always liked going to the top of the science library and looking out the little window. It had an amazing view up there.”

Dawn earned her degree in 1982, and Neal soon followed in 1984. 

Jeff Durbin

The morning of the 1982 Apple Cup, history major Jeff Durbin drove farther and farther from Martin Stadium to make it home to Bremerton, Wash. 

“As we were going past the stadium, I looked over there wistfully and said, ‘Gosh, I wish we would beat those Huskies today,’” Durbin said. 

Durbin watched the second half of the game from his hometown as the Cougs secured the victory, saying over and over again that he wished he was back on campus. 

“Coach [Jim] Walden said, ‘Guys, we’ve got nothing to lose, just go out and play,’ and it was just tremendous,” he said.

Although WSU athletics were some of Durbin’s favorite memories, he recalled fun times living in Scott Hall as well. He and other residents would slide down the hill next to the dorm on trays they took from Northside Dining Hall. 

At that time, the dorm housed only male residents, but it was originally a female-only dorm, meaning there was a noticeable lack of urinals, which caused a few problems, he said. 

“I won’t go into the gory details,” Durbin said. 

Due to issues with his roommate’s smoking habit, Durbin remembers seeking refuge in Holland Library and doing most of his “hardcore studying” there.

“I can remember getting in one of those little study cubicles, and I could just burrow down into something I needed to hit real hard,” he said. 

Durbin graduated from WSU in 1983.

Larry and Elaine James

A blind date and a bit of forgiveness soon became the highlight of Larry and Elaine James’ time at WSU. 

Larry, an agricultural engineering major, lived in Stephenson South, while Elaine, a foreign language education major, resided in the northern tower. The two met for a blind date in the lobby of the dorms, and Elaine received a surprise when the pair walked toward Larry’s car. 

“My friend convinced me to go out with him because he drove a German sports car. When we got to the car, it was a Volkswagen Beetle,” she said with a laugh. 

Larry and Elaine drove to the Compton Union Building, sitting and talking for a long time, Elaine said. 

“And I forgave him for not having a real German sports car,” she said. 

During his time at WSU, Larry also remembered seniors protesting outside Smith Hall, pulling a prank on the agricultural engineering faculty. When the professors drove near the building, they saw the picketing and drove around the back of the building to get in, not knowing whether or not they should take the students seriously. 

“The faculty were almost friends, so it was just a prank,” he said. “It was a nice day, and it was just something to do.”

Despite pranking faculty, Larry was often studying at Holland Library as well, hunkering down on the main floor filled with desks. Elaine preferred studying next to the library’s windows because it was quieter, and she said it was distracting to study in a large group. 

“Everybody wanted to try to do that, so it wasn’t easy to find [a spot],” she said. 

After graduation in 1969 (Elaine) and 1970 (Larry), the couple lived in St. Paul, Minn., New York, and the Tri-Cities before settling in Pullman and joining the WSU faculty.