The 'vital' is in revitalization for Soap Lake couple

SOAP LAKE — The first gift Eileen Beckwith ever got from husband Burr was a Lava Lamp.

The present must have been a foreshadowing of sorts.

The couple, married 38 years, moved to Ephrata in 1970 and began living in Soap Lake in 1976.

They met in school in Ellensburg, and really liked Eastern Washington, which made the move for work — Eileen as a teacher and Burr as a school psychologist — fortuitous.

"When I was a little kid, the big treat was, 'Get in the car and we'll go to Eastern Washington,'" Eileen said.

"It was pretty fortunate both of us had an affection for Eastern Washington, because everybody we knew was from the west side, and there was no thoughts of ever living any place but the west side," Burr said. "So we're kind of transplanted West Siders who really love Eastern Washington, especially Grant County and Soap Lake."

The Beckwiths currently administer the Soap Lake Revitalization Team.

"It's really all volunteers, we have no budget, no officers," Eileen said.

Burr acts as facilitator during team meetings, while Eileen is recorder and sends out e-mails.

Meetings generally draw between 20 to 40 people, with attendance reaching as high as 100 for a downtown master plan input meeting. Whether they come to meetings or not, 250 people receive monthly e-mail updates about what is happening in Soap Lake.

Recipient participation can vary, from very involved to frequent visitors who simply want to remain up-to-date on current events.

"We know the e-mail has impact, because for a long time, senior centers were doing these fund-raising dinners and they weren't getting all that many people," Burr said. "Then we started advertising in the e-mails and their numbers went up considerably."

Burr sees such an effect as the team's biggest impact.

"The whole deal is to keep people updated about what's going on, and encourage people to get involved and participate, whether it's the plays, clean-up, Ice Age Flood Institute coming in," he said. "The biggest accomplishment of the group is to do this, kind of be the pulse of Soap Lake — get people involved and allow them to know what's going on."

The Beckwiths hasten to say the team is not responsible for developing any projects, but provides a meeting place and a venue where people involved in the various revitalization projects can get together to share information.

"There's some networking and it's a place to get the information, and also for people to support other groups of people who share the interest," Eileen said.

The team meets on the fourth Monday of every month.

"There's a very heavy social component to what we're doing," Burr said. "Basically, on a real simple level, it's just people getting together and being part of a community. I think people nowadays are so isolated and they don't know their neighbors, let alone ever go to any town hall meetings or anything of that sort."

For more information, call the Beckwiths at 509-246-1339.

The Soap Lake Revitalization Team plays host to representatives of a variety of organizations, including:

The Giant Lava Lite

McKay Healthcare and Rehab

Spa and Wellness Center

Soap Lake Chamber of Commerce

Art Guild of the Soap Lake Area

Masquers Theater

Soap Lake Conservancy

The newly formed Lower Grand Coulee Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute

Soap Lake Garden Club

Coulee Corridor

Soap Lake Improvement Crew

Soap Lake Heritage

Friends of the Library