As college turns 50, Big Bend figures reminisce

MOSES LAKE - Big Bend Community College turns 50 this year.

Today, the college sits on the former Larson Air Force base. Over the years, remodeling and new construction has created more of an academic atmosphere than a militaristic one.

It took the college a long time to get there.

The Washington State Department of Education first suggested locating a junior college in Moses Lake.

But it was Moses Lake School District Superintendent Robert Smith who pushed for the college, said Fred Huston, who was hired as an instructor at the college in 1964 before becoming the dean of vocational and technical education.

Smith helped the Moses Lake School District pass a bond of more than $1 million to pay for its share of the construction of the new college campus.

The college officially opened in 1962, but due to a steel strike, the new campus remained unfinished the first year, recalls Ty Ballinger, the college's first athletic director.

The college held its classes at Moses Lake High School from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. after the high school students left for the day.

"We had to wait for the high school to get out of there, so we just used their facilities," said Ballinger. "But I had students that were working full time, going to school full time and playing basketball for me at night. They were kind of bleary-eyed by the time they got to the gym."

The new campus opened in the fall of 1963 on Nelson road.

The future of the college seemed bright, until in 1964, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that Larson Air Force Base would close in June 1966.

"At that time, Larson Air Force Base was, of course, the main activity and everybody was concerned that Moses Lake was going to suffer severely from the loss of the military," said Clyde Owen, the base commander at the time. "The town did suffer to the point that they thought it was going to get real serious."

At the time, 4,000 people worked at the base, said Owen. The combined military and civilian payroll of the base was about $14 million a year, he said. Personnel from the base spent between $4 to $6 million each year in the local economy.

The college felt the impact of the closure as enrollment fell by 15 percent.

Faced with the news of the base's closure, Big Bend President Alfred Phillips outlined a plan for converting Larson Air Force Base into a college campus.

"It outlines what part of Larson Air Force Base they wanted, even naming buildings they wanted and what they were going to do with the building," said Owen.

The Department of Defense gave the property to the Port of Moses Lake and Big Bend Community College, which received 159 acres at no charge.

During the transition period, Owen worked closely with Big Bend Administrator Robert Mason, he said.

The college moved its aviation program from the Moses Lake Municipal Airport to the former Air Force base. The college's aviation mechanics and practical nursing programs moved to the base, with the addition of new welding, electronics and automotive technology programs.

The former Air Force base became known as the "north campus," while the original campus on Nelson Road became known as the "south campus."

While the college operated programs out of both campuses, it soon became clear that the college only had enough resources to operate one campus.

The Big Bend Community College trustees decided to move the college to the north campus on July 7, 1969.

It was a controversial move and several people voiced their opinion at the trustee's July 7 meeting, according to a July 8, 1969 story in the Columbia Basin Daily Herald.

"The faculty stands irrevocably on its position in favor of the South Campus ... Why should we move to the North Campus to rebuild facilities which are already inadequate?" said Big Bend Librarian Betty Shambrook. "We should expand the facilities we have here."

Board Chairman Walter Click responded to the criticism, saying the college would have about $1.2 million available over the next two years that could be better utilized at the north campus. The board also cited the existing dormitories, swimming pool and theater at the former Air Force base as reasons for choosing the north campus.

Robert Mason, the dean of students at the time, "said he favored the South Campus, but asked all faculty and administrators, and others to support the decision once made," according to the article.

The Columbia Basin Daily Herald editorial board initially supported keeping the college at the south campus, but asked the community to support the trustees' decision after it had been made.

"The one thing not needed at this time is a bitter division of opinions over location of a college plan whose very nature remains to be determined and whose future is in the process of being shaped," the board wrote. "Disagreement can be healthful and stimulating, and it has had its day. Now all the energy available on both campuses and throughout the college district is needed in a united effort to get the best community college possible on the North Campus."

Letters to the editor show that the issue nevertheless remained contentious.

"I feel the most important role for Big Bend is the development of a vocational program relative to the needs for our community college district," Bob Ballinger wrote in a letter to the editor in 1969. "But lets do it in new modern facilities. The move to the north campus will force our presently housed students on the north campus to stay in the inadequate facilities for years to come."

"Now that it's done, all of us - the administration and faculty and citizens and the students themselves - should give a little, understand each other, and again put our shoulder to the wheel and help to make Big Bend Community College the kind of institution that it must be," Don Hollingberry wrote in a letter to the editor.

One of the first projects at the college was remodeling the theater, which came to be known as the Wallenstien Theater. Saving the theater was instrumental for the Moses Lake community, said Owen.

"It is the only facility in Moses Lake that will seat 700 people," he said.

The theater has hosted productions featuring such well-known actors as Leonard Nimoy, Soupy Sales, Dick Gautier, Edie Adams, Bobby Van, Liz Torres, Howard Keel and Joe Namath.

Today, school concerts, community plays and other events are held at the theater.

Going into its 50th year, Big Bend Community College faces challenges that may fundamentally change the level of service it is able to provide. Budget cuts have resulted in reduced class offerings and reduced equipment budgets. The college has lost 27 positions since 2009.

It's not the first time the college has faced such obstacles. When Larson Air Force Base closed, the college saw a dramatic decline in enrollment, but survived. Despite the setbacks the college faces now, those who were with the college from the beginning believe it can weather the storm.

"I think it's really been established here," said Ballinger. "It has so many more opportunities for people who want to get an education where it would probably be impossible if they had to go to a four-year school. It's just a lot less expensive."

"I think as time goes on it will continue to mature and continue to grow," said Huston. "And it will meet more and more of the needs of the local community whether they're short-term, two-year programs or for transfer students."

"I think they'll pull through," said Owen. "They'll have to. We can't afford to lose the college and it's not the intent to ever do that."