Being a teacher, one of my primary curiosities upon moving to Waterville, of course, was the school. I remember Googling "Waterville School" and finding numerous listings for a school in Maine but it took a bit of searching to finally happen upon a website for the "Waterville School" in Waterville, WA. The website was very dated in appearance and I noticed that nothing new had been posted since 2002! (We moved to Waterville in 2007.)
I immediately contacted the superintendent to offer my services to redesign and maintain the school website and I was told that my timing was perfect because they had just been discussing their need for an up-to-date website. I have been the school webmaster ever since!
It didn't take long before I was contacted by a local man, Harold Badten, who had his own website in dyer need of a webmaster. I have been maintaining and slowly redesigning his website since 2008. "Waterville School Alumni Memories" is a fascinating collection of historic (and some not-so-historic) photographs and stories about the Waterville School and school alumni. Take a look if you've never seen it! http://waterville-alumni.com.
If you're already familiar with the alumni site, check out the new "Historic Waterville" file ( http://waterville-alumni.com/historicwaterville) which includes photographs from the personal album of Chester (C.M.) Lockwood, whose photos you may have seen in the local museum.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Lights Out!
As many of you know, with an old home comes many quirks. One of the more annoying ones Adam and I deal with regularly is the fact that the upstairs bedrooms, the bathroom and the kitchen are wired to the same circuit breaker. We learned quickly which appliances can and cannot be used simultaneously.
For example: computer, microwave and toaster... poof! TV, microwave and hair dryer... poof!
Once, in a daring trial, we decided to use the toaster while the dishwasher was running! We turned the portable heater off and we made sure nothing was running upstairs. It seemed to be working fine! Then the refrigerator cycled on... poof!
Monday evening Adam was working on his computer and I was making a piece of toast when... poof! For a second I stood in the kitchen perplexed. "Seriously? Nothing else was turned on!"
It wasn't until I opened the circuit breaker panel, for the 100th time, and found that none of the switches had been tripped, that I realized it was an actual power outage. I heard on the radio that it was fairly widespread, but we were only without power for about 45 minutes.
A sincere thank you to our on-call power workers. I hope you know that you are appreciated.
For example: computer, microwave and toaster... poof! TV, microwave and hair dryer... poof!
Once, in a daring trial, we decided to use the toaster while the dishwasher was running! We turned the portable heater off and we made sure nothing was running upstairs. It seemed to be working fine! Then the refrigerator cycled on... poof!
Monday evening Adam was working on his computer and I was making a piece of toast when... poof! For a second I stood in the kitchen perplexed. "Seriously? Nothing else was turned on!"
It wasn't until I opened the circuit breaker panel, for the 100th time, and found that none of the switches had been tripped, that I realized it was an actual power outage. I heard on the radio that it was fairly widespread, but we were only without power for about 45 minutes.
A sincere thank you to our on-call power workers. I hope you know that you are appreciated.
Post Office Social Networking
I've been told that if you live in Waterville long enough, at some point you will run into every local resident in the post office. Three and a half years is not long enough to accomplish such a feat, but I have noticed that many faces are beginning to become familiar.
In Wenatchee, visiting the post office was never something I would have considered to be a warm and neighborly experience. The atmosphere there is cold and impersonal. Visitors rarely speak to one another and most seem to take care not to even look at the people around them.
In Waterville, though, the post office is essentially the social hub. It is the one place that everyone has to visit on a regular basis, which makes it far more than just a place to process mail. It is a place one can get the latest news on friends, family, politics and wheat farming. I think it's funny to see people standing together on the sidewalk, mail in hand, immersed in conversation with their cars still running beside them; evidence that they thought it was going be a quick trip in and out.
If you want to find out what's happening in Waterville, you need not go any further than the local post office!
In Wenatchee, visiting the post office was never something I would have considered to be a warm and neighborly experience. The atmosphere there is cold and impersonal. Visitors rarely speak to one another and most seem to take care not to even look at the people around them.
In Waterville, though, the post office is essentially the social hub. It is the one place that everyone has to visit on a regular basis, which makes it far more than just a place to process mail. It is a place one can get the latest news on friends, family, politics and wheat farming. I think it's funny to see people standing together on the sidewalk, mail in hand, immersed in conversation with their cars still running beside them; evidence that they thought it was going be a quick trip in and out.
If you want to find out what's happening in Waterville, you need not go any further than the local post office!
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