Course Information
Participating Teachers
Jan Watson - Rochester HIgh School
Exploring Our Places: Jan's Narrative
Jan’s representation of her community was a large, rounded volcanic rock, painted green with an American flag and the words “History is Cool.” The rock came from the digging of the new high school in 1988, and painted by a student a few years later for use as a door stop. Attempts to build a new high school had begun in the early 1980’s, but failed to pass. One of the biggest reasons for the failure to pass the bond had to do with the economic condition of the people living within the Rochester School District, a direct result of the same volcanic ground that had housed “the rock.”
According to the geologists she talked to right before the session, land that has those types of volcanic rocks has little topsoil so it wouldn’t be good for a lot of agriculture. Since the rock was so rounded, it clearly reflects the water action of the former Chehalis River bed and glacial retraction. The land here is very rocky. Douglass firs will grow on it, which would allow for some logging, and that type of land can support some grazing. Their description fit Rochester land use. The original Chehalis people didn’t live full time on the prairie, but did burn it off to better take advantage of the camus roots growing in the area, some of which can still be seen growing today. After Euro-American migrations into the area, the land supported some large dairy farms. Since the land was so rocky, however, fewer people in Thurston County wanted to live here. The first settlements were along the river.
For a few decades in the early 20th century, the volcanic, porous soil of the Rochester prairie was one of the “strawberry capitals.” More people moved into the area to take advantage of this, but a blight infected the soil in the 1950’s, making the ground useless for this type of farming. After that, land was cheap, so poorer people moved in. Lots of mobile homes being put on 5 acre plots, especially during the time of the 1970s and '80s when interest rates were so high. Clearly they couldn’t depend on the land for making a living which results in two types of people living in the area: farmers and non-farmers. Unfortunately, school bonds and levies are based on property values. The more land, the more taxes. Many farmers fought passing the bonds. People with less land, also were the ones with less money. As a result, “Rock-chester” failed to pass many levies and bonds. People with money didn’t want to move here because of the crowded conditions of the small schools.
As the cities of Centralia and Olympia became more crowded, people who didn’t care about the rocks moved in because of the cheap land. The number of farms decreased as farmers realized they could make more money selling their land in smaller parcels. More housing developments were made, primarily near Scatter Creek. Eventually, a bond for a new high school, new primary school and major remodeling of the other buildings was passed.
Yet, like the rocks that filled the land, Rochester people were tough…and stuck together. During the flood of 1996, Scatter Creek flooded and merged with the Chehalis River in the “old” river bed. One of the flooded residents was the elderly father of the girl who painted the rock. Becky had graduated and moved far away. Students at Rochester High School worked hard to save the belongings of flood victims, including Becky’s father. Students worked for two days, helping to calm a man with Alzheimer's whose only wish was to save his deceased wife’s things. The accepted no money and expected little in return. Some community people donated pizza to feed the kids, others cooked food for them. Watching students work made me love Rochester even more.
In the last decade, the Rochester School District has doubled in size, and it continues to grow. This community as many housing developments, and there are only two dairy farms left. The children of the Finnish immigrants have long moved away, and few residents even know there was a big flood. Most of the people moving in work at least ½ hour away and are more closely tied to the area where they work, rather than this area, resulting in a bedroom community feeling. This “lack of connection” with the schools was perhaps the biggest reason we double failed a levy three years ago.
Yet, the rocks still tie us together. Wherever you drive in Rochester, you will see signs of the rocks. People use them for fencing, to line flower beds or make “fake streams.” Mexican residents paint them red. Every classroom at Rochester High School has a painted rock for a doorstop. Like the rocks, adversity and friction have “rounded us” and made us a community that is, like the river, still working to find a new course.
