The Dome at Walla Walla Community College

"Does humanity have a chance to survive lastingly and successfully on planet Earth, and if so, how?" Buckminster Fuller’s development of the geodesic dome was in part an answer to his own question. Fuller loved the geodesic structure because of its stability and utility. Pound per pound a dome can enclose more space than any other structure.

Famous geodesic structures include the Montreal Biosphere, The Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World and, of course, The Dietrich Activity Center dome at Walla Walla Community College.

WWCC’s dome is a landmark in southeast Washington. Gary Boone, WWCC’s Purchasing Agent was here in 1977 for the Dome’s dedication. He says, “What impressed me at the time was the fact that the wooden floor of the basketball court was built on top of a rubber pad. It was a pretty cool structure. Just to walk in and look up at the ceiling still impresses me. Thirty years later it still seems futuristic.”

Jim Peterson, Vice President of Administrative Services says, “It was a fascinating project to watch it go up. First, the general contractor built a giant concrete ring and then put a huge pole in the center of it. Workers placed the top panel on the pole and then added the struts and the gold anodized panels around the center. When they completed that layer of the circle they jacked up the pole and added another section of panels. Over the period of a couple of weeks we literally got to watch the dome rise up from the ground. It was exciting.”

Tana Renz, sophomore member of the WWCC’s Soccer team says, “When I came here the Dome was the first thing that attracted me. It was so bright.” The Dome serves as the hub of WWCC athletics. Tana says, “It’s where I go. It’s where I work out. It’s where everyone is. The Dome brings everyone together.”

Kendall Brenton, a 2005-2007 basketball player and WWCC Honors Scholar sums it up nicely, “Bees have a honeycomb. We have the Dome. It’s our home.”

Pounding Shoes

Watching Jeff Engler and Chad Edwards forge a pair of horseshoes is like watching gods from the Iron Age come to life. On a heated anvil, a 2 ½ pound glowing orange shard of steel is slowly shaped with powerful blows from ringing hammers. The ancient process, modernized only with the addition of a 4,000 degree gas powered furnace, is visceral and artistic.

Says Engler, Farrier Instructor for Walla Walla Community College, “We are keeping the traditional skills alive.”

Engler and his student Edwards are relentless and tireless as they slowly forge the molten steel into the familiar U shape. Holes for the nails must be measured and punched through the red molten metal. Ridges which will provide traction must be shaped in each shoe’s surface. Each time one of the fiery shoes is removed from the furnace for shaping, the other, having been pounded as much as it will allow, is thrust carefully back into the flames. Only the glowing steel can be shaped and only a little bit at a time.

Thirty two minutes after the process begins the sweating pair stops work on a serviceable, completed pair of large horse shoes which will be worn by a huge draft horse.

Twenty year old Chad Edwards, from Fields, Oregon says, “My family has a ranch. I grew up around horses. I want to make a career of this.”

For more information Google search wwccmedia farrier.