By Sabrina Jones (AfterHours Publishing) and Friend of Whitman County Library

Last Monday was a day for celebration for Whitman County as the Rural Heritage Courthouse exhibit was officially dedicated and a smaller, mobile version of the exhibit deemed ready for use.

People receiving special recognition at the event included the Whitman County Historic Preservation Program and the County Commissioners for grant funding of the exhibit and related digitization efforts, Alex McGregor and the McGregor Company for contributing items to the collection and helping to fund exhibits, Scott Barrie of Creative Image for his professional production of the exhibits and financial support of the project, and Patti Cammack, for her amazing work in grant writing and coordinating the entire project.

But one very important person was unable to attend. Volunteer Wanda Alderman has been a fixture in the Rural Heritage project, donating her time and her incredible knowledge of Whitman County.

And know the county, she does! Born near the base of Steptoe Butte, Wanda not only graduated from Steptoe High School, but she ultimately devoted 37 years as the schools business manager, retiring in 1996.

After retirement, Wanda was looking for a new way to help. Enter Whitman County Library. "I did a lot of scrapbooking for the Steptoe School and Cemetery", she said. "Shortly after my husband died, I offered to restore photos and newspapers in acid-free protectors for the Colfax Library and it s been a blessing to both of us."

Since she started, Wanda has not only worked her way from 1947 to 2001 in restoring the library's scrapbooks, but she also became a key component of the Rural Heritage project according to Patti Cammack, project manager.

Wanda really is the public face of this project, Cammack said. She knows just about everyone! Wanda contacts people, arranges for personal visits and helps us identify the historians in each community. She is trusted and has made all the difference in our success.

The project started three years ago and thanks to a number of successful grants, multiple needs are being met, including staffing, travel, equipment and the new exhibits. So far more than 1300 items have been digitized. "The great thing about this project is it allows people who own historical pictures and documents to keep them, while making them available for everyone to see with all of us", says Cammack.

Besides funding from the Whitman County Historic Preservation grant, the McGregor Company and Creative Image the project is also funded from the Library Services and Technology Act provided by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.

To schedule the mobile exhibit or to include your historical photos, contact Patti Cammack or Wanda Alderman at the Colfax branch at 509-397-4366. The Rural Heritage project can be viewed on the Whitman County Library website.

 For more information, contact:

Kristie Kirkpatrick at 509-397-4366

For a complete list of events and programs happening in all fourteen Whitman County Library branches, visit the Whitman County Library website or the library's events calendar or call the library at 397-4366 or 877-733-3375 toll-free.