To most people who encounter this town, never leaving campus, college hill and apartment land is a normal occurance. To outsiders, Pullman, Washington is just a college town; home to Washington State University, and sometimes better known for a rumored 1% of all Busch Light sales made by Pullman's 24 hour grocery stop, Dissmore's.
But beyond those glossy, beer-goggled eyes, one can find that Pullman has more culture and beauty than just the hairy gut hanging out from the random neighbors tee while doing a keg-stand on your balcony. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't believe this to be true at first either. It wasn't until summer 2010 that I saw Pullman for what it really is. I don't know if it was from the fact that we finally had leaves on all the trees for more than 2 weeks of being here, or the fact that there really wasn't anything else to do and I started to go mad, but something changed. The winds blew in a different direction, dust rolled in off the palouse, the air smelled different, and (drum roll)... 'Pullmanites' came out from their hiding posts.
Yes, it's true; Pullman has natives. According to the small, barely readable sign located on the Pullman-Moscow road, the population in P-town is 26,642. Now guessing that WSU's student population is roughly 18,000 that leaves people who actually live in Pullman long term to be 8,642. Now this might just sound like a lot of math to some of you, but really it's simple. Pullman natives have now proved to have a culture of their own... a very 'unique' culture.
Even if you spend your semesters cooped up in the CUB or library, you might have encountered or experienced some of the few and proud Pullmanites. But what I am sure of is that you have not learned everything there is to know about these fine people of this beloved town. This year, I will take a look into the lives of these Pullman enthusiats and bring to you a more educated view of what makes this small town on the palouse so special. So, crack open a can of "pullman-water" and sit back to enjoy the adventures and encounters, and join me as I say "Here's to you, Pullman."
