Wabash Area Lifetime Learning Association celebrates 30 years
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — At the youthful age of 96, Mary Gardner spoke at the 30th celebration banquet for the Wabash Area Lifetime Learning Association, which she helped create back in 1992.
WALLA is a non-profit educational association aimed at giving older adults in the Wabash area the opportunity to take classes taught by Purdue facility and members of the community.
The idea to create WALLA came to Gardner after Purdue University sent her on a one-week trip in 1990 with Road Scholar (formally known as Elderhostel), a non-profit organization aimed at providing educational travel programs geared to older adults.
Gardner found her trip enlightening because it taught her that even in her early 60s, there was still a lot about the world that she could still learn.
She thought that this service ought to be offered to every older adult because to her, “you were learning what you were thinking in your own head”.
When she returned from her trip, Gardner began to toss around this idea to anyone interested in recreating the experience she had with Road Scholar.
“So, Mary Fuqua, Jon Wilms, Cecilia Zissis and I started working on an organization. It took a long time to get going, we even brought it up at the Purdue (University Retirees Association), and that’s how some people heard about it. My boss footed the bill for all of our surveys, and one of the things that we did was send the surveys to faculty,” said Gardner.
They sent out the survey to gauge the interest of their colleagues at Purdue to see if they’d be willing to volunteer their time to teach a few classes at this new organization. Many replied to the survey with a resounding, “Yes!”
In the Spring of 1993, the newly formed WALLA offered its first set of classes on March 15, 16, 22, and 23. The first set of classes offered courses like, “Introduction to Gardening”, “Money & Banking”, “Grandparenting, Making the Grade”, “Local Economics”, “Music Appreciation” and many more.
“We’re hoping that more than 100 will participate,” Mary Faqua, chair of the WALLA task force, says about the new Elderhostel affiliate, read in a copy of the Journal & Courier from Feb. 19, 1993.
WALLA was open to anyone over the age of 55 and to anyone living in Tippecanoe, Benton, White, Carroll, Clinton, Montgomery, Fountain and Warren counties.
In hopes of attracting younger talent, the association dropped its age requirement to 50, but in recent years the board has considered dropping it to as young as 45.
Since its initial start, WALLA has grown significantly. Prior to the pandemic, the association was averaging around 80+ members a year, offering around 25 courses a semester and would occasionally offer members the opportunity to go on both local and state-crossing educational trips. A few notable trips were when WALLA visited several of Lafayette’s factories to get an inside peek of how they operated, a trip to Chicago to learn about and eat different ethnics food, as well as visited and learned about the Great Lake of Michigan.
Although WALLA saw its lowest number of members during the pandemic, membership has returned to its pre-pandemic levels.
In their 2022 Spring semester, the association offered around 26 courses – 15 regular courses and 11 mini-courses. A few notable courses were, “Indian Movies From the 2010s,” where Reva Chandrasekaran, former librarian and Peace Corps worker, curated a list of films to help teach members of Indian cinema; and “Using Windows PCs (or Macs) (or Chrome OS) in a Brave New World,” aimed at helping members gain a better understanding of modern computers and the benefits and risks associated with technology.
Before he joined WALLA, Harry Hoover, a new member, offered 45-minute tours of Brenton County wind farms. After retiring in 1993, Harry became fascinated with the wind farm in his area. He documented and video-recorded the construction of the first wind turbine that was installed in Brenton County. If asked, Harry could probably cite when each one was installed.
“I was asked to present Brenton County wind farm tours, Prior I had no idea what this organization was,” said Hoover.
“It's been a pleasure to try and get to know some of the people. It’s been interesting taking some of the classes, which some of them went over my head, but we even learned a thing or two here and there. It’s been a pleasure to come and attend. Thank you for this organization.”
WALLA is affiliated with the Road Scholar organization (previously known as Elderhostel Institute Network) and Purdue University.
“The office of engagement exists to take the resources of the university and offer them to communities to make the world a better place. And this is a signature program for us because it serves a population that’s otherwise unserved in terms of personal development and keeping their minds sharp. It’s one of our signature programs that we’re really proud of,” said Steve Abel, the associate provost of engagement at Purdue University.
For those interested in joining WALLA, they can visit the association’s website at wallaonline.org or call them at (765)746-2006.
Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Wabash Area Lifetime Learning Association celebrates 30 years
