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Field trip spans generations
Doug Flanagan/Post-Register
Patty Stetner (far left) went on Quincy’s first fourth-grade field trip with her daughter, Sherri Van Diest (far right), 35 years ago. Elsie Logan, second from left, was Van Diest’s teacher at the time. This year, Van Diest will go on the field trip with her son, Dawson.
Sherri Van Diest knows what the annual fourth-grade field trip has meant to the students of Quincy over the past 35 years and its importance to the community as a whole.
When Van Diest was a fourth-grader, she went on the very first trip. Two years ago, she went again, this time as a parent chaperone with her oldest son, Blake.
Next month, she will go again, this time with her younger son, Dawson.
The field trip is now in its third generation for the family — Van Diest’s mother, Patty Stetner, accompanied Van Diest over the Cascade Mountains 35 years ago.
“I was talking with a friend the other day, and she said that the fourth-grade field trip has become a rite of passage in this town,” Van Diest said.
Indeed it has. The trip to the Seattle area — which includes stops at the Seattle Zoo, the Seattle Aquarium, the Pacific Science Center and a sleepover at a junior high in Burlington — has helped a large number of students understand more about the world around them.
“I think the kids get a lot out of it,” Stetner said. “It’s really hands-on. They can experience some of these things instead of just reading about them in a textbook. They can get their hands in the water and touch some of those things that they never thought they’d be able to (touch).”
Of course, the trip has evolved some over the years. But Van Diest looks back on her experience with fondness.
“I know the school the kids stay at now in Burlington has been rebuilt, but it’s the same school I stayed at as well,” she said. “When I went two years ago with my older son, all the boys slept on one side of the gym and the girls were on the other side. When we went, the boys slept on the gym floor and the girls slept on a stage. We went to Rosario Beach, but I guess they don’t do that anymore because kids were falling on the rocks and getting hurt. I remember holding hermit crabs, too.”
Her mother also has positive memories.
“I do remember we all had a good time,” Stetner said. “There was lots to see and do. It’s kind of hard for me to recall (specifics), but I do remember how hard the gym floor was that we had to sleep on. I went because I remembered how I didn’t have the chance to do something like that myself (when I was that age), and I thought it was a real opportunity to be with my daughter and take in all of the things the class did.”
Neither Stetner or Van Diest thought at that time that the field trip would morph into one of Quincy’s most venerable institutions.
“Everybody was so excited to go that one time,” Stetner said. “There wasn’t much thought that there would be any more trips. I don’t know why (the field trip has evolved into such a tradition). The community support behind these kids for some of these projects is great.”
Van Diest said, “I’m shocked that with all of the regulations and red tape and government control now that they’re still able to do it.
“One of the teachers, when she came to the district and realized what this was, she was amazed at the enormity of the whole thing and the fact that we’re able to pull it off every year. We have to raise $17,000 this year. Two years ago when my older son went, we had to raise $20,000.”
The students raise funds for the trip by selling tickets to a spaghetti feed, which is the other half of the tradition.
This year’s feed will be held Friday, March 5, at Quincy High School from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The cost is $6 for adults and $4 for fourth-graders and younger. Tickets will be available at the door.
It’s all a lot of work to tie together, but most teachers, parents and students would probably tell you that it’s worth it in the end.
“When I went as a parent, I was amazed at the number of kids who hadn’t been to the other side of the mountains (before),” Van Diest said. “I remember a number of kids were enthralled to do things like go through a tunnel or see the Space Needle. My kids had been over there a lot of times, but I don’t think the majority of the kids had been exposed to things like that. And plus, there’s nothing like being in downtown Seattle during rush hour in the middle of traffic. That’s an experience all to itself.”
