‘100 Years of Experience:’ Dynamic Duo Help Build Centralia College

Posted

Two community members instrumental in the development of Centralia College prolonged their retirements to finish one last building on the campus, the TransAlta Student Commons.

Gil Elder, director of maintenance and construction projects at the college, and Ed Watterson, superintendent of the TransAlta Student Commons building, have worked on the majority of the buildings on campus. 

Steve Ward, vice president of administration and finance at the college, said the TransAlta Student Commons is “the phoenix of their careers,” saying both men could have retired years ago but decided to see the building through. 

“Between the two of them, they have 100 years of experience on the campus,” he said. 

 

Watterson resides in Chehalis on a hilltop that overlooks the house he was born in. According to his brother Bill, Watterson, around 1956 started working with Schwiesow Construction, a family company. Watterson said he left the area for 20 years to work in Puyallup and came back in 1979 to work in construction locally. He worked on the Adna schools, the Mormon church in Chehalis and also remodeled Edison Elementary.

His passion for construction has yet to fade away. 

“I’m only 80,” he said. “I retired for six or seven years and came back to do this.”

When asked if he still plans to retire after the TransAlta Student Commons is completed, he said he has at least one more project he wants to get done. Watterson will be working on the new STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — wing at W.F. West High School. The groundbreaking ceremony for the project is scheduled for Friday.

A 1954 graduate of Centralia High School, Watterson spent a year at Centralia College before entering into the construction field full time.

“I decided I could make more money working than going to school,” he said.

His brother Bill said the thing that sets Watterson apart is his productivity.

“Ed just has a tremendous capacity for work,” Bill said. “The last two projects that he has done at Centralia College, for projects of a similar size, we would have at least two people in the office helping. On TransAlta, he had one helper, but the science building he did the field office requirements by himself.”

Watterson’s brother Jim is also in construction.

“I tell people that the most im-portant education I got was the five years I worked part time for him while going to college,” Jim said. “He has an amazing ability to recognize things that will be issues and to solve problems.”

Bill said although his brother Ed is old school, he is also innovative.



Watterson Court at the college is named after his family.

 

Elder graduated from W.F. West High School and then went to Centralia College in 1966. Afterward, he worked for Boeing Aircraft, went into the service, and then began working at the college in 1973.

He taught several classes and worked in the radio-TV department, before making his way to the title of director of maintenance and construction projects. 

He has worked on every new building and remodel at the college since the early ’70s. 

Some of his favorite buildings include the Corbet Theatre and the Walton Science Center. He looks forward to seeing the TransAlta Student Commons building completed and plans to retire afterward.

“It’s a nice building,” he said. “It really does serve the students and it all starts there. You have to have a nice place but they won’t come unless you provide the services the students need to be able to succeed.” 

His wife Kathy said he is a very laid-back person who loves electronics and has a great sense of humor. The couple has been married for almost 40 years. 

 

Elder and Watterson’s partnership has spanned several decades, and both of the men had nothing but positive things to say about one another.

“Ed is a remarkable man,” Elder said. “He’s hard to keep up with now… he loves what he does and is very well respected by his crew.”

Watterson had similar remarks about Elder.

“Gil, he’s just a super guy,” Watterson said.

Both of the men shy away from taking too much recognition and said it takes a team to complete the projects. That’s one of the reasons they are so well respected.

“They are pretty reserved,” Ward said “That’s one of the things that makes them so special is they don’t talk about what they do, they just do it. And I’ve been lucky to work with both of these guys throughout the timeframe.”