Ruth Harrington connected a community, one meal at a time

When Ruth and Edward Harrington moved to Ellensburg in the fall of 1973, the first thing she heard was, “You know, the townspeople and the college people don’t mix.”

The couple had left San Jose, Calif., where she had friends from each group. Edward had taught at San Jose State College and was joining then-Central Washington State College’s faculty and administration. She wanted that same mix of people in her new home, so she took her love of cooking and her desire to help connect people and got to work.

She hosted her first coffee hour with 22 women.

Read more of this story in the Yakima Herald-Republic.