“Committed,” “selfless,” “determined,” and “humble” also tend to come to mind when people recount Ruth’s half-century of dedication to the CWU Scholarship Luncheon program, which has raised well over $1 million since its inception in 1973.

Ruth, 90, retired from her leadership role earlier this year, but not before leaving an indelible mark on the CWU community and countless families across Central Washington.

“She is truly amazing,” said longtime friend and Scholarship Luncheon participant Louise Wright. “She has a history like no other in this community, and we’re inspired by everything she has done over the years. It’s important for us to keep her legacy going.”

Louise and another Scholarship Luncheon veteran, Peggy O’Neil, were hand-picked by Ruth to help oversee the 30 current luncheon groups and 10 after-hours and weekend groups. Each of the groups will have a designated representative who will work alongside Peggy and Louise to make sure everything runs smoothly.

From September through June, Ruth’s successors will help maintain the membership lists, recruit new members, and—most importantly—collect dues and deliver them to the CWU Foundation office in Barge Hall at the end of every month.

After all, that’s what the CWU Scholarship Luncheon program is all about: bringing people together to raise money for young people to attend college.

“We just want to keep it going because Ruth has done so much for this community over the years,” Peggy said. “She has such a strong sense of community, and she believes in the importance of education. She also has a real knack for bringing people together, and that’s going to be the most difficult thing for us to replicate.”

While Louise and Peggy are planning to put in the work required to keep the program going, they know they won’t be able to match Ruth’s unbridled enthusiasm for the position.

“We aren’t taking over for Ruth,” said Louise, who first started attending the Scholarship Luncheons in 1984. “There’s no way anyone could ever replace her.”

Even though Ruth is no longer involved in organizing and coordinating the monthly gatherings, she still plans to check in from time to time. She may even jump in as an occasional substitute host. As her friends have come to understand, she’s not one to take a back seat.

“We tell Ruth to let it go, but she never will,” said Marianne King, another longtime member. “She will keep checking in because it’s what she loves to do.”

Added Ruth: “I don’t want to have lunch by myself every day, so I will be at the top of the sub list.”

How It Started

Ruth has hosted dozens of CWU Scholarship Luncheons—and attended hundreds more—since she started organizing them three years after moving to Ellensburg in 1970.

When her late husband, Edward Harrington, was hired as the vice president of academic affairs at CWU, they moved up from San Jose, California, with their four children.

Ruth noticed that the town felt very separate from the university—unlike San Jose—and she wanted to do something to bridge the gap.

“My original goal was to mix university people with townspeople,” she said. “For whatever reason, the college and the townspeople didn’t mix, and I felt like I could do something about it.”

Ruth began immersing herself in the CWU community, getting to know the faculty and staff and their spouses. She would also talk to people at church and at the supermarket, selling them on the idea of joining her new Ellensburg social club centered around raising money for college scholarships. 

It didn’t take long for her to attract a following, and the CWU Scholarship Luncheon program eventually grew to 100 groups of different shapes and sizes. Most, if not all, of them were orchestrated by Ruth herself.

“She would always try to put people in groups that they would fit in with because she wanted to help people find a community,” said Marianne, who moved to Ellensburg in 1976 and joined two long-standing groups shortly thereafter—both of which still meet to this day, albeit with a slightly different makeup.

While participation has dwindled in recent years due to an aging membership, a changing social landscape, and the pandemic, the people who are still involved remain very active.

The members are mostly women, but a number of men have also joined over the years as part of couples and singles groups.

“Some of the singles became lifelong friends and some even got married,” Ruth recalled. “I just loved to hear those stories.

Participants contribute $60 in annual dues and typically host one gathering per year at their homes. Most of the groups get together in Ellensburg, although some have occasionally sprouted up in Yakima, Cle Elum, and on the west side of the state. Some groups meet for coffee and dessert; others might host a potluck or have dinner at a restaurant.

As Ruth noted, there are no hard-and-fast rules.

“I love to cook and have people over to my house, but not everyone does,” she said. “The most important thing is getting people together. As long as people are having a good time with one another, I am happy.”

Peggy and Louise are hopeful that they can rekindle some of the interest from past years among the younger generations. They have started using modern technology like group texts and emails to stay in touch with the groups they are overseeing—a sharp departure from Ruth’s favored communication method of pen, paper, and a landline telephone.

“We are using a digital database to keep track of the different groups and group leaders,” said Peggy, who was recruited by Ruth in 1992. “I’m still a little old-fashioned; I like to have a printout of people’s names and addresses. But I will still send a text or use Google Maps. Ruth’s system was more like, ‘oh, it’s the yellow house on the corner.’” 

Lasting Legacy

When Ruth officially retired at the end of the 2023-24 academic year, CWU honored her with a community celebration in the SURC Ballroom. About 200 guests showed up to pay tribute to the matriarch of the Scholarship Luncheon program, whose fundraising efforts surpassed $1 million back in 2017.

The total has grown significantly since that time, but as Executive Director of the CWU Foundation Paul Elstone noted, what matters more is the number of students the program has helped over the past 50 years.

“At last count, the number of scholarships Ruth helped raise money for was around 1,200,” said Paul, who also serves as the vice president of University Advancement. “To be able to have a positive impact in the lives of so many students is an incredible achievement.”

Paul remembers the first time he met Ruth when he came to CWU in 2021. She just cut right to the chase.

“After some brief pleasantries, she said, ‘Tell me your wife’s name. We need to find a group for her,’” he recalled.

Angie Elstone joined a luncheon group shortly thereafter and has been involved ever since.

“One of the reasons Ruth has been so successful is that she is relentless about recruiting people,” Paul said. “In my 24 years of working in advancement, I have never met anyone like her. These scholarship groups have become an institution in this community, and she has created a truly unique legacy. I can’t imagine there will ever be another Ruth.”

Likewise, Ruth’s friends also recognize what she has meant to CWU and her neighbors across Central Washington. The one-time Ellensburg Volunteer of the Year never puts herself first; she’s always thinking about what she can do to help others.

“She’s extremely humble, and so giving of herself. That’s what makes her so special,” Louise said. “I don’t know how she did it. Raising four kids, volunteering all over town, and managing 100 groups at one time without a computer. We all look up to her so much.”

Peggy has always admired Ruth’s ability to remember everything about everyone. She never missed an opportunity to create lasting connections between people who may not have otherwise become acquainted.

“It was always amazing to me how she was able to bring so many people together who have similar interests,” she said. “Many of these groups have been together for a really long time, and it’s all because of Ruth.”

“She is a real treasure to this community,” Marianne added. 

What’s Next?

While not one to pat herself on the back, Ruth is keenly aware of the lasting impact she has had on the university and her community. 

She will forever be proud of what she accomplished with the CWU Scholarship Luncheon program, and her greatest hope is that the connections she helped facilitate will continue long after she is gone.

“I have built so many great relationships and touched so many lives over the years,” Ruth said. “We’ve been able to help high school students, college students, and single parents continue their educations, and that means a lot to me.”

She has confidence in Peggy and Louise to keep the program going, and she believes there could be some hidden opportunities to increase participation. She also recognizes that few people can match her passion for this kind of work, so no matter what direction the program goes, she will be happy—as long as it continues in some capacity.

“It’s a lot of work, which is probably why no one wanted to take over my job,” Ruth said with a laugh. “It takes some doing to keep people involved, but it’s so rewarding. I’m going to miss it because I did the job for so long. But I’m still going to be around.” 

Paul, from the CWU Foundation, concedes that few people could ever match Ruth’s enthusiasm or doggedness in the coordinator role. At the same time, they don’t have to.

If people in the CWU and Ellensburg communities are able to give just a fraction of the time and effort that Ruth has, new opportunities to support aspiring college students will continue to materialize.

“I don’t know what the Scholarship Luncheons will look like in the future, but the need for relationships and being together will always be there,” Paul said. “People crave that sense of community, regardless of generation, and we need to find new ways to engage with them.”

With the help of people like Peggy, Louise, and Marianne, a new era is underway for the program. And while it will never be the same as it was under Ruth’s expert guidance, Paul remains optimistic due to the strong foundation Ruth created.

“Things are going to change, and I’m excited to see what Peggy and Louise do with the program,” he said. “Our focus will remain on supporting our students, and those efforts have always relied heavily on volunteer support. Volunteers are so critical to what we are doing here, and we look forward to building new relationships in the community so those partnerships can continue.”