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As human beings, we look for common experiences and want to share our experiences—that’s what writing is all about. You tell someone a story and they try to relate that to their own lives—there's a communal experience. We're trying to puzzle out the meaning of the world around us—that’s what the humanities is all about.

 Garth Stein
Author of The Art of Racing in the Rain, a New York Times bestseller
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2010 Award Recipient Dick Watts

Humanities Washington has awarded Richard ”Dick“ Watts, Chair of the Roslyn Cemetery Commission, the 2010 Humanities Washington Award celebrating achievement in the public humanities. Watts received the award for his work to restore, protect, and promote the importance of Roslyn's historic cemeteries.

Humanities Washington Honors Northeast Washington Leaders

Individual Achievement

Dick Watts

Roslyn/Sammamish

2010 HWA Recipient Dick WattsHumanities Washington has awarded Richard ”Dick“ Watts, Chair of the Roslyn Cemetery Commission, the 2010 Humanities Washington Award celebrating achievement in the public humanities. Watts received the award for his work to restore, protect, and promote the importance of Roslyn's historic cemeteries.

”The Roslyn cemeteries contain 26 separate cemeteries, most representing distinct nationalities and ethnic groups,“ Watts said. ”At one time, Roslyn is said to have been the most international community in Washington. It is the cemeteries—and the hundreds of people returning on Memorial Day and All Souls Day to recognize their ancestry, the Lithuanians, Croatians, Italians and others celebrating their special ethnic heritage days—that bring this legacy alive.“

Roslyn's cemeteries are a visible reminder of the diverse mix of settlers who made the town a thriving community after coal was discovered in 1886. As the mines tapped out by the mid-1900s, the cemeteries became a forgotten treasure. Watts, who has spent countless hours taking care of the cemeteries' grounds (and rallied a core of volunteers to do the same), has inspired a renewed community commitment to the cemeteries by developing a five-year plan to protect the historic sites.

”By preserving the past that lies in these cemeteries, we preserve important reminders of Washington's history so that future generations have a way to learn and look with pride at those who came before them,“ Watts said.

The Humanities Washington Award is given annually to an individual or organization who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in the humanities. The award is given each year in memory of Heather C. Frank of Yakima who was a dedicated and articulate supporter of the humanities during her lifetime.

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