Whiteside Theatre celebrates a century of haven and creativity Five plants even a college student could grow

By OLYVIA NEAL Beaver’s Digest Contributor

For many students, college means moving away from home for the first time, leaving friends and family behind, and starting life mostly on your own. These things combined often cause many students to experience a low point in their mental health. As such, many college students can benefit from finding ways to manage stress, depression, and other common mental health issues.

Outdoorsy people may be able to attest that being out in nature can help with their stress levels and emotional state, but, with a busy schedule, perhaps the most practical solution is to bring nature to you. Houseplants are an easy way to bring some life into a space that can otherwise be depressing, and below are some of the best plants to fit into a student’s lifestyle.

ZZ PLANT

The ZZ plant is a low-maintenance plant with very low light requirements and pots easily, making it an excellent choice for a busy lifestyle and for brightening up dark spaces. This plant is often seen bringing life to office spaces, and has an average water requirement, meaning that it doesn’t need to be worried about watering more than the average plant.

SNAKE PLANT

By GABRIELLA GRINBERGS

Beaver’s Digest Contributor

From vaudeville to silent films, through renovations and ghosts, fires and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Whiteside Theatre remains a Corvallis gem and now celebrates a full century of unique entertainment. To thank its patrons and the community, the non-profit now offers some new weekly deals for everyone to enjoy.

Over the past 100 years, the Whiteside Theatre has been host to thousands of different types of performances, which has played an intimate role in the Corvallis community and continues to prove itself to be a vital part of the town today.

According to their website, Whiteside opened the curtains for its first performance on Nov. 9, 1922: a showing of “The Old Homestead” accompanied with music by organist Lillian McElroy, who is rumored to still haunt the building to this day.

Named after the initial owners of the business, the Whiteside Theatre originally started out as a vaudeville theater, a type of comedic performance interwoven with poetry and song, with seating for up to 1200 showgoers. This performance era, however, grinded to a halt after the theater burned down in 1927, forcing the Whiteside brothers to temporarily close their doors for repairs and reopen as silent film rose into public favor.

Through the decades, the business fell to different owners and movie companies, most recently Regal Cinemas, until it was almost forced to close due to the poor condition of the building. In 2009, however, a group of local historic preservationists got Whiteside a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

Almost five years ago, Jennifer Waters, Oregon State University graduate in communications, was hired to transform Whiteside Theatre from a volunteer run organization to a running, multifunctioning entertainment theater.

“What I like most about [this job] is working with local programming and artists,” said Waters. “I lived in Portland for a short time and it’s been nice bringing [friends] down to perform and show them my beautiful theater.”

Waters also explained her experience keeping Whiteside open during the COVID-19 pandemic, expressing how quarantine was actually a “blessing in disguise” for the non-profit as this “forced pause” allowed her and her staff to refocus their goals.

“We depended on people coming through from Salem and Eugene,” Waters explained. “So since people weren’t traveling we had to find ways to bring in the local community.”

One particular way Whiteside’s meaningful community ties show is through a collaboration with the Daytime Drop-in Center, a community-based resource center dedicated to meeting the basic needs of locals, by offering free movies and concessions every Tuesday. This initiative began in 2021 as a way to offer those without homes an escape from the boiling summer heat and frigid winter cold. Some restaurants based in downtown Corvallis, like Squirrel’s Tavern, have occasionally joined in to offer meals for all to take advantage of this act of kindness.

“We’re hoping to get some funding this year from the Benton Community Foundation to expand the scope of the program and have more food available,” said Waters. “It's nice being able to give back to the community.”

Additionally, during the pandemic, Whiteside Theatre offered a $6 movie deal, before fees, every Wednesday.

To celebrate their hundredth year open they’ve chosen to play the highest grossing movie of each decade every month. Next month, they will be focusing on the 1960s. If successful, the programming will be expanded to weekend showings as well. They will also be playing the three original Star Wars films next month too.

This theme of nostalgia proves to be key for the success of this long-standing Corvallis staple and has brought together a flourishing community over many, everevolving decades.

“Entertainment is different now. It’s more accessible and [people] can watch something on [their] phones. So, we have to try and figure out how to bring people in here, how to stay relevant,” said Waters. “What we have found is that link to the community and its nostalgia is what brings people back in here.”

Attracting college students is also an ongoing challenge for Whiteside. The solution lies in the theater’s free-reign authority over what goes on the stage and under the spotlight.

“We try to do fun, irreverent [performances], like Drag and Burlesque, and cater to letting people have that experience in a big college town that provides crazy entertainment” Walters said. “We play it pretty loose and free over here.”

It’s this very openness and creative control that allows for Whiteside to support artists of color and queer artists, Waters mentioned, as a way to make members of those communities within Corvallis feel welcomed and accepted.

“It’s kind of a no holds bar kind of thing, which is good,” Waters adds. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

With some having their first jobs, first kisses, first dates and even meeting their now significant others, the theater holds century-old memories for an entire town and continues to offer safety and entertainment for everyone willing to take a seat and enjoy the show.

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CAT'S CHRONICLES: MONOTONY

BY CAT SMITH

Much like the ZZ plant, the snake plant needs little light and care, but it has a more distinctive appearance, with its striped foliage. Its water requirements are also fairly standard, so owners of both can water them on the same schedule with little worry.

ENGLISH IVY

Should you have a high up shelf space in need of some life, English ivy may be an excellent option. It has a preference for indirect light, although it can survive just fine in partial shade or full sunlight. Its temperature needs are quite similar to Oregon’s natural climate, preferring moderate, cool temperatures.

PEACE LILY

If you like flowers, peace lilies are an excellent option that requires little care. While they need lots of water, they can quickly bounce back from wilting should they be forgotten for a watering cycle. Their blooms are lovely white flowers, and they do best in indirect sunlight. However, like all lilies, consuming these flowers is toxic, so it is wise to keep them away from pets or young children.

BLEEDING HEART

The final plant on this list is an Oregon native; the bleeding heart. These flowers thrive in Oregon weather, so standard Pacific Northwest temperatures, 55 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, are ideal for the flower. It does require a large pot and a decent amount of water, about one inch per week. They are, like peace lilies, toxic to consume, so they are best kept out of reach of pets or children, perhaps on a high shelf or on top of a cabinet, bookshelf, or other surface that is difficult for animals to reach if they are present in the household.

HAM CREEK: HOGG

BY HELEN WHITE