Robert Redford: Hollywood icon's tie to WSU, fiery WA bus rescue
Robert Redford's connection to Washington State University
Aside from Redford?s legacy in the film industry, he prioritized environmental sustainability efforts that he brought to the Palouse region through his Institute for Resource Management program in the early 1980s.
Robert Redford leading a discussion at WSU (Via 1983 Chinook yearbook from WSU Libraries. )
PULLMAN, Wash. - Robert Redford, Hollywood star and environmentalist, died at 89 years old Wednesday, at his Sundance home in the mountains of Utah.
Aside from Redford’s legacy in the film industry, he prioritized environmental sustainability efforts that he brought to the Palouse region through his Institute for Resource Management program in the early 1980s.
The backstory:
Redford founded the Institute for Resource Management program in collaboration with graduate programs at Washington State University and the University of Idaho, with the hope of achieving a proper balance between environmental and industrial interests.
"I don't believe that proper decisions can be made from the radical position," Redford told the Lewiston Tribune in 1982. "Good decisions come from the moderate position."
Robert Redford at WSU with graduate students in his Institute for Resource Management Program (Via 1983 Chinook yearbook from WSU Libraries)
When he first announced that he wanted to locate the institute at WSU and UI, many people — particularly in Idaho — were suspicious of his motives, he told the Lewiston Tribune.
Dig deeper:
A number of young people did recognize its value, as the first class of Institute for Resource Management fellows was made up of 20 WSU and UI students, all whom were eager to learn from Redford's ideas.
The students would receive training in several fields to bring broader perspectives to their respective fields.
"In order to move forward, we've got to stop all the talking and the blaming and do something that's going to move toward achieving a balance. That's what I'm trying to do here."
Between seemingly endless wheat fields, Redford and 50 other passengers took a bus to Palouse Falls to visit an anthropologist and apply the elements of their program to the region.
After a coffee stop in Washtucna, their trip took a sharp turn. A damaged fuel line sparked a thick, oily smoke that billowed from the rear engine of the bus, forcing an immediate evacuation of the vehicle.
Luckily, the bus did not explode, but Redford and the rest of the bus passengers stood flustered, watching the bus burn.
The bus driver attempts to put out the rear engine fire on the way to Palouse Falls, WA. (Via the 1983 Chinook yearbook from WSU Libraries)
While the bus driver attempted to smother the fire with gravel and reporters took photos, Redford hopped into a blue Chevette and sped off to a nearby farmhouse for help.
Redford returned shortly with two large buckets of water, dousing the flaming bus before official help arrived.
The Chinook yearbook noted that Butch Cassidy, the Old West American train and bank robber, would have been "right proud" of the Sundance Kid.
Robert Redford puts out the bus fire from the rear engine. (Via the 1983 Chinook yearbook from WSU Libraries. )
"My comment is this is what cutbacks in education have brought us," Redford told reporters while on a van that picked up the stranded passengers to continue their journey to Palouse Falls.
Redford’s Institute for Resource Management program faced funding issues and closed after the 1982 cohort of students, but he continued to prioritize his environmental efforts throughout his life.
The Source: Information in this story came from WSU Libraries and archives from the Lewiston Tribune.
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