Think of the number of musical notes that have been played here now. Think of the force of the woodwind and brass players; gospel, jazz and blues singers; all blowing and singing, breathing in and out. Imagine the number of broken strings, the number of guitar picks lost in the cracks of the wooden floorboards. Consider the slow wearing of the porch boards as the musicians have slapped them with their soles, keeping time while jamming. Think of the number of strokes and keys that have struck the canvases and the pure cotton of letterpress paper. Typewriters, and keypads too, making their mark, using their power, for five entire decades.

Think of this as you enter the fort for a performance or workshop this 50th year – the energy and power that has been instilled into that once deserted landscape with unmowed fields of grass. Think of the force of artistic intention accumulating like a kind of compound interest. Give Centrum a couple more years, and the organization can say they’ve been in existence longer than Fort Worden served as a U.S. Army base, and the balance of purpose from soldiers to students will have tipped over to the other side.