Off Beat: Legacy of teacher, lawmaker bridges historical eras

Ella Wintler is one of those remarkable people whose life is a bridge between historical eras, although that’s not why her portrait will get a downtown unveiling in a month or so.

Wintler’s mother arrived here in 1878, after driving a span of mules from Missouri to Vancouver. Wintler died in 1975, but one of her legacies — the lives she influenced during a long teaching career at Vancouver High School –is still a part of the community. Some members of Vancouver’s Class of 1944 meet for lunch once a month.

Her influence on those students and the 10 terms Wintler served in the state House of Representatives made her a worthy subject for a public art project. Hilarie Couture is painting the portraits of 40 local women — past and present — who have made Clark County what it is today. The portraits will be unveiled during a May 6 event at Boomerang, 808 Main St.

Wintler’s bridge between eras wasn’t just a function of her 90-year lifespan. A lot happened between 1885 and 1975. After the U.S. entered World War II, a former student said, Wintler would explain the significance of events in places they’d never heard of.

Wintler’s tenure in Olympia took some interesting turns, as well, according to her biography on the state Legislature’s website: A staunch Republican, “Wintler began her service in the still turbulent years of the late Depression … and several legislators were reputed Communists.”

In 1943, she was given a surprise appointment to the Military Affairs Committee by Speaker Ed Reilly, the biography continued. “I told him I don’t know much about military affairs, but I do love a parade. But I didn’t think that should qualify me for that committee!” The Speaker replied that he had given her that assignment because he trusted her to vote against the Communists who were on the committee. She continued to serve on that committee for many years.

Off Beat lets members of The Columbian news team step back from our newspaper beats to write the story behind the story, fill in the story or just tell a story.