“The Head of Auto Row” is a documented tagline used by one of the earliest (and largest) dealerships in Walla Walla and refers to the corner of Alder Street & Spokane Street. Around that corner, within a block or two, was the early central location for several dealerships.

February’s speaker, R.L. McFarland, cites Joe Drazen’s site as critical to the research of the early history of automotive dealerships — Drazen’s archive of everything over decades offers little to no context for each photo. So, the mystery of “sleuthing out the context” emerges. That is where “Up To The Times” and the “Reverse Directories” have proved invaluable.

R.L. has taken a journey to stitch together and create/provide context, allowing the viewing audience to better connect with what’s in the photos and then pull up bits and pieces of memories of their own to add to the story.