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SPOKANE, Wash. -- One day long ago a piano tumbled from the roof of DeSmet Hall at Gonzaga College.
"Some people say it was Bing, some people say it wasn't Bing. Who knows the real story? But it's kind of a fun thing to tell," says Larissa Hebel, one of the managers of the Crosby Student Center and among the keepers of a collection of memorabilia from the most distinguished alumnus never to graduate from this Jesuit school.
In summer, tourists trickle in. There is the occasional busload. Students, who walk past the small room where Bing's photos, records and a copy of his Oscar are enshrined, wonder what all the fuss is about.
"The students come in here because it's quiet and they like it and then they check it out, but they don't come in here specifically because they want to know about Bing Crosby," Ms. Hebel said.
"Right now they're a little bit disconnected from Bing's age and his era. But for sure when they have their families come and their parents and grandparents -- they know who Bing Crosby is."
Each year 2,500 visitors sign the guest book in the Crosbyana Room, the place in the Crosby Student Center at Gonzaga University that serves as the Bing Crosby museum. The room draws people from all 50 states and 20 countries. Entrance is free and the room is open during the same operating hours as the student center.
The center is on the Gonzaga University campus, 502 E. Boone Ave., Spokane, WA 99258-0102. 1-509-313-3847 or 1-509-313-3822. To find it on the Web, go to www.gonzaga.edu and type in Crosby Museum in the search window.
Ms. Hebel, who was born two years after Crosby died of a heart attack, knew of him because on vacation trips her grandparents would play his songs.
"And," she laughs, "I know he sang with David Bowie."
Years later, maybe after a few viewings of "White Christmas," or a revival of the road movies, they sometimes wander back for a gander.
Born in Tacoma in 1903, Crosby was raised in Spokane, and his childhood home, a cozy bungalow, stood just beyond what was then the property of Gonzaga College. Gonzaga is now a university, and its campus has spread. The Crosby house is now the alumni hall.
"He was a treasure in his time," says Lynn Gurley, a retired Spokane teacher who works at the school. He never met Crosby, but chauffeured his widow on visits to Gonzaga.
Mr. Gurley took a visitor to room 244 in College Hall to look at the windowsill.
In his brief career there, the crooner who would leave his mark on the stage and screen, left his mark on a classroom windowsill.
"This is what you're looking for," said Mr. Gurley, brushing dust from a sheet of plastic put there to protect the carving: "Harry Bing Crosby" is hard to see, but it's there.
The Crosby imprint is a little fainter 33 years after his death. For years, he held the record for the largest, single record sale with "White Christmas." He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the good-hearted Father O'Malley in "Going My Way." He dominated radio audiences, sold albums worldwide, and a scene from his final Christmas special -- filmed a month before he dropped dead on the 17th hole at a golf course in Madrid -- has become an Internet meme. In that scene he sings a duet with David Bowie. Neither man seems entirely clear who the other is.
PG MapThe nickname Bing is from his youth. Growing up in Spokane, his favorite comic strip was called the Bingville Bugle. One of its main characters was a jug-eared sprite named Bingo. A friend noticed the similarity with Crosby and a childhood nickname stuck.
After graduating from Gonzaga High School in 1919, Crosby enrolled at the campus directly behind his house. He spent two or three years there. Some say it was the piano incident -- a long-standing campus legend that no one seems clear about -- that hastened his departure. Too, Crosby had learned the drums, joined the dramatic society and begun to sing. Many also figure he left to begin his career.
In 1957, Crosby raised money for a new library on campus, attended its dedication and was feted as a benefactor and given an honorary degree.
Years later, when a new library went up, the Crosby Library became the Crosby Student Center. One room, just off the entrance, houses the Crosby Collection -- an amalgam of gold records, movie posters and gadgets Bing endorsed in his celebrity heyday.
Glass cases display a Bing Crosby coloring book, empty cartons from Bing Crosby Ice Cream, the Bing Crosby "Trip-Trap" better mousetrap, an exercise device, a copy of his biography "Call Me Lucky," and a board game based on the book. There's a stereo 3-D camera "Test Approved [by the] Crosby Research Institute." There's a Bing Crosby horse race board game. The most recent additions date to 2000, when someone was making Bing Crosby Christmas ornaments.
Near the entrance stands a life-sized Bing Crosby cutout, endorsing Carrier Air Conditioners.
Every year, too, students get a glimpse of Der Bingle in his glory, first when "White Christmas" surfaces, as it will, on TVs around the country come Christmastime.
Then there are the famous "road" movies with sidekick Bob Hope.
The Crosby Collection has the full set and screens them every school year for students.
"They like it for its historical meaning," said Ms. Hebel, "but I don't think they truly understand what a big star he was."
Dennis Roddy can be reached at 412-263-1965 or droddy@post-gazette.com.
Critics Andrew Druckenbrod and Scott Mervis talk about music on "The Beat," available exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
