Enjoy these snapshots of articles written in past issues of the Nisqually Valley News from 45, 35, 25 and 15 years ago, respectively.
A Look Back at This Week, 45 Years Ago
• A trickle of water down the hill from Yelm’s new 150,000-gallon water tank caused concern among city leaders. A resident below the water tank indicated water was running from beneath the tank located off Baker Road.
• St. Margaret Mary Church, standing adjacent to the McKenna Elementary School, was purchased by the Yelm school board for $17,500. No plans were announced for the building.
• Mrs. Jayne Johnson’s second-grade class at McKenna Elementary School made a gold coffin with a mummy inside out of papier mache as they finished their study session about King Tut. After building the coffins and mummies, they buried their projects.
• John Thomas, senior scout in Yelm Troop 268, received the New World Conservation award established by the Boy Scouts of America. The national award recognizes achievement in environmental improvement, natural resource conservation and understanding world conservation problems.
A Look Back at This Week, 35 Years Ago
• Southworth Elementary School physical education teacher Wayne Christensen, also known as Mr. C., earned the 1988 Washington Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (WAHPERD) physical education elementary school teacher of the year award.
• Roy’s First Congregational Church celebrated its 100th anniversary. The church building was completed in 1890 at the cost of $1,150. As of 1988, the church’s structure was still the same as it was in 1890, and its likeness is featured on postcards sent from Roy.
• Yelm Community Schools adopted a wellness program for its staff. The program was built around four dimensions — exercise, stress control, nutrition, and health and safety awareness. Participation was voluntary, and the program was designed to help trim health-care costs and improve staff morale and productivity.
• A public health alert was declared by state and federal agencies closing shellfish harvesting in south Puget Sound from south of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to the southern tip of Harstene Island and across to Dopplemeyer Point due to the discovery of red tide.
A Look Back at This Week, 25 Years Ago
• Police Chief Glenn Dunnam apologized for the “honest mistake” that resulted in Yelm Police Department’s business number appearing in the state’s voters guide. The department’s number was published as a contact number for opponents of Initiative 692, the measure to legalize the medical use of marijuana.
• The Monarch Contemporary Art Center on Waldrick Road, southwest of Rainier, suffered a setback when one of its statues was destroyed by vandals. The limestone work, “A Homage to our Ancestors,” sculpted by Elsie Wood of Boulder, Colorado, was knocked over. A reward was offered for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators.
• Rainier’s Stephen Snider, 13, took the state title in the slow-forward competition at the inaugural Washington State Unicycle Championships, Oct. 3 and 4, 1998. He also took second place on the obstacle course. Snider began riding a unicycle at 6 years old.
• Yelm High School agriculture instructor Elaine Lewis was named the Region I Outstanding Vocational Agriculture Teacher of the Year by the National Association of Agriculture Educators. Lewis taught animal science, wildlife and homeshop.
A Look Back at This Week, 15 Years Ago
• Commissioner Steve Slater was officially censured by the Southeast Thurston Fire and EMS Board of Commissioners. Commissioner Kathleen Devin said, “I’ve had it up to here with what I perceive is Commissioner Slater’s disloyalty.” Slater was accused of being non-supportive of board decisions, among other reasons.
• Picketers who worked at United Food and Commercial Workers Union in Tacoma protested at the parking lot entrance of the Walmart supercenter in Yelm. Their message was that Walmart was below area standards, and their mission was to change and redirect spending to other stores to promote a higher wage standard.
• A Yelm man was arrested after a dinner with friends allegedly turned hostile. Joseph Aldridge, 22, was arrested on two counts of fourth-degree assault and one count of first-degree malicious mischief after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend and a friend, as well as shooting a handgun into the ground.
• The Nisqually Valley News took home 11 awards, including general excellence, at the annual Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspaper Contest. Of the 11 awards, five were in advertising, three in editorial, one in design and one in photography.
