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
• Official dedication of Yelm High School was held on Oct. 26, 1978. Tours of the new $6 million high school complex were held following official ceremonies of the new school.
• Yelm High School student Michael Prince was listed in “fair and improving” condition at St. Peter’s Hospital in Olympia following a motorcycle accident. Physicians were forced to remove his spleen and a kidney, and Prince also received numerous cuts and bruises.
• Stan Parker, freshman place kicker from Yelm, gained recognition at Mayville State College in Mayville, North Dakota. The former YHS kicker hit five field goals for his new team and tied a NAIA college record. His final kick tied the game with only 35 seconds left against Northern State College.
• Washington State University’s equitation drill team finished third in the intercollegiate competition at the fifth Champagne Classic horse show on the school’s campus. Yelm’s Lou Tasker was one of the individual class winners.
A Look Back at This Week, 35 Years Ago
• A horseback riding competition and a greased pig race were the featured games at the 1988 Apple Days in Rainier. Kathy De Weese was the overall winner of the most blue and red ribbons, and Rainier Middle School seventh grader Jason Turner won the greased pig race.
• Marion Nelson, president of the Yelm School Board of Directors, resigned her position following a board meeting. She informed the board of her decision and stated she had enjoyed her nine years on the board, but was now going to travel, paint and enjoy other activities.
• After living in Trinidad, England and New York state, Lorna Jones arrived in Yelm to start her own business, The Finishing Touch. Her business focused on renovated kitchens and bathrooms. Her husband, Dennis, a carpenter and cabinet-maker, was responsible for most of the carpentry.
• Eighth graders Mike McDade, Mike Dolajak and Don Freeman won the Metric 500 Drag Race held in Yelm Middle School’s lunch room. Their car was 7 inches long, made from wood and fueled by a carbon dioxide cartridge. Kept straight by fishing line, the car raced across the lunchroom at 43 mph.
A Look Back at This Week, 25 Years Ago
• Seven customers’ cars on the Quality Auto Repair lot in Yelm were broken into. Several expensive stereos, tools, a television, a Super Nintendo, a leather coat and a Walkman were taken. All seven vehicles sustained damage.
• The Department of Fish and Wildlife dumped 150 2- and 3-year-old female rainbow trout weighing between 2 and 6 pounds into Lake Lawrence in hopes of encouraging fishermen to throw back smaller, native fish in favor of the hatchery-raised fish.
• A brush fire that erupted on Canal Road in Yelm burned through more than 15 acres, impacting four property owners. According to fire officials, the fire was started unintentionally but spread to Bridge Road by erratic gusts of wind.
• The Yelm Community Schools Board of Directors voted unanimously to move Yelm High School’s graduation to Saint Martin’s College. Renting the space at the Lacey college cost the district $1,600, almost $1,000 less than the district had spent in the past.
A Look Back at This Week, 15 Years Ago
• Thurston County decided to eliminate the Blue Box recycling station at Rhoton Road, signifying that Yelm residents would no longer have a community recycling option. Because of budget cuts, county solid waste decided to drop the program from its 2009 budget and retrieve the boxes in January.
• As Rainier Chapel’s youth group ELIFE struggled to keep its participants, ELIFE leader Tom Warner said the problem lay with a disruptive group of teens who hung out in the park adjacent to the church during ELIFE activities. He said parents didn’t want to bring their children there because of those teens.
• Joy Burger opened inside the Yelm Shell gas station on Oct. 9, 2008. The restaurant, owned by Young Joo, took over the former Tacos Gaby location. Joo’s two employees were former cooks at the closed Arnold’s Country Inn.
• Remembering Aloud, a Yelm Timberland Library program for elders of the community, started its sharing of Yelm’s past and present through the stories of their younger years. Elders of the community were invited to share their life experiences at school, on the farm, with pets and more.
