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 cold, driving rain turned to a wind-whipped snow storm that dumped 10 to 13 inches of snow in the Yelm area. Power lines in the area were dropped from drooping branches heavy with wet snow.
• Yelm Telephone Company users were unable to make long-distance telephone calls. The problems were not directly related to the snow storm, but the company’s main problem was the number of people attempting to make long-distance calls.
• A total of 36 tires were slashed in Yelm between 4 and 6 p.m. on Nov. 15, 1978. The small puncture wound, resembling a hunting knife, was punched in the sides of tires on vehicles parked behind the Chief Tavern and near Yelm Memorial Clinic. Some cars received puncture wounds on all four tires.
• Marshal Rex Purdy resigned as chief of the three-member Yelm Police Department, effective Jan. 1, 1979. Purdy informed Mayor Lora B. Coates that he was stepping down on advice from his physician.
A Look Back at This Week, 35 Years Ago
• Yelm FFA concluded the four-day National FFA Convention in Kansas City among the nation’s leaders in terms of individual and chapter achievements. Jay Wilson, representing the Western region and the Yelm FFA chapter, won the dairy production proficiency award.
• Charlie and Virginia Ball opened the Roy Deli-Market on Nov. 11, 1988. Located at 404 McNaught (Highway 507), the store had a full deli, a bakery, groceries, video and VCR rentals, hardware and gas.
• The “Celebrate Yelm” open house at Yelm City Hall, part of the statewide centennial kickoff celebration, was deemed a success. Approximately 75 people attended the week-long exhibit that was hosted by the Yelm Centennial Committee and the Yelm Prairie Historical Society.
• The Yelm High School volleyball team finished its season with losses to Olympia, Chief Sealth and Sedro Wooley at the state tournament in Seattle on Nov. 19, 1988.
A Look Back at This Week, 25 Years Ago
• In an effort to help educate people about proper tree pruning techniques, Yelm Tree Board Advisory member and professional arborist Rick Roberts taught a series of three pruning classes, which ended Nov. 18, 1998. A total of 14 residents took advantage of the classes.
• A Florida man, David Scott Sheldon, accused of kidnapping two people at a Nisqually gas station after leading police on a high-speed chase down Interstate 5, faced hundreds of years in prison if he was convicted on charges in Washington and Florida.
• Minnie Rae Carpenter, 81, survived three cold and rainy nights inside her car, which was lodged up an embankment off 109th Avenue and Clark Road. Sharon Spivey noticed Carpenter driving down Clark Road, and after finding out she was missing, she went searching for the elderly woman.
• For 90 years of family commitment to quality and integrity, Wilcox Family Farms in Roy was awarded the prestigious Heritage award at the fifth annual Best in the Northwest Family Business Awards at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue on Nov. 18, 1998.
A Look Back at This Week, 15 Years Ago
• Accused of stealing more than $1 million from the Roy Fire Department, former secretary Jerianne Jacobs pleaded innocent in Pierce County Superior Court. She was charged with first-degree theft and money laundering after a 2006 audit discovered more than $800,000 in fraudulent warrants that were written between 1993 and 2006.
• A Yelm man was tracked by police dogs and arrested in Centralia after police found him in a stolen car. Jeffery P. Anderson, 22, was booked into the Lewis County Jail on a charge of possession of stolen property.
• Yelm police used a taser to apprehend a man who allegedly assaulted a bar owner and tried to flee. Casey Michaelson, 25, was arrested on suspicion of fourth-degree assault, possession of a dangerous weapon and obstructing a law enforcement officer.
• Ridgeline Middle School student Kelcey Sanders’ poster advanced in the annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest. With the theme of the contest being “peace begins with me,” Sanders’ poster was a pastel drawing of a dove being released to the world. She was awarded $100 and the chance to win at the district competition.
