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
- Rainier Mayor Jerry Bergman hired his third law officer, John Macdonald, 34, Tenino, a former Tumwater patrolman. Macdonald replaced John Edward Grady, who was released after three days on the job following an exposé of past charges by a former employer.
- The Thurston County Parks and Recreation Department announced a list of summer activities, including a playground program for youth ages 8 to 14, tennis lessons, dance programs, tumbling and gymnastics, soccer league and more.
- For the first time in Yelm High School’s history, admission for graduation was by ticket only as limited seating was available to observe the 108 graduates.
- The first annual arm-wrestling tournament was held in the Yelm High School Field House and included students from Yelm, Rainier, Tumwater and Timberline. Don Mann of Timberline was the overall winner as he downed Mike Werner of Yelm in the final event in 5 seconds.
A Look Back at This Week,
35 Years Ago
- Plans for a Christmas present to the Yelm School District moved a step closer with the awarding of a bid for the new stadium. The Yelm school board gathered in a special meeting and awarded the bid to Sunset Pacific General Contractors of Tacoma. The bid amount was $1,211,800 for the 1,800-seat facility.
- Dolores Cloran was the guest of honor at a special retirement ceremony in Yelm municipal courtroom. Cloran retired after 10 years as the official record keeper for the Yelm court. She was presented with a typewriter by Judge Tom Huff.
- Barrie Wilcox was named Yelm Lions Club “Lion of the Year” on June 5, 1989, during the regular meeting of the club. Wilcox received a special plaque from Al Edwards, club president, for heading the club’s 50th anniversary celebration and other activities during the year.
- Carrie McSorley, 18, Rochester, received numerous bruises, abrasions and laceration near the kidney area when she was trapped beneath a following car after tumbling from the rear of a pickup in Nisqually Pines.
A Look Back at This Week,
25 Years Ago
- The City of Yelm received a $75,000 planning grant from the state Department of Ecology to study new solutions for the potential flooding of Yelm Creek.
- A team of state clean-up specialists descended on Yelm to dismantle a methamphetamine lab found in a ramshackle home off state Route 507. Two arrests were made in connection with the case. The bust came after an anonymous caller reported a person with possible outstanding arrest warrants was near a trailer in which the suspected meth lab was later found.
- Thanks to the writing skills of his 12-year-old son, Logan, Yelm’s JW Foster was set to rake in the prizes for winning one of three grand prizes in Family Handyman magazine’s “Why my Dad should be Yardman of the Year” essay contest. Potential prizes included a 20 horsepower riding mower and an array of other gardening and yard care tools and products.
- Life-long Rainier resident Harry Snider filed a lawsuit against the town in Thurston County Superior Court. In his suit, filed June 2, 1999, Snider alleged infliction of emotional distress, defamation, negligence, abuse of power by town officials and malicious prosecution.
A Look Back at This Week,
15 Years Ago
- The body of missing Yelm girl Kylie Ellis was found among debris swept from a canal at the Centralia City Light facility just outside Yelm city limits. Ellis was 12 years old when she went missing on Dec. 1, 2008, after not returning home from school.
- The body of a missing Fort Lewis soldier was pulled from the Nisqually River about two miles from where he went missing on May 17, 2009, after a rafting accident. Private First Class Robert Lang Wheatley, 23, was one of 10 people rafting on the river when one of the rafts struck a log and he fell into the water.
- The Yelm area saw an increase in burglaries, which may have been linked, police said. Crimes included the attempted entry of five RVs, theft of 35 used tires from behind Walt’s Tire Factory and more.
- Roy resident JT Wilcox climbed Mount Rainier on May 31, 2009. Once at the top, he displayed the Wilcox Family Farms banner, with the help of business partner Bill Vipond. “I carried the Wilcox Farms 100th anniversary banner with a ton of respect for my father who summited 50 years ago,” Wilcox said.
