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
• The Yelm Education Association and the administration negotiators reached a tentative agreement on a contract for the year following a series of sessions during the summer. The contract included a fringe benefit increase of $72 and basic salary starting at $11,050 with a 7% increase.
• Dan Riebli was formally elected and installed as the first president of the newly formed Yelm Prairie Kiwanis Club. A total of 14 members were present for the club’s first meeting.
• Carlene Horsak, 17, of Yelm, won the state championship in the 1978 horse achievement project at the State 4-H Fair, held in conjunction with the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup. Horsak won a trip to the National 4-H Congress in Chicago, where she will compete to win one of six $1,000 scholarships.
• Rainier residents shared their anger at the City Council meeting at the actions of two police reserves in arresting two Rainier residents. While stories differed on what happened, it was the method used in making the arrest and the amount of force that seemed to cause the greatest concern.
A Look Back at This Week, 35 Years Ago
• Stan Choate, a sixth-grade student at Yelm Middle School, wrote a letter to the Nisqually Valley News expressing concern about “livestock polluting our waters with their wastes.” Choate suggested that livestock owners build fences around rivers and streams that livestock are around and the government pay for half of the cost of fencing.
• A man living in Scenic Shores in the Yelm area reported a saddle had been taken from property on Vail Loop Road where his horses are boarded. The saddle, worth approximately $125, was taken from a feed shed that was unsecured.
• Walker Wrichman took home the first-place trophy in McKenna Bait and Tackle’s catfish tournament with a fish weighing 1 pound, 7 ounces. Wrichman also won $30 in merchandise.
• A Yelm resident was struck in the forearm by a .22 caliber bullet fired through a window in his mobile home. After an investigation by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, it was determined that a 14-year-old youth and a friend had been shooting rifles near the home.
A Look Back at This Week, 25 Years Ago
• Yelm resident Mike Wiggins was still searching for his peach-faced conure named Petie, who had been missing since Sept. 1, 1998. Petie flew off Wiggins’ shoulder in front of Big Wheel Auto Parts on Yelm Avenue East.
• A 31-day dry spell in Yelm came to an end on Sept. 17 when it rained for the first time since Aug. 16. Prior to that .07-inch sprinkling, the area hadn’t received a rain shower equivalent to .1 inch since late June.
• Gordon MacCracken, local news editor of “The Chronicle” in Centralia, recapped a national survey, conducted for the National Constitution Center, of 600 teenagers. The survey found that only 59% of teens know who the Three Stooges are and that only 2% of teens know James Madison is the father of the Constitution.
• The Yelm High School Agriculture program was named the “Outstanding Agriculture Program” in the state of Washington at the Washington Vocational Agriculture Teacher’s Association conference in Tacoma.
A Look Back at This Week, 15 Years Ago
• The City of Rainier signed settlement papers in a lawsuit against former Rainier resident Dan Moss. The lawsuit was a result of a long battle to get Moss to clean up his property in Tipsoo Loops. The property once had more than 140 vehicles on it.
• Bullfrogs and Butterflies opened its doors in Yelm with the goal of providing inexpensive children’s clothes and accessories to its customers. Co-owners Danielle Gonzalez and Sarina Hoffman opened their shop just weeks after discussing going into business together.
• Yelm resident Linda Witt wrote a letter to the Ellen DeGeneres Show asking that Chris Anderson, known as the Singing Busboy of Eatonville, be a guest. Anderson, who worked at Jebinos in Eatonville, sang the songs of Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darrin and Michael Buble.
• The Yelm football team fell short in a shootout against Interlake by a score of 53-48. The Tornados rallied from down three touchdowns, but after junior quarterback Jordan Cameron told team members that they should play like “the new Yelm” and not like “the old Yelm,” they nearly pulled off the comeback.
