Take a trip through our area’s rich history for May 22

Enjoy these snapshots of articles written in past issues of the Nisqually Valley News from 45, 35, 25 and 15 years ago.

A look back at this week, 45 years ago
• Mount St. Helens erupted with a roar Sunday morning at about 8:30 a.m. Steam, fine ash and other debris were hurled into the air for a distance of 10 miles. At least nine people lost their lives after the Toutle River overflowed from mud streaming down the mountain.
• The Yelm High School concert band continued to prepare for its six-community spring tour to Canada. Band members were to stay in the homes of band students in the towns they visited.
• Prisoners at the Yelm Police Department jail received a donation of Bibles. Gail R. Jones presented the Bibles from Gideons International in Olympia to Officer John Cavin. The Bibles were placed in the two cells of the Yelm lockup.
• Charlie Flowers, the Roy resident who suffered injury after being pinned between his tractor and the front loader, finally returned home from the hospital last Wednesday. He was still sore and in pain.

A look back at this week, 35 years ago
• About 15 horse-riding bandits stopped the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad in Rainier Saturday. Rainier resident Neil Burnham was taken from the train and robbed. The goof was organized by local residents to spice up the steam train’s usual stop in town for its water fill-up.
• The Yelm High School FFA chapter was recognized as the top chapter in Washington at the 60th state FFA convention May 18-20. The chapter took home first place honors, received a gold emblem award and was set to represent the state of Washington at the national FFA convention in Kansas City, Missouri, in November.
• Thurston County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Williams arrested two escaped inmates Saturday near Yelm. John Allen Carter, 31, and Wallace Krahn, 35, were apprehended on Highway 507 near Creek Street at 7:30 p.m. Neither had weapons nor attempted to run. The inmates had escaped from McNeil Island by boat.
• In a letter to the editor, John B. Sheppard said that the present relationship between the Israelis and Palestinians was destroying both peoples. Sheppard went on to say that a holocaust was happening in Palestine at that very moment while the American people looked away.

A look back at this week, 25 years ago
• Michael Dekker, Rainier High School’s valedictorian, received St. Martin’s College’s top scholarship. Valued at $59,000, the scholarship covered 100 percent of tuition for eight semesters.
• The developer of a proposed neighborhood next to Yelm’s Huntington Green community said his 13 new homes would be fancy enough for neighbors. The developer, Dick Boness, said that the previous worry about potential mobile homes was premature — and that the 13 lots were slated for wood-frame houses.
• Marcel Montemayor, 17, was following his friend, Joseph Kraut, Jr., a senior at Yelm High School, when he saw Kraut’s Dodge Shadow bounce wildly on a bank of potholes and disappear over the edge of the Centralia Power and Light canal. Kraut’s passenger, Sean R. Conley, managed to escape before the car sank. Kraut, who had been knocked unconscious, died in the car.
• Yelm High School’s best baseball season in years came to an end in the first round of the 3A state tournament against Blanchet. The Tornados lost by a final of 3-2.

A look back at this week, 15 years ago
• A Fort Lewis soldier from Yelm was found dead Friday evening near the Deschutes River. Michael Kurtz, 52, was reported missing by his wife on May 13 after Kurtz had been gone 24 hours. The wife had reportedly come home to find her husband’s keys at the house and all of the doors locked. His wedding ring was on the nightstand.
• Yelm-based rock band Kung Fu Kangaroo advanced to a national online vote after winning a “Band Wars Exposed” competition May 8 in Seattle. The band was selected as Washington’s representative in a nationwide competition that would have awarded its winner with a performance at Independence Rock XXV — India’s largest rock music festival.
• Crossroads Community Covenant Church broke ground for its new church Saturday morning before more than 100 people. The master plan called for a total of 44,000 square feet.
• Washington state’s unemployment rate fell in April for the first time in more than three years, backed by an increase of 5,800 jobs. The rate went from 9.5 percent in March to 9.2 percent in April.