Yesteryears -- March 1, 2013

2008 - The Tribe's Cultural Resources Department prepared to commemorate the return of about 600 items from Oregon State University's Horner Collection. The return of the Tribal artifacts was the fruit of 10 year's worth of negotiations between Oregon Tribes and the school. Early in the 20th century, Oregon Agricultural College professor John Horner used his connections around the state to collect thousands of objects of "educational value."
2003 - The West Valley Veterans' Memorial was in the final stages of the casting process at the studios of Burning Palace Bronze in Boring. Tribal veteran Steve Bobb Sr. was at the foundry to give final approval and sign the base of the sculpture. "I'm really happy with it," he said. "I wouldn't change a thing. The faces look good. It's exactly what we wanted."
1998 - Construction of the Tribal Administration Building was proceeding well. Construction on the facility began in late August 1997 and completion was scheduled for September 1998. The building will be 40,000 square feet with two stories and a partial third floor.
1993 - Marvin Carlson was hired as the new general manager of Spirit Mountain Development Corp. He came to Grand Ronde from Sumner, Wash., where he was executive director of the Small Tribes Organization of Western Washington. He held an undergraduate degree in bio-chemistry and physics from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from the University of California Western in Santa Ana.
1988 - Tribal Chair Mark Mercier reported on amendments to the Tribe's Election Ordinance. Now that only three Tribal Council seats will be contested annually, the ordinance was amended to have Tribal Council nominations occur during the May General Council meeting with elections being held "sometime in September of each year." Write-in candidates will be allowed, but only until May 31.

Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year increments through the pages of Smoke Signals.