Yesteryears -- Dec. 1, 2013

2008 - The Tribe's eldest Elder, Nora Kimsey, prepared to celebrate her 100^th birthday on Dec. 2. Five days later during the monthly General Council meeting, the Tribe honored Kimsey for her contributions to the Tribe over the years.

2003 - Grand Ronde Station was preparing to open with Manager Darrel Clark (Cherokee) at the helm of the new Tribal business enterprise. The store was opening with Taco Time, TCBY and Boyd's Coffee franchises.

1998 - The Tribe's new 100-room hotel, Spirit Mountain Lodge, was scheduled for completion and a grand opening on Dec. 21. The $9 million hotel is the last of three phases of expansion after the completion of Spirit Mountain Casino and Legends restaurant.

1993 - The Tribe celebrated the 10^th anniversary of Restoration on Nov. 22 at Grand Ronde Grade School with a dinner and mini powwow. Special guests include U.S. Rep. Les AuCoin, Sande Schmidt, Don Wharton of the Native American Rights Fund and state Sen. Dick Springer. In addition, Tribal employees who had worked for the Tribe five years or more received a commemorative coin with the Grand Ronde logo embossed on it.

1988 - Tribal Council unanimously approved a resolution in support of Chris Leno's appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy. Leno was attending Oregon State University, majoring in business administration.

1983 - President Ronald Reagan signed House Resolution 3885, which became Public Law 98-165, the Grand Ronde Restoration Act, ending 29 years of Termination for the Tribe.

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