10 Years Ago 1997

Ed McMillan got his truck stuck in the mud here his first day on the job six years ago. At the time he was a consultant hired by the city to review drainage and development issues. An engineer and surveyor by training, he enjoys life most when he can sink his teeth or in this case his vehicle and probably his feet into a project. Hes been up to his elbows, or whatever, since. After four years of consulting work, he signed on two years ago as the citys first full-time public works director. His department has been responsible for water, sewer and street operations and even some planning over the years. McMillan will turn over that responsibility Aug. 4, 1997, to the citys next Public Works Director, Kenneth Reid. In the meantime, McMillan said, he is completing some of the projects that brought him here. The biggest, of course, is the citys new $5.8 million sewer treatment plant. The new plant, when completed at the end of the year, will have a 2 million gallon-a-day capacity. Since breaking ground on the sewer plant in May, about 20,000 yards of dirt have been moved, going to fill in the dip from Third to Fifth streets that had been the railroad bed and is the future location of the Centennial Trail. Using the dirt saved the city about $300,000, McMillan estimates, what it would have cost to fill the railroad bed otherwise. Of course, he said, the dirt could have been put elsewhere, but this worked out well and will benefit the city even more in the long run. Building the trail, McMillan believes, is an important part of Arlingtons future, maybe just as important as the sewer plant. I believe one of the most important things for Arlington to do in the future is to spend time and money to provide recreation and open space parks, he said. I am advocating the city step in and provide those services, he said. The basic underlying strategy and growth management act was to accommodate a growing population in urban centers, which forces people closer together, McMillan said. If there is no recreation or open space for the population, you end up with social problems. By investing now in facilities and parks you can avoid that, he said. However it is accomplished, its very important. The city is doing some planning for it now. I hope they do more. Looking back, McMillan said he will miss the people. We have very good people here. Most people have been here long time and know their job. Its easy to come to this job, They will miss him, too. The first day I met him, he was on the radio saying he needed a tow, said Utility Superintendent Terry Castle. He had gone out to a project and miscalculated and got stuck in the mud. I had to tow him out with a city truck. Its been interesting ever since. McMillan gets things done, Castle said. Hes been really great to work with. He wants to get a project going, see it through to completion and move on to the next one. McMillan is looking forward to finding some hands on projects that will keep him busy. He recently came full circle, he said, when he had the chance to pull Terry Castles truck out of the mud, returning the favor of six years ago. It wont be long before McMillan is up to his axles in another project.
25 Years Ago 1982

Don and Debbie Youngquist and their three young children are at home now, in Arlington, living in a small house they hope to buy on East Gilman Street. Arlington is a far cry from the windswept grasslands of their former home in the Falkland Islands, where the tranquil lifestyle was rudely shaken on April 2, 1982, when thousands of Argentine soldiers invaded the British colony. Few people had ever heard of this small collection of islands some 300 miles east of the southwestern tip of South America. Through April and May the whole world held its breath as England and Argentina maneuvered for what would be a limited but deadly serious war. A war that would climax in June with British troops dramatically retaking the islands from the invaders. When the second invasion came, the Youngquists were far from the bitter action. Their only concern then was for their many friends who had stayed in the Falklands. The Youngquists lived for four years at Port Stevens on the southern tip of West Falkland Island, the least inhabited of the two largest islands in the group. When the Argentine army struck, they first assaulted the colonys capital at Stanley on East Falkland. Over half the colonys 1,800 inhabitants lived in Stanley. For the Youngquists and for many of the islanders, who lived in isolated settlements, the invasion was an event heard only on the radio. The Youngquists never saw an Argentine soldier until a week after the invasion when an Argentine helicopter came to take them back home. The Youngquists real journey began in 1978 when they looked around the world for a community where they could put their Bahai faiths outreach pioneer program into practice. Their search led them to the remote Falkland Islands. The manger of the Port Stevens farm settlement flew up to the capital to secure the Youngquists services. The farm, which was to be their home for almost four years, consisted of 40 adults and children, 150,000 to 200,000 acres (nobody counted) and about 30,000 sheep. Dons job was to keep the farm machinery running, do local road work and operate the diesel generators which provided the settlement with electricity for a few hours in the morning and from dusk to 11 p.m. His salary by American standards wasnt much $500 a month. The extra benefits were excellent, including a free house and garden, free fresh milk and meat, free medical and dental care and all the peat the family needed for cooking and heating. The treeless islands were covered with peat bogs which were excavated annually as a cheap fuel. The weather on the islands was cool but relatively moderate, with the temperature hovering around freezing in the winter and 75 being a hot day in the summer. The settlement had to be fairly self-sufficient because it was quite isolated. The nearest community, Fox Bay, was 40 miles across open country, a six to nine hour trip. Debbie worked as the bookkeeper and storekeeper at Port Stevens. The store was open twice a week for an hour and a half. Most of her time was spent in the kitchen. Don would come home every two hours to eat, she said. The men would work from six in the morning until eight, then come home for breakfast, then back to work for a couple hours, then a coffee break, then work, then dinner (the main meal), then work, then supper and still more work. About half way through their stay, their youngest son, Stephen, was born. He joined two older brothers, Erik, now 7, and Randy, now 5. Because of the settlements remoteness and the chance of unexpected bad weather, all mothers-to-be were flown to the capital a month before their babies were due. Regular medical service depended heavily upon use of shortwave radio to describe the problem to doctors in Stanley, who would then prescribe medicines which were stocked at every settlement. Doctors would fly into Port Stanley every two or three weeks and a dentist would come once a year. Port Stevens had one teacher for the farms children, but older children had to go to a boarding school in the capital. With the prospect of their older sons having to leave home to continue their schooling, the Youngquists had decided to leave the islands in May. In April, Argentina struck. On the night before the invasion, the Falklands governor came on the radio every couple hours to announce the invaders progress. Everyone stayed glued to their radios listening for the latest news. He gave a step-by-step account of the battle, said Debbie and as the situation grew hopeless for the 90 British Royal Marines trying to fend off thousands of Argentine soldiers, the governor announced that negotiations had started for a surrender. The radio went dead for a while, she said, and then the first thing we heard was the Argentine national anthem. It was spooky. The Argentine military used the radio to issue instructions to the scattered islanders, including restrictions on the use of shortwave radios. We felt safe enough at Port Stevens, said Don. And if we hadnt already planned to leave, we wouldnt have, but we just couldnt know what was going to happen, said Debbie. We knew the British would be back and there would be fighting. All along the way, the Youngquists were well treated by the Argentines. They were concerned for us because they had been led to believe that the islanders should have been citizens of Argentina and were being trod upon by the British, said Don.

50 Years Ago 1957

John Groendyk spotted his brother-in-laws dairy in last weeks Mystery Farm contest, the Gerrit Klein dairy on Dike road, R.1, Arlington. The dairying Kleins represent, by themselves, a big share of the areas milk production, with 18 men now actively engaged in the business, Gerrit Kleins seven brothers, his two boys and six nephews. In addition, there are now five nieces who are living on dairies and who share in this outstanding family record. Otto and Jack Klein are cousins to Gerrit and are also dairymen. Gerrit Klein has spent a lifetime in the milk producing business, the last 15 years on his present 20-acre farm. He says he is taking things easier than in past years, with his boys helping out on some of the bigger projects. He gets some exercise by milking 17 to 18 head of cows each day.