Phillips, III, J.A. Wrote:
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> LESTER REUNION
> Come join families and friends from Lester,
> Washington, at their annual reunion!
>
> The reunion will be Friday, June 1, beginning at
> 10:45 A.M. The location will be in Eastside
> Banquet Room 2C at the Muckleshoot Casino, located
> at 2402 Auburn Way South in Auburn, Washington.
> The casino is on the Auburn-Enumclaw Highway, just
> east of Auburn. To reach Auburn from Seattle or
> Tacoma, take Interstate 5 to State Route 18 East
> in Federal Way. In Auburn, take the Auburn Way
> Exit and follow the signs to the Casino. A map and
> further information is available on the Casino’s
> Web site at
> www.muckleshootcasino.com/contact.html.
>
> Activities and entertainment include Northwest
> folk singer Randy Rogers, a slide show with images
> from WSU Press author Jim Fredrickson and
> commentary by railroad veteran Dave Sprau,
> pictures and scrapbooks by Rail Tales author Ruth
> Eckes.
>
> The Muckleshoot Casino offers gaming and dining. A
> buffet will be served at the reunion; price for
> the meal is $12.
>
> ABOUT LESTER
> Founded in 1892, Lester was an important helper
> station on the Northern Pacific Railway’s route
> across Stampede Pass. A large depot, coal dock and
> roundhouse were built to support steam locomotives
> as they helped shove passenger and freight trains
> across the 2.2 percent grade to the summit at
> Stampede Tunnel. Lester was also home to one of
> the last large logging camps in King County. With
> the closing of the logging camp in 1978, and the
> mothballing of the rail line in 1984, Lester
> became a ghost town. In 1996, its last two
> residents, teacher Gert Murphy and her niece Mary
> Aucort, were on hand to witness the reopening of
> the railroad line by BNSF. Today, King County, the
> Port of Seattle, and BNSF are planning to enlarge
> Stampede Tunnel to better handle intermodal
> traffic from Puget Sound ports. Come to the
> reunion to see old friends, make new ones, and
> learn about Lester's role in the first railroad
> link across the Cascades!
>
> You can read more about the history of Lester on
> the Web from Auburn’s White River Valley
> Museum—[www.wrvmuseum.org].