The last few decades have not been any less important or less full of events than the first 100 years (some of which are reviewed on this page courtesy of the Avalanche’s 100 year celebration pamphlet).
In 1989, a building that brought life to Tarkio for decades burned to the ground. The Mule Barn Theatre was on the list of National Register of Historic Places and the productions performed there over the years brought joy, laughter, and tears to theatre lovers of all ages. It not only brought performers from all parts of the U.S. to the Tarkio stage, but also made stars of local citizens who participated in the plays and musicals. Its destruction by fire was a great loss to the community.
The 1990’s saw our young men and women once again be called to active duty to serve our country in various capacities, this time fighting in The Gulf War. Computers became prevalent in the school district as children began to learn about the complex machine and yet have fun playing “Oregon Trail.” The early 90’s saw the last year of the Tarkio College way of life with its closing. Those years also saw the closing of the Westboro R-IV School District as the Westboro children joined the ranks of the Tarkio Elementary squad. The “Elves” continued to entertain children and adults (and also themselves) during the Christmas season by producing hilarious Elf commercials advertising Tarkio’s local businesses and wares and then selling them in a televised “Elf Auction” on the local cable channel to earn money for the Chamber of Commerce. Tarkio Elementary sixth graders continued to experience the thrill of making their own rockets and then watching them fly during a launch held at the school. The year 1993 saw the worst flooding this area had seen in many, many years. Bike-A-Thons had children riding miles for the chance to win a coveted bicycle and Pelican Pursuits had runners of all ages pushing their legs to the limit to run in a race raising money for the hospital in Fairfax. The 90’s began to show the decline of Tarkio’s once proud and strong buildings and demolition brought many down that were no longer safe. But with the demolition came renewal as some buildings were replaced. The Tarkio Municipal Pool was completely renovated and is still visited by hundreds of children each summer.
The dawning of a new millennium brought forth many day-to-day changes. We survived the non-event of Y2K in 2000 only to experience absolute horror of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, which did not leave a single soul unaffected. This caused our men and women to go to war once again to protect our way of life and several locals joined the fight. As we progressed further into the 2000’s, technology continued to grow exponentially and local institutions brought in business and money to the area in support of it. Wind turbines began to dot the countryside surrounding Tarkio and now number around 100. Our agricultural base continues to bloom and we have recently seen an increase in the use of agriculture in our school district. We’ve sadly witnessed the many closures of local businesses and our chapters and organizations have decreased in number, but the businesses and organizations that are left continue to work hard and succeed for their causes.
All of these happenings were brought to the forefront of our minds not only by word of mouth, but also the Tarkio Avalanche, which strived each week to report on the goings-on. Some papers were thicker than others, but none-the-less you could always find local happenings, sport reports, pictures, and advertisements. Though the name and the way we will be going about getting that news to you will be changing, the atmosphere, dedication and hardwork that is the “Tarkio Avalanche” will live on through the dedication of our Atchison County Mail staff. We thank our Avalanche readers for 132 years of readership, of support, of giving us leads on happening news, sending in pictures and reports when we were unable to be there, and making our hardwork a part of your weekly lives. It has been an absolute pleasure for all of us being a part of such an incredible adventure and we look forward to continuing our service with the new, combined newspaper. Thank you to those of you who will be continuing your readership and joining in the fun in creating a county-wide newspaper. Many of you have voiced your excitement in seeing how this new venture plays out and comes together. Your excitement is catching! We sign off as the Tarkio Avalanche and encourage you to read the next publication, the Atchison County Mail.