“Name that Year” is designed to put your knowledge of Tracy and its newsmakers of the past to the test. Each week, we will publish a news item that ran in a past edition — maybe it was a major event, or a story about a Tracy resident — it’s up to you to determine in what year that particular news item hit the pages of the paper:
• LEONARD DREVER OWNED THE GROCERY STORE IN WALNUT GROVE FOR 32 YEARS AND PUT A LOT OF HIS LIFE INTO IT. DREVER SOLD THE STORE ON NOV. 14 OF THIS YEAR TO TIM AND SUE GRIFFITH, PREVIOUSLY OF KELSO, WA.
Drever bought the store from Otto Sunsdahl and explained that the nice, friendly atmosphere of a small town has kept him there all those years.
“It’s the friendly association with the people in town that kept me here. I will miss the people coming into my store,” Drever added.
Drever was also in partnership with his brother, Ken Drever of Tracy, and owner of Ken’s Super Valu, for four years, at one time.
Tim Griffith was the manager of the meat department at a grocery store in Kelso before coming here with his wife.
He is originally from International Falls and Sue is originally from Sacred Heart.
“We’ve been looking for a grocery store like this for the past several years. Finally we found one,” Tim explained.
He said they found out about the store through a grocery warehouse in Kelso and then got in touch with Drever.
“We also wanted to come back someday and own our own store in the area where we grew up. My wife kind of wanted to get back here also, since she is not far from her hometown now,” Tim said.
The grocery store, located on Main Street of Walnut Grove, has seen many changes since Drever had owned it. Since he took over the store, Drever said it more than doubled in size and was completely remodeled.
• Last week’s answer: Tracy Police Dispatchers turned off their radios for the last time in January 1992.
