SEQUIM — The way Ron Allen sees it, the Sequim community and Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe are figuratively “joined at the hip.”
Allen — the tribe’s chairman and CEO — joined with Sequim School District leaders, tribe representatives and an appreciative crowd in naming the school’s athletic stadium and field in a ceremony on Sept. 16.
Following the recommendation of a committee assigned to consider facility names, Sequim School Board directors earlier this year approved the naming of the district stadium on West Fir Street to stáʔčəŋ — a S’Klallam word pronounced “stah-chung” and meaning “wolf” — and the field to Myron Teterud’s Field, after the longtime, late SHS sports fanatic.
“Sports has always been a big part [of the curriculum]; lots of our elders have played ball here and made a score or two,” Allen said.
“Our tribe is so dedicated to whatever we can do to help the school district.”
For months, with Phyllis Faulk Meyer and others with the Sequim Alumni Association leading the way, community members advocated for naming the field after Teterud, who rooted on SHS athletics for the past six decades. Teterud died April 30, 2021, at 81.
“Naming our field after Myron … says something about how we value our fans as much as our athletes,” said Judy Smith, a 1960 Sequim High graduate who went to school with Myron.
Naming the field after him, Smith said, gives people a chance to talk about loyalty, sportsmanship and “staying true to your school.”
The committee included seven members: Dustin Brenske, Jamestown S’Klallam deputy director of Social and Community Services; Jessica Humphries, Jamestown S’Klallam Youth and Teen Program coordinator; Sequim Alumni Association President Lorri Gilchrist; Judy Reandeau Stipe, Sequim Museum & Arts executive director; Shawn Langston, then the Sequim High School principal; SHS athletic director Craig Brooks; and Joan Zook, then the Sequim School District’s interim superintendent.
On Sept. 16, Sequim High School principal Erin Fox (SHS Class of 2020) and Sequim High senior Hi’ilei Robinson described the importance of the field and stadium, where not only athletic competitions are featured but also Homecoming, the school’s annual graduation ceremony, graduation walk and other events.
“Naming this stadium concretes its purpose,” Fox said.
Pat (SHS Class of 1970) and Patsy Adams offered a blessing for the stadium and field.
Allen said that, along with the stadium name, the tribe is considering offering some carvings to adorn the stadium environs.
“We always have to take care of our kids,” Allen said.
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Michael Dashiell is the editor of the Sequim Gazette of the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which also is composed of other Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News and Forks Forum. Reach him at editor@sequimgazette.com.
