News

05/08/2008: Serving the Theler Legacy.  The Theler Center, which is not a government entity, still views itself as a vital part of the infrastructure of the community, providing recreation, public meeting space and having proved its necessity as the emergency services center in the wake of last December's floods.

03/27/2008: Theler Center needs these items.  Sturdy shoe boxes with lids, baskets, CLEAN colored glass (broken or cracked OK), CLEAN colorful ceramic plates (broken or cracked OK). Please bring your donations to our office Monday through Friday between 9 AM and 5 PM.

Flood Relief Grants available to North Mason Homeowners.  A local grant fund has been set up that can assist North Mason residents that have been affected by the recent disaster. Residents that were directly affected by the disaster may apply for assistance for an amount up to $500. Grants will be reviewed by a committee of local citizens with priority given to those who were unable to qualify for other assistance programs.
Applications can be obtained in person or online from both Theler Center and Mason County Fire District 2 (www.mcfd2.com). Click on PDF icon to download application.
Additional donations are still being accepted to assist with the relief effort. Financial donations may be made to Olympia Federal Savings. Items still in need include furniture and large appliances in good working condition. Please call to schedule a drop off of items at 360-275-4898.

Theler Center Aid Comes at a Cost.  One of the two meeting rooms of the Theler Center became a food and clothing bank as part of the flood relief effort.

2007-07: Murder High School Reunion Mystery Dinner.  July 14, 2007 Murder High School Reunion Mystery Dinner. Photography by L Gunn Harris

2007-06: A Touch Hawaiian dinner and auction.  Photos from the Hawaiian dinner and auction held June 23rd. Photos by L. Gunn Harris.

2007-05: Students In Watershed, May 18, 2007.  

2007-04: Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon.  Photos of the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon taken by L. Gunn Harris.

2007-03: March Mystery Dinner.  Photos of the March Mystery Dinner taken by L. Gunn Harris. See more of his work at www.LGunnHarrisPhotography.com or call the artist at 360-275-5540.

2007-02: Theler Center serves as a hub for many groups in the community.  For the Mary E. Theler Community Center, it's been a year of focusing on and expanding the activities that a community center does best: spotlighting the best of local talent and efforts, and bringing issues of local concern into community view.

2006-11: Sam & Mary E. Theler Legacy Quilt Unveiling.  At a special "tea and crumpets" ceremony on November 3, the 2006 Sam & Mary E. Theler Legacy Quilt was unveiled. Joan Beier organized the project and, together with Barbara Clark, Carol Norman, Cindi Swett, Debra Risko, Dorothy Ariens, Elsa Walsh, Garby Elmore, Girl Scout Troop 2214, Janice Olson, Linda Simmonds, Lori Patterson, Laura Farr, Leny Johnson, Laurel Moyer, Louise Hommel, Marilyn Hanson, Margo Bradwell, Maryanne Davis, Pat Kelly Wilson, Teri King, Thelma Moyer, Valerie Johnson, created quilt squares for a legacy quilt honoring benefactors Sam & Mary Theler. The quilt is on display at Theler Center.

2006-10: Trick-or-Treat on the Trails.  About 125 children and their parents dared to walk down the spooky trail to the Exhibit Center to enjoy fun Halloween "tricks" and "treats" on Halloween night.

2006-10: Girl Scout Troop 3072 makes clean sweep of Theler trails.  Members of Carol Norman and Deanne Montgomery's Cadette Troop helped to ready the Theler Wetland trails for the winter. They started off with a small weeding project on a bed across from the Exhibit Center and then moved on to the bigger projects of the day. With the pop, pop, pop of hunters in the air, troop members swept off the wooden trails and raked the gravel paths to remove all of the leaves and debris that had accumulated over the past few weeks. Teri King, Washington Sea Grant and Anne Whitman, Theler Center Operations Director coordinated the day's activities.

2006-07: Theler Supporters Met "Moyer Match" Challenge.  Supporters of Mary E. Theler Community Center met the challenge -- a fund-raising effort that raised more than $10,000 in just a few weeks. It was called the Moyer Match and got started with a $1,000 check written by dedicated volunteer Bill Moyer of Belfair.
Bill Moyer and Theler Board President, Randy Neatherlin

2006-07: Planning your trip if you go to Hood Canal.  Theler Wetlands. This 135-acre preserve in Belfair, Mason County, lies where the Union River empties into the end of Hood Canal. It has four miles of trails, viewing platforms and a floating boardwalk. The Mary E. Theler Exhibit Building, at the Hood Canal Watershed Project Center near the trailhead, offers hands-on educational exhibits. Sam Theler intended the wetlands to be ballfields for the children of Mason County, but environmental concerns turned it into a wetlands preserve. More than 100 different types of birds have visited the wetlands.

2006-04: Theler Center is a place for nature -- and a natural place for community.  The gem of lower Hood Canal has gained worldwide fame as a nature preserve, but it remains the gathering place that pioneers Sam and Mary Theler intended. ... Theler is for everyone. It's “where community and nature walk hand-in-hand.”