Small-town values thrive despite area's rapid growth

By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Urban sprawl has come with a vengeance to Auburn.

This historic, once-sleepy farming and railroad community has seen an explosion of growth during the last few years: Emerald Downs racetrack, the SuperMall of the Great Northwest, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe's gambling casino.

Commercial and residential construction are booming, and there are plans for a major amphitheater halfway between here and Enumclaw. (See background.)

But don't shed any tears for Auburn residents who once lived the quiet country life.

This is still a small town at heart, and anyone who thinks they have given up the fight to keep their small-town values just doesn't understand the people who live here.

Jenny Thorp, a 17-year-old senior at Auburn High School, knows it is the people -- not the number and size of the buildings -- who give a town its character.

Thorp volunteers with sick and disabled children at the Ashley House in nearby Enumclaw. It is a task she took on after signing up for an elective class at Auburn High. Students taking the class are asked to perform at least 50 hours of community service.

Her teacher, Sheryll Rosevear, says the 28 juniors and seniors do such things as befriend youngsters at a shelter for battered women and children, tutor elementary school pupils and take their pets to visit the elderly in nursing homes.

"It gives them a sense of who they are and what they can contribute to the community," Rosevear says.

Thorp works with Ashley House children who are there on a long-term basis, some of whom won't see their teen years. "I just go up there and play with them and keep them busy," says the high school senior. "I give them love. . . .

"I had a baby die the first week I was there. It was hard. It was really hard," Thorp says. "But I can either know about these things or I can ignore them and pretend they are not going on. I'd rather know about it and try to help."

Continued:

• Helping hands are plentiful for those in need
• New SuperMall is sign of changing times for town
• Good bets for development don't always pan out
• Railroads link people's past with future