What is the history of Cle Elum, Washington?
Cle Elum means “Swift Water.” Cle Elum was officially incorporated on February 24, 1902. Cle Elum was the birthplace of astronaut Dick Scobee, the commander of the Space Shuttle Challenger on the day of its explosion. Headed by John Bresko, Cle Elum was the first to have ‘organized’ skiing west of Denver, Colorado. Starting in 1921, 100–400 people would be on the ski hill every weekend through the winter. 1931 saw the largest crowd est. at 8,000 spectators for the ski jumping events. The depression ended the skiing and jumping events in 1934.
