As dozens of Yelm residents shuffled out of the five Yelm Cinemas theaters showing the Yelm Centennial Documentary Monday, Dec. 9, Mayor Joe DePinto found local filmmaker Jared Potter and gave him his thanks and praise for the production.
“Thank you so much, man. That was really good. I had really high hopes for that, and you nailed it out of the park,” DePinto told Potter.
The sentiment was shared from many of the community members who were either directly involved in the film or interviewed. Potter, owner of Part One Media, used nearly every ounce of time possible to perfect the documentary as he put the final touches on the project the night before the premiere.
According to the Yelm community, the film was a hit. Multiple theaters erupted in applause upon the conclusion of the centennial documentary, and many were impressed with and entertained by the interviews and footage.
“It was amazing to see everyone’s stories come together and turn into a cohesive story,” Line Roy, Yelm’s recreation and communications coordinator, said moments after watching the film. “There were lots of stories and lots of details that I hadn’t heard before.”
Even longtime residents, like DePinto and Public Works Director Cody Colt, learned some new tidbits about Yelm from other longtime residents who shared stories in the documentary, like Gary and Debbie Edwards, Gene Coulter and Willis “Babe” Herness.
“I liked when ‘Babe’ was talking about walking down the street and they were under a log when they first got here, and the Stock Market crash. I didn’t think about how people came to Yelm at the Stock Market crash, which I thought was cool,” Colt said.
One of the biggest surprises of the film was how Potter brought vintage photographs of Yelm and major figures in the city’s history to life using artificial intelligence. Audiences gasped when old shots of Yelm’s main street began to move and portraits of James Longmire and Fay Fuller were transformed to show them turning their heads to look into the camera.
“I liked it. I thought it was well done. Sometimes you don’t know when too much editing can make something look bad, but I thought it was really good,” DePinto said.
The editing impressed Thurston County Commissioner Gary Edwards, who exclaimed “How do they do that?” from his seat multiple times as he watched history come to life. It also surprised Roy, who knew Potter was going to dabble with artificial intelligence for the film but didn’t know the extent until she watched it on the big screen.
“Seeing those pictures brought to life and seeing those stories brought to life was super cool,” she said.
Potter, who grew up in Yelm and worked at Yelm Cinemas for his first job as a teenager, found himself awestruck when he saw the film not just on the big screen but also advertised on the marquee outside and on the screens outside each of the five theaters.
“I think it’s something I always wanted since I was a kid. The kid in me was so overcome by all of it,” Potter said. “I swept that theater a hundred times, so to have a reserved seat and to walk in and watch my film that I made was very surreal but also really exciting.”
Potter got a rush of emotions when the film ended and the crowd burst into applause. He described the experience as the “ultimate full circle” moment.
“That was really special. I don’t know how else to describe it, but I think it was just a relief that we did it,” he said. “There were many times where I thought, ‘I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to pull this off.’ In that moment, it was like, ‘We did it. We finished it.’ Everyone saw it and they clapped and they loved it.”
The Yelm community agreed that the centennial documentary and many of the centennial events in 2024 left them with a deeper appreciation and understanding of the city’s history.
“When I drive down the main street, I see the old pictures and I hear the stories,” Potter said. “I would encourage people to watch the film when they can and to dive into some of this stuff about their town and learn about it. It makes living here even more special because it did that for me in a big way.”
At some point, the documentary will be posted online, with more information to come.
