Admiral John Harold Sides was 16-years-old and a senior at Roslyn High School in 1920 when he posed with his basketball team (top row, far left) in the above photo. Sides was the "Smart Kid" in grammar school and entered high school a year early. After graduation, he attended the University of Washington for a year before entering the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Admiral Sides' father, George, was part owner in Sides Bros. & Hartman Butchers in the same building that today houses the Roslyn Cafe (next door to the Roslyn Museum). In June 1925, George traveled back to Maryland to watch his son graduate ninth out of a class of 438. George chronicled his experiences in letters which were printed in Cle Elum's paper, The Miner-Echo. Unfortunately, he suffered a heart attack after his son's graduation and died in Pennsylvania.

After Sides' graduation from the academy, he spent four years on the USS Tennessee before returning to Annapolis to study naval ordinance and receive a Master of Science degree from the University of Michigan. Following his well-decorated service during WWII, he completed a course at the National War College which marked his induction into the Navy's Guided Missile Program. In 1952, "Savvy Sides" was named Director of the Guided Missile Division and later appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet.

Although former Roslyn resident, Jimmy Claxton, was the first black player in organized baseball, he did it under an assumed name and ethnicity. In 1916, the Oakland Oaks (Pacific Coast League) signed Claxton to pitch for them, believing he was a Native American named Chief Yellow Horse. Claxton pitched two games before his true identity was discovered and he was subsequently released.

Despite his short career, Claxton became the first black player featured on a baseball card. His short career just happened to coincide with a team visit from the photographer of the Collins-McCarthy Candy Company who produced the 1916 "Zeenuts card" series.

After his release from the Oakland Oaks, Claxton returned to Roslyn where his father was working in the mines. Claxton was a welcomed addition to the Roslyn baseball team playing on their home field in the Roslyn Park pictured above.

Roslyn was part of the Coal Mine League that included other coal towns such as Black Diamond, Ravensdale, Carbonado etc. Claxton, a left-handed pitcher, was known for his  fast ball and curve ball, often striking out 18 to 19 batters in a single game. He also played in Negro and semi-professional leagues across the United States including the  Cuban Stars, Washington Pilots and the Nebraska Indians.

Although neither of Louis Bruno's Italian parents, Emil and Rose, had the opportunity to receive an education, they made sure their children did. Emil, a miner, worked in the Roslyn mines as the demand for coal contracted, along with his paycheck. Although they did not have the money to pay for Louis' education, they were adamant Louis attend college.

After graduating from Roslyn High School, Louis worked at odd jobs to earn money for school, even mining for a short time (which he said was a frightening experience). He joined the ROTC because it paid $9 a month and landed his first teaching job out of college at a private school for boys on Bainbridge Island.

Bruno was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1961- a position he held for 12 years during the pivotal sixties and early seventies. Although raised in the isolation of a coal town in the Washington Cascades, in later years Bruno dealt with a dizzying array of issues during his administration including whether or not to: allow undercover narcotic agents in public schools, teach about communism in public schools, revamp instructional standards and expand community colleges in the state of Washington.

He still had time, however, to speak at the dedication of the new Cle Elum Roslyn High School that opened in 1970.

Ken Miller, another coal miner's son, turned his hobby into a lifetime career. Miller loved to draw and filled Roslyn High School annuals with illustrations and cartoons during the early 1920s. Miller was Roslyn's yearbook editor for Roslyn High and was again chosen yearbook editor while attending Ellensburg's Normal School (Central Washington University).

Miller chronicled  Roslyn High School's 1924-25 school year in cartoon format highlighting school dances, games and academics.

After graduation, Miller returned to Roslyn to teach school in the late 1920s. While there, he illustrated the high school's 1930 and 1931 yearbooks using a pirate theme. His original work, pictured above, is featured at the Roslyn Museum. Miller eventually went to work for the yearbook's publisher, Seattle's Western Engraving & Colortype Company, becoming president and owner in later years.

After he retired, Miller designed the logo for Roslyn's 1986 Centennial Celebration that featured a coal miner working in the mines encircled by "Where Coal was King." He also designed a series of nostalgic Christmas cards, like the one pictured above, with illustrations and stories of Roslyn Christmases from long ago.