At one time, Wilkeson boasted a population of 3,000 people. Now that number hovers closer to 400. Where jobs used to come from the mountain coal mines, now the primary driving force behind the local economy is its summer tourist season.

Nevertheless, the town has a rich history, including the state’s oldest standing school. Thus it’s appropriate that new mayor Donna Hogerhuis is the former president of the Wilkeson Historical Society. She ran unopposed in the 2009 election.

“Of all our mayors, Donna is the best one because she’s done so much research on this place,” said Tami Macias, owner of the Pick and Shovel Restaurant and Lounge.

Macias compared Wilkeson to Mayberry, the fictional town of “The Andy Griffith Show,” and plays up the town’s recreational opportunities.

However, even tourism had taken a hit when last winter’s took out a portion of state Route 165 near Church Street, preventing people from going through the town to visit Mount Rainier, she said.

Wilkeson is the first gateway to Mount Rainier. One of Hogerhuis’s priorities is building a stronger relationship with the National Park Service, she said.

As Hogerhuis has been in office for just a month, she’s still getting used to how things operate in government, she said. But she already has a few items on her agenda.

“Economic development is an imperative for every town at this time,” she said. “There are a few buildings sitting empty right now, which I would like to change. The Wilkeson Saloon closed recently, but I heard that there was a new buyer. We’ve just had a lot of turnover in the last five or six years.”

One of the key areas Hogerhuis would like to work on are highlighting the town’s historic sites to stimulate more tourism. The area is popular in the summer, particularly July when the town hosts handcar races and a parade.

Hogerhuis has spent time speaking with town residents to find new ways to use Coke Oven Park outside the races and parade.

The town has also received a donation of land on the west side of Eagles Hall from the family of the late David J. Jenkins, a longtime resident. The narrow strip of land will be used to create a new row of parking spots, which will double Wilkeson’s downtown public parking capacity.

Town officials are also in the preliminary stages of planning a Web site to raise awareness of the city. They hope to hire a specialist in Web design and programming that lives locally, Hogerhuis said.

Wilkeson has also had an injection of grant funds from multiple sources to improve its operations.

The town received $49,000 for its water department, federal funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and passed through the state Department of Health.

The town also received an Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant from the state Department of Commerce for the dual purpose of renovating the town hall with an improved heating system and insulation, and updating the variable speed controls on the aerator and digester pumps in the sewage plant.

The sewer plant project received $135,000 and Puget Sound Energy will provide “significant” matching funds, Hogerhuis said. The town and the Wilkeson Historical Society will provide matching funds on the town hall heating renovation. The town will provide $5,000 and the society will provide $4,000.