Nearly 70 years ago, it was Harold Keller’s big task to provide an up-and-coming logging town with athleticism, sportsmanship and culture.

As director of the Snoqualmie Falls YMCA, Keller earned grudging respect at first, finally acceptance and praise for the way he knit the fabric of the mill town together. His son Ward remembers how the strict father was pranked on Halloween by hard-bitten sons of loggers for his uncompromising take on rowdy behavior. But Keller won people over to his methods, and worked tirelessly to provide many avenues to recreation and activity for his charges.

You can see that in the photos. Ward has kept his father’s collection, which records Weyerhaueser employees and their families dancing, skating, swimming, camping, hunting, all under Harold Keller’s oversight. The black-and-white images show that work is not all there is to life, and that cities are also built through play.

Stepping into the late Keller’s shoes in 2011 is new Snoqualmie Y Director Dave Mayer. Living up to his predecessor sounds like a big challenge, but Mayer shouldn’t, and indeed can’t, do it alone.

Making this new Y a success from the get-go is everyone’s responsibility. If people don’t support it, this venture won’t grow. I’d rather see the center open with a strong, bold start than see it coast out of the gate. To that end, I urge locals, Snoqualmie residents in particular, to check out the Y’s plans and offerings and consider becoming a charter member. Membership has its privileges—goodie bags, special events and your family name inscribed in a special piece of artwork—but the real reason to become a charter member is to help steer program choices right off the bat. This Y could become the heart of this town, but the only way that will happen is if the programs fit. Sign up early, and you help make programs fit sooner.

So far, Y leaders have been sincere in their efforts to make this center a positive, while minimizing the negatives that spring from competition with closely-related youth and fitness services that came years ago to Snoqualmie Ridge.

It’s true that this Y is a more modest affair than the grand plans that came complete with a swimming pool (and always failed to meet that tantalizing supermajority at the polls). But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In challenging times, you build what you can pay for. The Y can start small, then grow, living within its means rather than on bonded taxpayer debt.

While full access to Y services comes with a cost, much of the building, including its teen center, will be available free of charge to all locals. YMCA membership isn’t free, but financial assistance is always available, and no one is turned away. Joining fees, by the way, are waived through Oct. 31 for charter members.

If you’d like a good idea of what today’s Y can be, check out the afterschool programs already in place at Snoqualmie United Methodist Church and Opstad Elementary. Then, drive down to Newcastle and check out the newest addition to the YMCA network at Coal Creek and its optimistic, youthful vibe, which has always impressed me.

Until this fall, the Y was only an idea, a dream of many Snoqualmie residents who saw a void in the city’s culture. Today, the beige-brick, green-tech building taking shape on Ridge Street is becoming a reality. Its success depends on whether we get involved and make it fit our Valley.

• Y leaders will answer questions and sign up charter members at their membership office at Snoqualmie Community Park, now through Oct. 31. Times vary daily, but the office is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 14, 24-28, and Oct. 31.

To learn more visit the Snoqualmie Y Facebook page.