Unity Care NW is proud to announce their participation in the Washington State Department of Health’s (DOH) Fruit & Vegetable Prescription Program, an initiative aimed at promoting healthier eating habits, addressing food insecurity and chronic disease, and improving the well-being of Washingtonians. The Veggie RX program will increase access to fruits and vegetables for patients with low incomes who will be chosen to receive vouchers redeemable at Safeway grocery stores. Unity Care NW will prioritize patients who have or are at risk for developing diabetes and hypertension in their selection process.
Unity Care NW is a non-profit community health center with locations in Bellingham and Ferndale that provides whole-person primary care to more than 21,000 Whatcom County residents, regardless of their ability to pay. More than 81% of Unity Care NW patients are considered Low Income by the state of Washington, meaning they live in households with less than 80% of the median income for Whatcom County.
Support from DOH makes it possible for Unity Care NW to relaunch its popular Veggie RX program in a new iteration, to coincide with the new year after a hiatus initiated by the COVID pandemic. Out of a remarkable 106 applications statewide, Unity Care NW was selected as one of 11 new organizations to take part in this transformative initiative. The rigorous selection process underscores the significance of their commitment to tackling food insecurity and promoting health within our community.
Unity Care NW’s Veggie RX program team is selecting patients to participate in the program who will receive vouchers redeemable for fruits and vegetables at any Safeway store in Washington for the next 6 months. Patients must be currently experiencing food insecurity and have health conditions that could benefit from a healthier diet. Unity Care NW patients interested in Veggie RX should ask their care team about joining the program. Encouragingly, previous Veggie RX participants have reported improved food security, better ability to manage health conditions, and an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption. By partnering with Safeway as the participating grocery store, the program makes a wide variety of fresh and nutritious produce available in accessible locations across the state.
While Unity Care NW has previously implemented a Veggie RX program, the current initiative represents a renewed and strengthened commitment to addressing food insecurity in our community. The program’s success will be tracked and reported regularly, ensuring transparency and accountability. The January re-launch of Veggie RX aligns perfectly with the start of the new year, emphasizing the importance of beginning the year on a healthy note. Through this initiative, Unity Care NW aims to contribute to building a healthier, more resilient community by encouraging individuals to kick-start their resolutions with a focus on nutritious food choices.
“We are thrilled to be part of the Fruit & Vegetable Prescription Program, which not only addresses the immediate needs of those facing food insecurity but also promotes long-term health and well-being. This initiative resonates strongly with our mission, and we are eager to do all we can to make a positive impact on the lives of our patients both within and outside of our health centers,” said Nicole Fields, Population Health Manager at Unity Care NW.
Western Washington University will host four award-winning children’s and young adult book authors and illustrators from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 17, 2024 at Western’s Performing Arts Center, as part of Western’s 21st Annual Children’s Literature Conference.
The conference brings together teachers, librarians, readers, and writers to celebrate children and young adult literature. The day will include author and illustrator presentations, book sales, autographs, and a question-and-answer panel.
This year’s speakers include: David Bowles, Dashka Slater, E. B. Lewis, and Jillian Tamaki. Registration is open and available now through January 31 at wwuclc.com. The cost to attend is $199, with an early bird rate of $149 available through January 5. Discounts are available for students, para-professionals, retired teachers, and Western employees.
About this year’s featured speakers:
David Bowlesis a Mexican American author and translator from south Texas, where he teaches at the University of Texas Río Grande Valley. He has written over three dozen award-winning titles, most notably They Call Me Güero and My Two Border Towns. His work has also been published in multiple anthologies, plus venues such as The New York Times, Strange Horizons, Apex Magazine, School Library Journal, Rattle, Translation Review, and the Journal of Children’s Literature. Additionally, David has worked on several TV/film projects, including Victor and Valentino (Cartoon Network), the Moctezuma & Cortés miniseries (Amazon/Amblin) and Monsters and Mysteries in America (Discovery). In 2019, he co-founded the hashtag and activist movement #DignidadLiteraria, which has negotiated greater Latinx representation in publishing. In 2021, he helped launch Chispa, the Latinx imprint of Scout Comics, for which he serves as co-publisher.
E. B. Lewis is a decorated illustrator, or artistrator, as he calls himself. He has published more than 70 books for which he has won countless awards, including a Coretta Scott King Illustrator award and three CSK honors. Lewis’s longtime partnership with Jacqueline Woodson has produced such titles as Each Kindness, The Other Side, and Coming On Home Soon, for which he received a Caldecott Honor. The beautifully crafted picture book biography and winner of the 2010 Orbis Pictus Award, The Secret World of Walter Anderson, pays homage to an uncompromising American artist. His recent picture book biography of John Lewis, Preaching to the Chickens, with text by Jabari Asim, was a New York Times and Kirkus best-illustrated book and a Golden Kite Honor.
Dashka Slater has been telling stories since she could talk. An award-winning journalist who writes for such publications as The New York Times Magazine and Mother Jones, she is also the author of many books of fiction and non-fiction for children, teenagers, and adults. Her work has been translated into more than fifteen languages and has won many awards, including the Wanda Gág Read Aloud Award for Escargot. Dashka’s true crime narrative, The 57 Bus, has received numerous accolades, including the 2018 Stonewall Book Award from the American Library Association, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor. It was a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist. In 2021, The 57 Bus was named to Time Magazine’s list of the 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. Dashka’s latest title, Accountable, is a thought-provoking true story about the revelation of a high school racist social media account and begs the question: What does it mean to be held accountable for harm that takes place behind a screen? The recipient of a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, Dashka was also the winner of the 2023 Kurt Vonnegut Speculative Fiction Award.
Jillian Tamaki is a cartoonist and illustrator. She grew up in Calgary, Alberta and currently lives in Toronto, Ontario. Jillian has been a professional artist since 2003, when she graduated from the Alberta College of Art and Design. She does lots of different stuff: comics, picture books, editorial illustration, teaching, even storyboarding for the TV show Adventure Time. Jillian has won numerous award and honors including the Governor General’s Award, Caldecott Honor, Printz Award, Society of Illustrators Gold Medal, Eisner Award, NYTimes Best Illustrated Children’s Books, Society of Publication Designers, Best American Comics, American Illustration, Doug Wright Award, and an Ignatz Award. Jillian and her cousin Mariko Tamaki are the co-creators of the YA graphic novels SKIM and This One Summer, which won a Governor General’s Award and Caldecott Honor. Super Mutant Magic Academy is a book which collects her webcomics about weird mutant emo kids. Her next book, Roaming, co-created with Mariko, is forthcoming in Fall 2023.
To find out more information about the conference or to register, please visit wwuclc.com.
This 1905 image is the Whatcom Museum's oldest photo of the Horseshoe Saloon, when it operated in the Lighthouse Block along East Holly Street. Note the giant horseshoe sign. Photo credit: Rembrandt Studio.
In almost any downtown, time brings inevitable change: businesses come and go, buildings are remodeled or knocked down, and progress renders the present much different than the past.
But at 113 East Holly Street in downtown Bellingham, the Horseshoe Cafe has stood the test of time. It’s remained in the same place, with the same basic layout — and even some of the same décor — for nearly 66 years.
Along with its patented sidekick bar, the Ranch Room, perhaps no other Bellingham place can equally capture the city’s seedy and comforting sides better. For residents and visitors alike, the business embodies the nostalgic simplicity of the late-night diner and the raucous fun of the American saloon.
And like a hot cup of Horseshoe chili on a cold night, its history is worth digging into.
‘Since 1886‘
As the top of the iconic Horseshoe Café sign has proclaimed for decades, the business supposedly opened in 1886.
Local historians, however, have found that claim nearly impossible to verify.
Kolby LaBree, co-founder of Bellingham’s Good Time Girls historical walking tours, conducted research several years ago for the current owners, hoping to determine the ‘Shoe’s origins. The earliest confirmed mention LaBree found was an 1890 Bellingham Bay directory published in 1889. The Horseshoe Saloon is listed on Holly Street, with no specific address and a mysterious proprietor named J.T. Hutson.
“Saloons shuffled around so much,” she says. “Proprietors changed hands, names changed and jumped locations. It’s very messy.”
There was also a “Horse Shoe Bar” in Fairhaven during the early 1900s, but the only connection to the modern business appears to be the similar name.
LaBree was unable to find any mention of an 1886 opening before the ‘Shoe’s 1958 re-opening, when the date showed up on the sign and in advertising. Her theory is that the Horseshoe’s then-owners settled on the date from the lineage of Henry M. Lane, who co-owned the Horseshoe Saloon with Frank Foskett in the early 1900s. Lane’s father, Michael Lane, ran a Whatcom saloon in the 1880s under an assumed name.
This 1946 photo shows the former Horseshoe location (right corner) and its present location in the former McCracken’s Cafe space. Photo credit: Jack Carver
Some people believe the 1886 claim, however, and the idea that the Horseshoe is the oldest bar in Washington. Some even claim it’s the oldest restaurant west of the Mississippi River, though this is unlikely.
Still, in 2002, Horseshoe owner Travis Holland issued $100 and then $200 cash bounties — complete with a complimentary meal — for anyone in a seven-state area who could prove another restaurant rivaled the Horseshoe for years of continuous operation under an original name.
It’s unclear if anyone came forward.
Location, Location, Location
After existing at an unknown Holly Street location for several years, the Horseshoe Saloon moved into the Lighthouse Block, the former building at the corner of Holly Street and Cornwall Avenue where Mark Twain lectured in 1895. The location is now a bank’s financial center.
It is here, at 102 East Holly Street, that the Whatcom Museum’s earliest photo of the Horseshoe was taken, in 1905. Jeff Jewell, Whatcom Museum archivist, says that like many saloons of its era, the Horseshoe had a cigar stand and was a men’s-only establishment — a place where a nomadic workforce of mostly bachelors could drink, eat, and smoke, possibly shaving, bathing or washing their clothes at the barbershop next door.
The Horseshoe’s Ranch Room as it looked in 1958, complete with Fred Oldfied mural and cow-themed bar stools. Photo credit: Jack Carver
In 1908, the Horseshoe moved directly next to the Lighthouse Block on E. Holly Street, into a building that once existed where an alleyway now sits, directly across from a modern convenience store. From 1911 to 1933, local, state, and federal alcohol prohibitions turned the Horseshoe into a café and smoke shop that also sold fishing tackle, cards, and ammunition.
In May 1939, Horseshoe owner Harry Pettyjohn was arrested for having pinball machines inside the smoke shop. Law enforcement classified the machines as “gambling devices” because early versions often paid money to winners. Pettyjohn was eventually acquitted.
When brothels dotted downtown between the 1920s and 1940s, LaBree says the Horseshoe was a place where working girls stored money and valuables in a large safe. Since the business was open 24 hours and women couldn’t keep their money in regular banks, it proved an ideal location.
In 1948, 25-year-old Jack Kahn and his brother-in-law, Julian Berenstain, bought the Horseshoe. That November, the passage of State Initiative 171 allowed the Horseshoe to be among the first liquor-licensed cocktail bars in Whatcom County.
A decade later, Kahn and Berenstain relocated the ‘Shoe to its present location: the 1900-built building that’s the former site of McCracken’s Café and the Bell Show movie theater. The duo continued operating the Horseshoe until Berenstain’s death in 1992. Kahn maintained ownership until selling to former Casa Que Pasa owner Travis Holland in 2000; Kahn died in 2004 at age 81.
The Horseshoe Cafe in 1958, shortly after its move from across East Holly Street. Photo credit: Jack Carver
Evolution of a Café
The 1958 move brought now-iconic changes to the Horseshoe: its famous sign, a Western-themed motif, 24-hour dining, and the opening of the Ranch Room.
The latter space, which regularly featured dancing and live music, included artwork by Western artist Fred Oldfield. Current Horseshoe co-owner Kate Groen says it’s rumored Oldfield painted the mural behind the bar to pay off a tab, but nobody really knows. Illegal card games also allegedly took place in the bar for a time.
While the Ranch Room was once home to blue-collar day drinkers and heavy smokers, it’s a different establishment today. But for many young Bellingham residents, Jewell says, drinking there is still a rite of passage.
“I think people have a very romantic image of the Ranch Room, in the flavor of maybe a Tom Waits song or a Charles Bukowski poem,” he says.
As the Horseshoe entered the 21st century, it changed along with society: payphone booths and indoor smoking gave way to things like wireless internet. But even in renovation — such as the 2001 addition of a front façade mural painted by Ramsey Rye — it remained Western-themed.
Live piano music and dancing was a frequent occurrence of the early Ranch Room, as this 1958 photo of musician Ian Smith shows. Photo credit: Jack Carver
The Legend of Rowdy Buckaroo
In the fall of 2001, Horseshoe Café owner Travis Holland began paying a bearded 65-year-old man to dress like a cowboy and slip dimes into expiring downtown parking meters.
Known simply as “Rowdy Buckaroo,” the man was often denim-and-flannel-clad, with a straw cowboy hat, red bandana, and lasso made from an old mooring line. He frequently patrolled the streets in a van, custom-painted with his own image.
From the early to mid aughts, Buckaroo — whose real name was Carl Pirscher — was a downtown fixture, saving many from the clutches of city parking enforcement and leaving behind small windshield leaflets that proclaimed “You’ve been rescued by Rowdy Buckaroo!”
The character was Holland’s way of sticking it to the city over parking fines, while simultaneously giving his business a friendly, high-profile mascot. Holland argued with the city for months against continuing to use parking meters, culminating with a failed 2002 ballot initiative to remove meters from downtown. It failed to gather enough signatures for a vote.
Pirscher died in 2015, the same year Holland and his wife sold the business. In 2018, local artist Shawn Cass immortalized Rowdy Buckaroo in a mural at the entrance to the alley between the Horseshoe and the Bellingham National Bank Building.
Rowdy Buckaroo, the former Horseshoe mascot who saved downtown patrons from parking fines, is immortalized on the side of the cafe in a 2018 mural. Photo credit: Matt Benoit
Current Status
The Horseshoe’s 24-hour days declined in May 2014, when the café began closing on Mondays and Tuesdays.
In April 2015, the Groen family — siblings Kate and Adam, their parents, and Kate’s husband Joseph Russell — assumed ownership of the Horseshoe. The café was renovated, re-opening in June 2015. But it did so without 24-hour status, closing at 4 a.m. on weekends and 2 a.m. during the week.
While restoring the Horseshoe to 24 hour-service would be great, Groen says it’s unlikely to happen given the current downtown climate.
The Horseshoe Cafe sign as it appeared in 2015.
In June 2022, its longtime sign was replaced by a newer, better-engineered version. Neon was swapped for color-changing LEDs, and the sign’s downward-facing horseshoe was intentionally turned upward as a symbol of good luck.
Today, the Horseshoe is open from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. five days a week, closing at 2:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
It remains a place where appetites are satiated, thirsts are quenched, the lonely find friends and the busy find solace. Its enduring legacy, Jewell notes, remains simple.
“People are hungry for authenticity,” he says. “The Horseshoe has that.”
In 2023 Assistance League of Bellingham was pleased to award a total of $44,000 in Summer Enrichment Scholarships to 77 Whatcom County students grades 6 through 11. They were able to participate in a variety of wonderful opportunities in areas such as art, music, technology, leadership, drama, science, and more.
Five recipients shared a few thoughts on their experiences:
Haley Ramirez, currently a sophomore at Nooksack Valley High School, received a $650 scholarship to attend the Blaine Harbor Music Festival last summer.
Although she has been playing the saxophone for about four years, this was Haley’s first opportunity to attend a summer camp. Her music teacher suggested she apply for the scholarship.
She knew four other people attending from her school and also made new friends among the other young musicians participating.
Haley said she learned a lot, taking several classes including songwriting, music composition, and performance. She was impressed with the faculty, all super-talented musicians, who put on free concerts every night. One, Jovino Santos Neto, is a three-time Latin Grammy award winner!
A variety of ages attended the camp, from middle school up to about 20 years old. A student showcase was held at the end of the week where attendees performed for each other and guests.
Haley would highly recommend anyone interested in music to participate in the Blaine Harbor Music Festival and said it was a great experience; definitely a highlight of her summer.
She was so thankful that Assistance League of Bellingham made it possible for her to attend.
Ben Lann, a Squalicum High School senior, was awarded a $900 scholarship to attend the flight school at Bellingham Aviation Service.
Ben’s grandfather — who had been in the Air Force but did not have the opportunity to fly himself — passed on his love of planes to his grandson. Ben’s grandpa was a role model and inspired Ben to pursue aviation by taking him to airports to watch the planes take off and land. This fueled Ben’s desire to one day pursue a career as a pilot.
So, when this enticing but expensive opportunity arose, he applied for an Assistance League Enrichment Scholarship.
The experience included two parts. One was the ground school, which was basically a classroom instructional setting, where he learned the basics of weather and the knowledge needed to pass the FAA Knowledge Test. The other was actual in-flight training with an instructor in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk.
These sessions departed from the Bellingham airport and lasted anywhere from 1 to 3 hours. 40 hours of flight would be required to prepare for his “check ride.” The process is similar to the written and driving part of getting your driver’s license.
Ben has applied to Stanford University, hoping to major in astronautical and aeronautical engineering.
He is grateful to the Assistance League for providing him with the opportunity to enroll in the flight school, where he could develop the skills and critical thinking necessary to realize his lifelong dream of a career in flying.
Max Juszynski, a senior at Bellingham High School, was a recipient of a $900 scholarship to attend a two-week Gonzaga Debate Camp.
Max has participated in school debates at the state and local level for two years. Attending the Gonzaga camp was suggested by his coach as a way to improve his skills in a short period of time.
While attending, Max had the opportunity to learn from some of the top debate instructors in the country, plus meet many young people also interested in debate. He felt those two weeks greatly improved his critical thinking and research skills.
A debate tournament was held as one of the culminating camp activities, in which teams of two participated in policy debates. As a result of this experience Max now feels better prepared to participate in state and local tournaments.
He is applying to the University of Washington next fall and hopes to pursue a career in political science — either teaching or perhaps working on a campaign.
He really appreciated the great learning opportunity provided by the Assistance League Scholarship.
Paria Kinsman, a Sehome High School sophomore, received a $900 scholarship to attend a Business Week seminar held at the University of Puget Sound.
Her mother found information about ALB’s scholarship program on the school’s website and suggested Paria might enjoy it. She was right.
Several instructors of various ages and areas of expertise, plus interns, helped with the program. Paria learned about different aspects of business including marketing, sales, decision-making, profitability, and environmental and political impacts.
Attendees were divided into teams with each developing a potential business idea based on information they had learned. At the end of the week each group made a presentation before three or more judges who evaluated the potential success of their business idea.
In addition to giving verbal feedback, the judges invested varying amounts of monopoly money with those they thought would be the most successful. The teams and their business ideas were then ranked by the amount of “money” invested in their potential business ideas.
Paria found the workshop a really worthwhile experience, since she is interested in starting a small jewelry business, perhaps on Etsy. It was a great opportunity to meet many other people with similar interests and Paria has kept in touch with someone she met from Poland.
Keely Frazier, currently a senior at Bellingham High School, was a recipient of a $795 scholarship from Assistance League to pursue her dance training by participating in a summer dance intensive.
Dancing can be a very expensive sport and she was extremely grateful for the financial assistance provided.
Keely trains throughout the year at local studio Dancing for Joy and is currently on their dance company and on the principal team with the company.
One- and two-week summer intensive programs were offered, and she opted for the two-week course. Dancing for Joy’s intensive structure began each day with a Pilates and conditioning class, followed by a ballet session. After lunch three different style of classes were offered such as contemporary, variations, jazz, etc.
Keely loved the structure because each day started with a base of technique, and then additional areas of dance were explored in the afternoon.
One of her favorite classes was a choreography class by Alexander Miller. They were led through exercises and techniques that helped them create interesting choreography of their own. Keely had often danced to choreography provided by others, but found it especially rewarding to work on and perform a piece she choreographed herself.
At the end of each week a piece was presented that encapsulated what had been learned.
Keely said it was a truly amazing experience, and she found Dancing for Joy to be a very welcoming and supporting environment, a great place to learn and grow. She praised the instructors not only for being very knowledgeable in a variety of different styles, but for obviously caring about each dancer, wanting to help them further their growth as a dancer and a person.
Enrichment Scholarship opportunities are available again this year through Assistance League Bellingham. Students can access the application information on our website at assistanceleaguebellingham.org or through their school counselors. All applications must be received no later than February 16, 2024.
The historic Worthington Mansion is welcoming visitors for overnight bookings. Stay at the beautifully renovated private mansion with authentic Victorian-era furnishings and exquisite art. Photo credit: Jess Caldwell
Ever wonder what it would be like to spend a weekend with the people you love in your private mansion? The Worthington Mansion with its associated museum, outdoor theater and public park is set in a quiet town nestled between the Hood Canal’s Quilcene Bay and the eastern slope of the Olympic National Forest. Quilcene welcomes visitors with small-town hospitality and offers easy access to some of the most beautiful outdoor adventures in the Pacific Northwest. Throughout a weekend or midweek stay, visitors could choose a staycation within the splendor of this regal historic Victorian mansion or spend their days exploring the many possibilities of nature’s abundant offerings that draw so many to this region.
Brian Cullin is a volunteer and director of communications for Worthington Mansion. With over 100 registered volunteers dedicating nearly 50,000 documented hours of labor for restoration efforts, Worthington Mansion is truly a community project of many minds, hearts and hands. Photo credit: Jess Caldwell
Worthington Park and Mansion Renovations
With over 100 registered volunteers dedicating nearly 50,000 documented hours of labor, Worthington Mansion has been meticulously renovated with the love of a very passionate community.
Brian Cullin has been an active volunteer with the project for seven years. He has not only participated in the physical labor involved with the restoration project but also serves as the director of communications. “Since fully opening our doors in 2023, we are thrilled to be finally welcoming guests to our beloved historical site,” he shares.
Rent Worthington Mansion for Vacations, Weddings, Other Events
The 13-room restored mansion includes four bedrooms featuring period furnishings to sleep up to eight guests.
Adorned with original, historic art that has been donated to elevate the authenticity of the experience, Worthington Mansion makes for a special vacation experience. The 10-acre public park associated with the property includes a historic barn, a large and well-maintained grassy area to stroll by the pond and access to the CK Birkenfeld Trail, complete with interpretive signs.
Meander over to the Quilcene Historical Museum or admire the hand-crafted artwork of the community stage. For those looking for a special event venue, the unique and intentionally-designed location has hosted weddings, concerts and private events that inspire a special kind of look and feel. Make sure to scroll through their online Events Calendar to explore the many public festivities being offered throughout the year. From the Quilcene Fiber Festival to bike races and movies under the stars, there is something for everyone to enjoy thanks to the many dedicated volunteers who have brought the vision of Worthington Park’s possibility to life.
Worthington Park provides a 10-acre public nature space that includes the Linger Longer Stage, designed and built by local volunteers. The stage offers live music and theatrical performances and can be rented for private events. Photo credit: Jess Caldwell
Where To Eat While Visiting Quilcene and Worthington Mansion
Whether driving through town while touring the Olympic Peninsula or staying at Worthington Mansion, consider starting your day off with a hot beverage from Catkin Coffee Roastery & Cafe. This charming coffee house offers delightful pastries and espresso drinks with a warm and welcoming environment to sit and enjoy.
For lunch, Gear Head Deli is right next door to the coffee shop and is owned by a kind-hearted couple who have created an auto-themed cafe with bright colors and delicious sandwiches. Co-owner Debbie Williams who runs the deli alongside her husband Larry Williams suggests the pulled pork sandwich for your first experience. “It is the local favorite!” she shares. “Braised in porter beer with homemade barbecue sauce and smoked on-site.”
Writer Jess Caldwell enjoys the Gear Head Deli pulled pork sandwich. This local favorite is braised in porter beer with homemade barbeque sauce and smoked on-site. Can’t decide on a sandwich? Spin the auto-themed wheel for inspiration on what to choose from the menu. Photo credit: Jason Marsteiner
Unsure of which sandwich to choose? Make it a surprise and spin the auto-themed wheel located on the counter to assist with your choice. It won’t steer you wrong!
For dinner, Quilbilly’s Restaurant and Taproom offers locally-sourced menu items from burgers to oysters, along with draft beers and ciders. A homemade dessert will complete the Quilcene experience and the staff are exceptionally down-to-earth and friendly.
What To Do While Visiting Quilcene and Worthington Mansion
Stop by the Chimacum Corner Farm Stand to pick up a locally inspired picnic lunch and head out to Fort Flagler State Park. For those who enjoy history along with the beauty of nature and expansive views of the Olympic Peninsula, an entire day or weekend can be spent enjoying the many activities available at this popular state park.
Ranger Aaron Terada, the operations manager at Fort Flagler State Park, encourages visitors to explore the onsite museum featuring displays of the fort and military life at the turn of the 20th century. Photo credit: Jess Caldwell
Make sure to tour the Fort Flagler Historical Museum, featuring displays of the fort and military life at the turn of the 20th century. Enjoy trails, beachcombing, biking, bird watching and even winter camping. Park Ranger Aaron Terada has been the operations manager for 12 years. He suggests that visitors consider renting one of the five historic Fort Flagler vacation houses for a unique overnight stay. “I love living here at Fort Flagler State Park and welcoming the many guests that visit throughout the year,” explains Terada. “We are family-friendly with coordinated scavenger hunts and a Junior Ranger Program for youth.”
Whether you want to impress the person you are courting with a unique romantic getaway in Jefferson County, or you are planning a holiday stay with a large family gathering on the Olympic Peninsula, the Worthington Mansion historical site and Fort Flagler Historical State Park each brings beauty, art and a rich history to your weekend getaway. To learn more about planning your next vacation or event in the Olympic Peninsula, visit the Enjoy Olympic Peninsula website.
Women of all ages and experience levels are welcome to join Shifting Gears for their programs. Photo courtesy Shifting Gears
When you’re new or returning to outdoor activities, planning how to work up to them or find like-minded others can be daunting. In Bellingham, there’s an organization dedicated to empowering women toward achieving these goals: Shifting Gears, a recreational nonprofit with programs for biking, hiking, kayaking, and climbing.
Shifting Gears started in 2017, when they received their 501(c)3 nonprofit status after organizing several outdoor outings.
“It was formed by a group of women who started out on a bike packing trip,” says Executive Director Krysy Keller. “They had invited all their friends to join and [for many] this was their first time.” Amazing conversations took place on that initial trip: what it’s like to be new to a sport and how intimidating that can be, but also how amazing it was to be on a trip with a group of women and how supportive everyone was.
Shifting Gears has grown to serve over 400 women in their programs, with a board of around 10 people.
“There was a need for other activities, so we started exploring things like day hikes and backpacking,” Keller says. “It’s really grown into this amazing organization that serves so many women in the outdoor space by creating outdoor recreational opportunities where women can participate and feel confident and learn some new skills — and also meet other women that really want to be in the outdoors.”
Shifting Gears has brought many groups of women together in pursuit of outdoor recreational interests and goals. Photo courtesy Shifting Gears
Programs in Whatcom’s Great Outdoors
Shifting Gears hosts mountain biking and road biking outings, typically once a month, along with other activities on seasonal schedules.
“We also offer day hikes and backpacking trips,” says Keller. “We’ve built incredibly strong partnerships with the Community Boating Center where we offer weekly sea kayaking paddles, and also with VITAL Climbing Gym, where we offer monthly climb nights.”
Keep on eye on Shifting Gears’ events calendar for updates on upcoming programs and special events.
“You’ll also find us doing workshops and seminars, like panel discussions about women in the outdoors,” Keller says. “We host workshops around bike maintenance clinics and things like that, and other ways women can meet other women and learn new skills.”
Hikes with Shifting Gears often take participants out into the Cascade and Chuckanut mountains. Photo courtesy Shifting Gears
Energized Events
Shifting Gears also hosts events ranging from special occasions, such as film screenings, to large annual gatherings like the Bellingham Bike Swap each May.
“That’s associated with Boundary Bay Brewery and is essentially a bike swap,” says Keller. “People can bring any sort of biking gear to sell, and a portion of those sales goes toward Shifting Gears to support our programs.” The event has proven to be an effective way circulate gear in the community people may no longer want or need — and an awesome place for people to purchase gear at an affordable price.
The Bellingham Bike Swap is one of Shifting Gears’ biggest events, including contributions from organizations such as the Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition. Photo courtesy Shifting Gears
Every March, Wild Women Week provides new opportunities for women to get outdoors through Shifting Gears’ full lineup of activities.
“Centered around International Women’s Day, it’s usually a week to two weeks of different activities and events that celebrate women in the outdoors,” Keller says. “Those are usually heavily attended and a ton of fun.”
Shifting Gears also collaborates with Lost Giants Cider Company and other local cideries for the annual Sippin’ on Cider festival in October. From November through December, they also host an annual holiday auction.
“We have over 80 businesses participating and donating items to our auction,” says Keller. “It’s all done virtually and participants can bid on different items that are supported by local businesses.”
Shifting Gears’ calendar covers their regular programs such as mountain biking and road biking. Photo courtesy Shifting Gears
Shifting Gears Into the Future
In just a few short years, Shifting Gears has cultivated a space for women to hone their athletic abilities regardless of age, experience, or economic barriers.
“Women get different things out of it,” says Keller. “The women are able to take away this level of confidence and growing in the outdoors, and feeling like you’re able to participate in an activity — that you belong there. And you’re creating this sense of community with other women that enjoy the outdoor space.”
With community support, Shifting Gears continues to expand its reach.
“We hope to explore winter offerings and create programs people can participate in all year round, and then obviously grow a lot of our events,” Keller says. “One of the big goals for the organization is to create a gear library where participants are able to get gear that can be extremely expensive in this industry.”
For more on Shifting Gears’ programs and events, you can visit their website, Facebook, and Instagram.
A fine wine, your favorite jeans, a drop-top Chevy…so many things get better with age. Unfortunately, your home’s essential equipment isn’t among them. From inefficiencies to unexpected repairs, if your HVAC equipment, water heater, or fireplace is over the hill, it’s likely costing you money.
A water heater near its end times can’t be ignored; a leak or burst tank can cause substantial water damage to your home very quickly. Photo courtesy Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing
It’s no surprise that much of your home’s equipment requires a lot of energy to operate. Many comfort systems work continuously day in and day out, providing us with hot water or warm air. In fact, water heating and space heating/cooling accounts for around 40% of your home’s combined electricity consumption (www.eia.gov). And if your equipment is old, that percentage—and thus the price tag to operate it—could be much higher.
Safety can also be a concern with older equipment. Like all fuel-powered systems, gas furnaces that are not well maintained run the risk of becoming a fire hazard or leaking fumes into your home. Fireplaces are much the same, especially as older wood-burning styles can create hazardous gases from the buildup of creosote and soot. And a water heater that’s near its end times…you can imagine the horror. Besides electrical hazards or improper heating, a leak or burst tank can cause substantial water damage to your home very quickly—all malfunctions that could be disastrous for you and your family.
Like all fuel-powered systems, gas furnaces that are not well maintained run the risk of becoming a fire hazard or leaking fumes into your home. Photo courtesy Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing
Safety concerns like these impress the importance of routine maintenance for all equipment. But they also serve as a reminder that your neglected unit might need more than just a pat on the back for working so hard all these years. So while there’s no shame in “being classic”, hanging onto your age-old equipment may finally be paying off! Now through January 31, we’re once again rolling Barron’s historic Pay Back Program—but it’s now bigger and better than ever. Whether you’re housing a dinosaur furnace that somehow keeps chugging along, or if you’ve been dreaming of an instant-heat, efficient tankless for your home, Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing is offering huge savings on not just furnaces, but everything we install.
A neglected unit might need more than just a pat on the back for working so hard all these years.Photo courtesy Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing
Ready to cash in on the Nostalgia? With this year’s Pay Back Program, you’ll get $100 for every year of your equipment’s age replaced. That means your 20-year-old furnace will get you $2,000 off a new unit of your choice. And your 5-year-old water heater that just can’t keep up? Replace it for up to $500 off the upgrade you’ve been dreaming of. Plus, Barron will double that discount when you upgrade to tankless. Furnaces, ductless, water heaters, fireplaces, generators…you name it, it’s on sale.
But we’re not stopping there! Two lucky customers will win their installation for free, including the customer with the oldest furnace. Plus, the first 10 customer installations will snag a $500 Costco shop card, and the next 40 will receive $200 shop cards. That’s 50 happy folks, and odds in your favor!
Sound great?! We sure think so. With thousands in potential savings, Barron’s Pay Back Program makes now the perfect time to replace your old equipment and invest in modern comfort and efficiency for your new year. So, show us your oldies—we can’t wait to transform your home. As your Pacific Northwest home and building performance experts since 1972, we stand by Our Mission: Improving Lives™.
The Fireside Restaurant at Port Ludlow Resort partners with twelve different farmers including Chimacum Valley Grainery to create their famous buckwheat pancakes. Photo credit: Jess Caldwell
Visitors are drawn from all over the map to experience the many wonders of the Olympic Peninsula. From the variety of ecosystems that cover the coastline to mountainous peaks and the rainforest, this area is rich with beautiful landscapes that draw nature lovers and adventurers. There is another regional attribute that has attracted so many to the fertile Chimacum Valley and the surrounding areas, the food and farming culture. Check out these year-round places to plan your farm-to-table foodie adventure around the whole Olympic Culinary Loop on the Olympic Peninsula.
A Day of Nourishment: A Foodie and Farm Lover’s Itinerary
White Lotus Farm & Inn
Book a weekend stay at White Lotus Farm & Inn. This family-owned operation includes 70 acres and provides sourdough bread made with locally-grown grains; pasture-raised chickens and eggs; fresh produce and microgreens; raw honey; 100% grass-fed lamb and wool; and cut flowers. They are committed to no-till farming methods for soil protection.
Along with multiple options for lodging, the family runs a small CSA and attends local farmers markets. This is a beautiful location for a couples getaway or larger private events as they have a barn hall and dance floor.
The Fireside Restaurant
For breakfast, head over to The Fireside Restaurant at Port Ludlow Resort. Experience true farm-to-table fare as chef Dan Ratigan, who has been with The Fireside Restaurant for 15 years, has personally visited every farm he works with. “We have a close connection to agriculture here and the relationships with our farmers are important to us,” he shares. “From the Chimacum Valley Grainery buckwheat pancakes made with locally-grown and milled grains to the salad blends, goat cheese and pork, we make sure to source locally and support the farmers who steward this land.”
Chef Dan Ratigan of The Fireside Restaurant at Port Ludlow Resort has cultivated an extensive relationship with the many local farmers and curates exceptional dining experiences using locally sourced and seasonally aligned produce, meats, grains, and cheeses. Photo credit: Jess Caldwell
Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, the menu changes with the season and is determined by what local offerings are available. The restaurant works with 12 different farms that are beautifully represented on a map displayed in the restaurant.
HJ Carroll Park and SpringRain Farm & Orchard
After breakfast, head out for a walk at HJ Carroll Park. Learn about Pacific Northwest native plants or walk the Rick Tollefson Memorial Trail, which offers interpretive signs winding along the edges of SpringRain Farm & Orchard.
Roxanne Hudson and husband John Bellow have created a robust organic food production farm with ethically-raised meat and eggs as well as fruits, berries, perennial vegetables and greenhouse crops. With 26 acres of agricultural land to manage, Bellow uses integrated systems thinking to sustainably mimic the natural ecosystem. Stop by the SpringRain Farm & Orchard farm stand, open seven days a week, to pick up fresh produce or one of Hudson’s many food delights. “We produce farmstead jams and syrups, heirloom tomato sauce, applesauce, frozen blueberries and various pesto,” she explains.
Roxanne Hudson and her husband John Bellow welcome visitors to stop by their farmstand located onsite at SpringRain Farm in Chimacum. They sell many food delights including handcrafted mugs from Laughing Gnome Pottery. Photo credit: Jess Caldwell
Chimacum Corner Farmer Stand
As a rural natural grocer and hub of the farming community and culture, Chimacum Corner Farmstand is one of the central supporters of the hyper-local agricultural and artisan scene. Stop by to pick up a picnic lunch or gather local and organic foods for a home-cooked meal. There are many beautiful hand-made gift items that are perfect for bringing home as a special keepsake from your Olympic Peninsula travels.
The Chimacum Corner Farmstand supports the hyper-local agricultural and artisan scene. Photo credit: Jess Caldwell
Finnriver Farm & Cidery
Make your visit to the Olympic Peninsula an unforgettable experience with a visit to Finnriver Farm & Cidery.The aesthetic upon arrival will bring visitors into the good feels of farm life with the elegance of beautifully-designed intentional spaces. Try a flight of farm-crafted cider and sip in the experience that includes a view overlooking the organic orchard.
The last day of the fruit pressing season at Finnriver Farm & Cidery using apples from their organic orchard. Photo credit: Jess Caldwell
Book a Tour and Tasting or schedule time during the weekend to enjoy live music in their outdoor heated pavilion, which was voted “Best Live Music Venue on the Peninsula.”Along with hosting local food vendors onsite,folks are welcome to bring a picnic lunch from the Chimacum Corner Farmstand located right next door or try a delicious offering from the Finnriver farm kitchen. As a certified B-Corp organization, Finnriver embraces its mission, “To celebrate the beauty and bounty of the earth, to reconnect people to the land that sustains us and to grow community.”
There is something special growing in the Olympic Peninsula’s Chimacum Valley and surrounding areas. Great stewards who treat the health of the soil with the same care as the health of their communities are creating sustainable networks that connect people to the land and their food. Food is love and this sentiment is being felt throughout local networks from the farmers to the natural grocers. This of course extends into the hospitality sector that brings visitors to the area for farm tours, cider tasting and fine locally-sourced dining. Let your inner foodie out with a farm-to-table getaway you will never forget.
Helen Hanson, chief hostess at Bellingham’s USO Hospitality Center, hands out Christmas gifts. Image from December 24, 1942 Bellingham Herald. Photo courtesy Washington State Library
Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, plunged the United States into war just as the holiday season was beginning. As the war dragged on for four long years, people in Bellingham found ways to come together to celebrate and to support those in the military who were far from home during the holidays.
Helping Soldiers
The American Legion collected gifts at their hall to give to soldiers that first wartime Christmas. Those who wanted to invite soldiers to join the family dinner were asked to call the local armory and not the “Filter Center,” whose phone line was reserved for air raid warning use only. Many service members could not get leave on Christmas, as the country was on high alert for possible further attacks.
As the war progressed, efforts to help soldiers became more organized. A USO Hospitality Center for service men and women was set up on East Holly Street. Servicemen, their wives, and servicewomen could go there for rest and entertainment throughout the week. In 1942, the junior hostesses put on an informal, “homey” party, serving a buffet supper on Christmas day. City and county organizations donated the food. High School students cooked up cookies and candy while the Camp Fire Girls made 100 popcorn balls. Volunteers also handed out gift boxes prepared by county and local civic organizations.
Others rushed to mail packages to their loved ones in the military. They were encouraged to mail in October to ensure arrival in time, even earlier for Hannukah. The city residents sent record-levels of mail. On October 16 alone — the 1943 deadline to send gifts to soldiers overseas — the city sent three tons of packages to service members overseas, as well as sacks upon sacks of cards and letters. The local Salvation Army sent hundreds of gift boxes to soldiers who otherwise would receive no holiday presents.
Soldiers and sailors decorate a Christmas tree at Bellingham’s USO Hospitality Center. The tree, from Mount Baker National Forest, was donated by the State Highway Department. Image from December 24, 1942 issue of the Bellingham Herald. Photo courtesy Washington State Library
Besides gifts, the holidays were a time to donate to the Red Cross and buy war bonds. “Send gifts of tanks, guns, and planes to our boys with a war bond in every stocking,” urged a 1942 Puget Sound Pulp and Timber Co. ad. “The very best wish we can think of,” proclaimed a Lee Grocery ad in 1943, “is that by Christmas, 1944, the Axis will be completely licked and then there will be everlasting peace throughout the world.”
But for many during the war, their loved ones were far away from home, their fates uncertain. Soldiers celebrated in bases across the country, on ships, hospitals, prisons, and on the front lines. For many, there was no holiday at all.
Said former army medic Corporal John Aubert when interviewed in 1945, back home in Bellingham, about the Christmas the year before: “I worked so bloody hard that day, fixing up casualties from the night before [from the attack on Morotai island], that I went to bed early” after having a bit more spam than usual.
For fellow Bellingham-native Arnold Donnovan, leading a platoon clearing mines at Odgivilla, Christmas 1944 meant a cake baked for his group by a German family in the ruins of their shelled-out home where the soldiers were staying.
“Christmas trees may be hard to find, so how about a white Christmas with a cranberry studded, snowy popcorn tree?” wrote Vivian Brown, Associated Press Features Writer for the December 16, 1943 issue of the Bellingham Herald. “It will be easy to make and all you have to do is set the youngsters to work some afternoon and watch the fun.” The cranberries were pinned on — ouch! Photo courtesy Washington State Library
Holidays on the Homefront
Back home, people tried to continue celebrating the holidays as close to normal as possible, although gasoline rationing and limited train availability made traveling to see family impossible for most. People held church services, holiday concerts, craft fairs, “white elephant” auctions, parties, and dances.
People on the homefront were confronted with rationing and shortages. Toys used wood, cardboard, and “non-essential” plastic instead of metal and rubber. Enterprising grandma Mrs. B. F. Nicolay decided to make a dollhouse and a Noah’s Ark with toy animals for her grandchildren.
Local newspapers were full of ideas of how to bake for the holidays in accordance with rationing and shortages. “Candy, this holiday season, is hard to come by,” wrote Associated Press Food Editor Charlotte Adams in 1944, “but there are certain simple confections you can make at home” to uphold holiday traditions. Sugar-saving recipes used things like corn syrup, honey, and molasses to replace or reduce the use of rationed granulated sugar.
Other suggested recipes included treats to send to loved ones in the military. These had to be things that could “take it,” like cookies, fruit cakes, hard candy, dried fruit, and carefully packed jars of homemade jam.
Closer to home, people baked for soldiers nearby. In December 1941, Fisher’s Blend Flour sponsored a weekly “Cookies for Rookies” contest through local grocers. In one week alone, 88 dozen cookies were sent to Fort Lawton, 35 dozen cookies were sent to the British warship Warspite anchored in Bremerton, as well as many more to the service men’s clubs locally.
Peacetime Christmas
The holiday season in 1945 was a special one. The war was finally over! While many soldiers had yet to return and the difficult work of rebuilding loomed ahead, people welcomed the holidays with new joy. “Merry Christmas to all those still in service,” a Forrest Furniture Manufacturing Company ad proclaimed, “and those who are at home and to every civilian in America. May we keep America a land of justice and freedom for all years to come.”
Cascade Connections’ Board of Directors has chosen Allison Hill to replace George Beanblossom as executive director when George retires at the end of 2023 after more than four decades of service.
Allison Hill has been named the new executive director for Cascade Connections. Photo courtesy Cascade Connections
Allison, as the new executive director, brings more than 30 years of experience working at Cascade Connections in various positions including the administrator of the agency’s original group home on King Tut Road and as the training director for 12 years. Allison founded the Cascade Connections Training Department in 2011, and as a DSHS Community Trainer, she has taught classes such as RIGHT RESPONSE, HCA certification, and First Aid/CPR to staff, families, and community members.
Allison believes in servant leadership and in creating an inclusive environment that prioritizes the growth, well-being, and empowerment of those around her and enables everyone in the agency to thrive as their authentic self.
For more than 30 years, she has fought for the inclusion of the individuals Cascade serves in schools, in the workforce, and especially in the community. She believes that all people are valuable, contributing members of the community, and she will continue to empower and support individuals in their community. Allison is a longtime resident of Whatcom County, earned her degree in psychology with a minor in sociology from Trinity Western University, and is looking forward to her new role at Cascade Connections.
Allison recently organized a casual, open-house retirement party for George at their administrative office in Ferndale on December 14th. The gathering was filled with laughter and a strong sense of camaraderie as colleagues, friends, and community members gathered to express their appreciation. George’s compassion and commitment have left an indelible mark on the agency and his absence will be deeply felt. His family, staff, and community wish him a retirement filled with joy, relaxation, and new adventures.
“We want to thank George for 43 years of service…how amazing, and what an impact he’s made in our community!” says Allison. “We have gone from serving 12 individuals to nearly 300. We hope to continue George’s legacy and see even better and bigger things to come.”
“I look forward to Cascade Connections’ future, because Allison will do a great job leading the team,” George says. “She has a competent, gifted team that will take the agency to the next level in terms of growth and organization.”
After five decades of operation, Barron Heating, AC, Electrical & Plumbing continues to be a local leader in meeting the heating needs of residents....
