For two months, more than twenty art upcyclers have sewed, glued, spackled and glittered recycled and donated fabric, clothing and household goods to create their original art submission for The Downtown Upcycle ThrowDown, an art and sustainability challenge event created by Ragfinery and Wise Buys Community Thrift Store of Lydia Place. This creative and original art contest, sponsored by Northwest Recycling, Inc and The Downtown Bellingham Partnership marks the first annual cooperative “Upcycle Challenge” of these two local nonprofits. The culminating group show-off exhibition and ThrowDown takes place during the Bellingham Art Walk on Friday, August 7, from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the new Hatch retail storefront located at 1302 Commercial Street in downtown Bellingham. Artist meet and greet, People’s Choice contest, live music provided by DJ Birdman of GMB Entertainment, cold beverages from Kulshan Brewery and Kombucha Town, and lots of sweet surprises top off this original art challenge featuring 100 percent recycled materials and 100% creativity.
From June 1 through July 31, artists were invited to participate in the first annual ThrowDown designed to challenge stereotypical paint and canvas and fabric fashion creations and push individuals to use materials that were once discarded and donated to create original works of art. A $20 contest entry fee afforded each participant two $10 vouchers to spend at each store for materials. From plates to t-shirts, to discarded kimonos and linens — contestants were challenged to see beyond the garment or the spoon — and stretch the limitations of what they could create. These and unseen fasteners (thread, tape, glue) were the only sanctioned materials for their pieces of work. Artists then chose to enter their piece in one of two categories – “Wearable” or “Non-wearable” for a chance to win two $100 cash prizes courtesy of Northwest Recycling Inc.
A jury of art lovers and Belle-brities will make the tough and exciting selection for both category winners. Jurors include Emily O’Connor — Lydia Place Executive Director, Shan Sparling — Ragfinery Manager, Nick Hartrich — Downtown Bellingham Partnership Executive Director, Kelly Hart — Allied Arts Executive Director, and Kelli Linville — Mayor Of Bellingham. An additional “People’s Choice Selection” will be orchestrated in real time by art walk participants during the opening from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., with the winner being crowned at 9:00 p.m.
Wade Stringfield joins WECU as the SBA (Small Business Administration) Program Manager. (Photo courtesy of WECU.)
WECU is pleased to welcome Wade Stringfield and Mike Yeend to our Business Services Department.
A former Business Advisor for the Small Business Development Center at Western Washington University, Wade Stringfield has nine years of experience in the banking industry and previously worked for US Bank, Wells Fargo and Coastal Community Bank. Wade also spent two years pursuing the entrepreneurial dream as the owner and operator of a small retail store. Holding a BBA with dual emphasis in finance and marketing from Oklahoma Baptist University, and an MBA from the University of Oklahoma, Wade joins WECU as the SBA (Small Business Administration) Program Manager, a role that will allow WECU to expand our member business loan offerings as an SBA 7A lender.
Mike Yeend brings more than 25 years of commercial lending experience to WECU. Previously a Relationship Manager at Banner Bank, and a Commercial Team Lead for US Bank, Mike has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Gonzaga University, an MBA from the University of Washington and is a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School. Mike is also a Regional Advisor Board member for Junior Achievement of Washington, a long-time member of the Bellingham Kiwanis Club and the Chair of the Kiwanis Youth Services/Sponsored Leadership Programs committee. Mike’s lending and leadership experience will be a valuable addition to our business lending team where he joins us as the MBL (Member Business Loans) Team Leader.
With over 75,500 members, WECU is Whatcom County’s largest not-for-profit financial cooperative, now serving all residents of Whatcom County. Information is available at www.wecu.com or by calling 676-1168.
Jan Peters produces and curates Irish and Folk Nights at Boundary Bay Brewery.
The first time I met Jan Peters I was busking outside the Community Food Co-op. It was the middle of February and my hands were moving sluggishly from the cold. Jan came up, listened for a while, then pulled a harmonica from his pocket and started playing along. Immediately I could tell he had a way with music.
When I introduced myself, Jan handed me his card and told me about an open mic he hosted at the Star Club just around the corner. “You should come,” he told me. So, I did.
Since then, I’ve discovered just how embedded Jan is in the Bellingham music community.
Raised in a musical family (Jan’s father is an accomplished trumpet player and his aunt is a jazz vocalist), Jan grew up with music. Though he’s skilled with numerous instruments, he primarily plays Irish bouzouki and harmonica.
Jan has spent most of his life working as a musician. He grew up in Ithaca, New York, then relocated to California where he spent some years working as a professional blues musician. Eventually, life led Jan to Bellingham where he has spent the past 17 years making music, cultivating community, and adding to the richness of our music scene. Over the past nine months, Jan has been focusing much of his efforts on the curation of the weekly Irish and folk nights at Boundary Bay Brewery, which I paid a visit to last week.
Amidst the clinking of glass and din of conversation, the beer garden at Boundary Bay is swaying with fiddle tunes. It’s Monday night and the sun is beginning to set.
Toward the front of the garden sits a circle of about a dozen musicians. They’re all holding instruments including fiddles, mandolins, pennywhistles, dulcimers. I see a bodhrán (a traditional Irish frame drum) in one man’s hand.
Local Irish folk music band Gallowglass is comprised of Jan Peters, Brit Keaton, David Lofgren, and Zach Bauman.
What’s happening before me is called a “session.” These musicians may know one another, and they may not. Regardless, they have gathered to play traditional Irish folk music. Together they teach each other and learn as they play. Sessions are intended for the sharing and trading of song.
The session at Irish Night was born spontaneously, Jan tells me. One night, interest was expressed in the potential and soon it became “a thriving and growing open Irish session.” Anyone interested is welcome to join the session between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. every Monday night.
Once the session has run its course, Jan takes the stage with Peadar McMahon, Irish folksinger, storyteller, and co-host of Irish Night. “Peadar is a great man of song from Limerick, Ireland,” Jan tells me. “His knowledge of the history and story behind the songs he sings is of neverending interest.”
As Peadar starts to sing, his voice booms through the garden and out into the night like the wail of a curved horn. The songs he shares transport us. Suddenly we are across the ocean, watching the moonrise from a hillside. We are listening to an old woman sing to herself while she picks nettles by the roadside. We hear the jangle of coins on the skirts of the Roma as they pass in their caravan.
David Lofgren thumps out complex rhythms on his bodhrán, a traditional Irish frame drum.
After this set comes to a close, Gallowglass, the evening’s feature, takes the stage. Gallowglass, another one of Jan’s musical projects, is a four-piece Irish and folk band made up of Jan on Irish bouzouki and harmonica, David Lofgren on the bodhrán, Brit Keeton on fiddle, and Zach Bauman (the third host of Irish Night) on the guitar. Zach and Jan also sing and write tunes for the band.
As they begin, I’m instantly impressed. The low, driving rhythms of David’s bodhrán bring a new energy to the garden. Feet tap on the stone patio. Heads bob. Suddenly, the whole space is alive with a centuries-old, richly emotive music.
Gallowglass plays mostly traditional Irish tunes, but they also slip in some of their own compositions and even an obscure French piece. By the end of the night, I feel full and fed by what the musicians have brought to us.
When I ask Jan what drives him to produce Irish Night, he tells me he wants “simply to turn more people on to really good traditional music.”
“I think it’s important music, and I want to do my small bit in helping to keep it alive and well,” Jan explains. “Where does tradition begin and end? When does an innovation or alteration become a part of the greater tradition, if it does at all? These to me are vitally interesting things.”
Each week, Irish night features a different headlining performer. In the past, Jan has brought in world-renowned Irish fiddler Dale Russ, local accordionist Lucas Hicks (Rattletrap Ruckus, Gallus Brothers), Flip Breskin, and Robert Sarazin Blake, to name a few.
The garden at Boundary Bay Brewery is the perfect outdoor setting for Irish and Folk Night held on Monday nights through September.
Jan tells me that we should expect Irish Night to continue. Come winter, they’ll have to find an indoor home (rumor has it Boundary might be opening up a new space), but through September Jan and friends will be bringing the Irish folk tradition weekly to the garden.
Notes are written onto the bands found around napkin and silverware bundles at Brandywine Kitchen, and then stuffed into cracks in the eatery’s brick wall.
Downtown Bellingham’s Brandywine Kitchen grew organically out of co-owner Azizi Tookas and Chris Sunde’s first venture, Brandywine Gardens.
Another organic change occurred a year into the restaurant’s evolution, as patrons began to stash scrolled notes into cracks in the space’s soaring brick wall.
“At first I was a bit annoyed, because I thought it looked a little tacky,” Tookas says with a laugh. “But then it really took off.”
Brandywine’s Beginnings
Brandywine Gardens began, in 2005, as a grower of specialty heirloom tomatoes; Tookas and Sunde sold them at the Bellingham Farmers Market on top of their restaurant management day jobs—Tookas at the Old Town Café and Sunde at La Fiamma.
“It was really just a little side hobby,” Tookas says. In 2008, they decided to ramp things up, turning Brandywine Gardens into Brandywine Kitchen, selling prepared food at the farmers market.
“We started making our own baguettes and offered three different sandwiches and soups.”
Their spot at the market allowed Tookas and Sunde to easily play around with what worked and didn’t. Through direct customer feedback they tweaked a few things, changing their bread recipe and some of the sandwiches. “It was a good trial ground,” says Tookas.
In 2011, the owners of the Commercial Street building that now houses Brandywine Kitchen approached them and asked if they might be interested in opening a brick-and-mortar site.
Brandywine Kitchen’s Commercial Street space grew organically out of the owners’ Brandywine Gardens booth at the Bellingham Farmers Market.
“Coincidentally, we’d been writing a business plan to do just that that,” says Tookas. “In May 2011, we got into the space, just kind of held our breath, and jumped in.”
Both men had experience working in and managing restaurants, so they felt comfortable running the new eatery. “But neither of us had ever started a restaurant. That was exciting,” Tookas says.
The team continued to sell at the farmers market even after Brandywine Kitchen opened in July—and it proved to be a powerful tool for successfully launching the new place.
“People who had been coming to the market every week and getting our food were excited and spread the word,” says Tookas.
Tookas says he and Sunde were fortunate to transition from farmers market to brick-and-mortar eatery. “We hit the ground running and haven’t stopped since. Things have been really good.”
They still grow heirloom tomatoes, though they’ve scaled back production. “We’re too busy running a restaurant,” Tookas says, laughing.
When crops come in, Brandywine Kitchen patrons enjoy them in sandwich specials and heirloom tomato gazpacho.
Wisdom from the wall
Brandywine Kitchen is popular for its scrumptious eats—from sandwiches, soups, and salads to entrees like salmon cakes, cochito tacos, and more—but they’ve also come to be known for the notes diners tuck into the dining room’s brick wall.
“It didn’t start right off the bat,” Tookas says of the notes, though he does recall finding a couple mentioning chips and salsa—likely from the space’s earlier La Pinata days—during initial renovations, stuffed way back into the wall.
The restaurant has always done counter-style service, and initially put out self-serve napkins and silverware. About a year into the business, they switched to bundling the silverware napkins, rolling them up and securing them with self-adhesive paper bands. It wasn’t long before notes began to appear on them.
The first notes Tookas remembers finding in the wall were written by kids.
“They’re done with their food or they’re not hungry or they’re bored, so they start drawing on pieces of paper—and then someone decided to roll one up and put it into the wall,” he says. “Once you see one or two or three or five, it grows exponentially from there.”
Now the notes run the gamut from inspiring and enlightening to funny and, occasionally, crass. About once a month, they go through and randomly remove some and read through them.
“We have hundreds and hundreds—paper bags full,” says Tookas. “Sometimes they’re offensive, and we tend to throw those away. We also find adult-only ones that are kind of funny, but not something we’d put on social media.”
Indeed, Brandywine Kitchen has embraced the notes, and now posts photos of some of their favorites on Facebook and Instagram:
“I was lied to. I’m all grown up and I’m not the President of the United States.”
“Sometimes life is hard and we feel inadequate…just remember mac n’ cheese exists.”
“May my daughter marry who she wants, when she wants, and where she wants. May her life partner be good to her forever.”
“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for…”
“Stolen fries taste better than your own. Trust me, try it.”
“You are a beautiful thread in Bellingham’s tapestry.”
Posting the notes to social media was Sunde’s idea.
“We’re thinking of doing something bigger with them one day, maybe choosing one a week and projecting it on the wall,” says Tookas.
The notes have gone from an initial an annoyance to one of Tookas’s favorite things about Brandywine Kitchen.
“Now it’s what everybody talks about,” he says. “It’s a great thing and we embrace it.”
Kulshan Quest competitors have 30 minutes to plot their course before the games begin. Photo credit: Recreation Northwest.
By Lauren Fritzen
Kulshan Quest competitors have 30 minutes to plot their course before the games begin. Photo credit: Recreation Northwest.
What’s your version of recreation? If it includes forest trekking, mountain biking or paddling with friends, then you’re already in training for the Kulshan Quest Adventure Race, coming up on Saturday, July 25 in Bellingham.
Kulshan Quest – sponsored by Kulshan Brewing and offered by Recreation Northwest – is a breed apart from other multi-sport events. On race day, teams of up to four members will arrive at the starting point in Fairhaven with no advance knowledge of the course. They’ll be given a map with numerous checkpoints and will have 30 minutes to plot their route to the finish line. Then they’ll spend the next several hours together navigating the checkpoints via foot, bike and, for some, kayak.
Two Competitive Divisions
Two divisions make this race accessible for athletes of varying abilities. Recreational division competitors will be trekking (running, walking, hiking) and mountain biking for 4-6 hours. The expert division includes a kayak leg and teams have up to 12 hours to complete the course.
But this is not a relay race, and it’s not just about being first to the finish line. Leave your GPS at home, and brush up on your map-reading skills. Teammates will stay together for the entire race, plotting their way with a topographical map and a compass.
Choose Your Own Adventure
A tandem team navigates the kayak portion of the Kulshan Quest. Photo credit: Recreation Northwest.
Race Director Brent Molsberry describes the strategy involved. “Based on the number of checkpoints, there’s a time limit. The more checkpoints you get, the more points. But for every minute that you go over the time limit, you lose points. So, you’re choosing your own adventure. A strong team may try to get every checkpoint. A team that’s just out for fun may decide to skip some of the far-flung checkpoints,” he explains.
Molsberry adds that compass navigation is not essential for the Kulshan Quest. “You should know how to find North, but since the race is local and most people know the area, there will be recognizable landmarks. More important is knowing how to read the map and keeping track of where you are,” he says.
You can expect a few surprises along the way too. Molsberry designs the course and likes to throw in some mental challenges to keep it fun.
Adventure Racing Takes Hold
Kulshan Quest competitors transition to their mountain bikes during the adventure race. Photo credit: Recreation Northwest.
Molsberry was introduced to adventure racing in 2004, when he joined a team competing in the Subaru Primal Quest, an expedition adventure race that took place in the Pacific Northwest that year. The team aspect of adventure racing was a big hook for Molsberry. “I’ve done some ultra-running races where you’re suffering through it alone. With a team, you can help each other along. When you’re down, someone else is bound to be up,” he says.
But while adventure racing is popular in other parts of the country, it’s just catching on here. Molsberry started his own adventure race in the San Juan Islands – the Island Quest – in 2008. He’s now partnering with Recreation Northwest – who also put on the Bellingham Traverse and Bellingham KIDS Traverse – to offer both the Island Quest and the Kulshan Quest.
Last year Molsberry and the Quest Adventure Race Team competed in the U.S. Adventure Racing Association’s (USARA) National Championship in Maryland, placing 6th in their division. To reach his ultimate goal of growing the adventure racing community here, the Kulshan Quest has been designated as a qualifier for the Nationals. “It would be fantastic to get teams in various divisions to go out and compete. We need to build the sport up out here so we could potentially host the Nationals. This is the perfect locale, from the mountains to the islands,” he enthuses.
Strategy, Stamina, & Camaraderie
Kulshan Quest race director Brent Molsberry kayaks in the Adventure Racing National Championships. Photo courtesy: Brent Molsberry.
To tap into the local race culture and advance the sport, Molsberry and Recreation Northwest’s executive director Todd Elsworth have formed the Quest Adventure Racing Club, with outings and clinics for newcomers. Elsworth himself is competing in the Kulshan Quest for the first time this year, and while his training regimen includes biking and paddling, he stresses the importance of strategy and teamwork too. “Practice your map-reading and route-finding skills,” he advises.
Cheryl Perry, who raced in last year’s inaugural Kulshan Quest, dittos Elsworth’s advice and offers some great tips for newbies in her blog post, “Account from a First-Time Adventure Racer.” She and teammate Sarah Hare were the final finishers, but they learned a lot along the way and hit every single checkpoint. “The best part was how friendly and supportive everyone was. We were late getting in and there were still lots of cheers to welcome us,” she says.
There’s still time to register. And training? It’s a great excuse to get outside and play with your friends in some of Whatcom’s wildest places. As Perry sums it up, “We live in such a beautiful place with a great community and I feel lucky that we have events like this right in our backyard!”
Colleen and Jamie Bohnett moved from the Seattle area in 2014 to open Over Easy in Bellingham’s Sunnyland Square.
When Jamie and Colleen Bohnett decided to open their eatery Over Easy in Bellingham, it was as if a weight had been lifted.
“We were very close to signing a lease in Bothell,” says Jamie, who grew up immersed in the business, his father the co-founder of a Santa Barbara restaurant that expanded nationwide. “But Colleen didn’t have peace about it; she said, ‘Let’s keep looking.’ And the day before we were to sign the final lease, she found this location online.”
In Jamie’s mind, the couple would come and see the space so they could eliminate the option, and then move forward with the Bothell plan. Even though he was nervous about the location and lease terms, they’d already invested so much time and money into the possibility.
Instead, they both fell in love with the spot and started making plans to move to Bellingham and bring the first Over Easy outside of Arizona—famous for appearing on two popular Food Network shows—to Sunnyland Square. The diner is just two doors down from Trader Joe’s.
Over Easy Bellingham officially opened in late April, followed by a grand opening celebration in July. Fifty percent of the proceeds from the fete went to support Bellingham’s Lighthouse Mission.
The food was already a hit, even before it made its way to Bellingham. The first Over Easy opened in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2008, and grew to enormous popularity after landing on the Food Network programs “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.”
Lindsey Oosterhof serves up one of Over Easy’s most popular dishes, chicken-fried steak with a side of bacon.
The original owners decided to expand outside of the four Over Easy eateries in Arizona and the Bohnetts, who own the Bellingham store, have been the first to open a new location.
Jamie and Colleen’s Over Easy is completely their own—and completely Bellingham.
Popular dishes include The Wolfpack, which sandwiches two eggs any style with bacon and cheese between layers of hash browns. And the chilaquiles, a mixture of tortilla chips, ranchero sauce, chicken, sour cream and cheddar, topped with eggs.
“Build-your-own burritos are popular, and our sandwiches are great,” says Jamie. “People just love the biscuits and homemade gravy—and the pumpkin French toast. I could go on and on.”
A young father cutting up pancakes sprinkled with Reese’s Pieces for his son tells me that he’s already a regular. I spy the chicken-fried steak piled high on a plate at his elbow, just waiting. “I love it,” he says of the dish. “I order it every time I come in.”
The restaurant already sees a large numbers of regulars who come in often for their favorite dishes.
“It really feels good when people say, ‘I’m glad you’re here,’ and ‘It’s my favorite place,’” Jamie says with a smile, looking around at the diners happily eating and laughing with one another.
For the Bohnetts, the food is important, of course, but equally so is the atmosphere and the feeling folks get when they come to Over Easy.
“We really want people to have an experience,” Jamie says. “And I want there to be a difference with us. If they’re having a bad day, I want them to walk out feeling better than when they come in.”
The décor alone practically guarantees a sunny mood. The feel-good space is awash in vibrant yellow and blue walls, with sparkling silver 1950s kitchen chairs set up next to brilliant yellow booth seating. The tables are covered in a quintessential mid-century modern pattern.
Jamie wraps up a conversation with customers as Lindsey brings them their meal.
Another important part of the Over Easy experience is enjoying local ingredients, when possible, and well-loved local products, such as ACME Ice Cream and beer from Kulshan and Aslan.
When asked about his Over Easy team, Jamie is quick to say the whole crew has been great, and then points out two employees in particular.
“Anita Maguire is our kitchen manager,” he says, nodding toward the kitchen, where Anita is hard at work, even though the diner has now closed for the day.
“I’m in the witness protection program!” she yells out with a smile, eliciting laughs.
“She’s great – a good team-builder and organizer,” Jamie says. “She really cares about her team.”
He also mentions front-of-house manager Austin VanGerena. “He’s great with our scheduling and as our lead server. He really keeps us going up front,” Jamie says.
It’s a bunch that has had to quickly figure out how to handle packed-to-the-gills weekend shifts, as more folks discover this gastronomical gem. If you want to try Over Easy for the first time but hope to avoid a possible wait, stop in any weekday morning or lunch hour.
An Over Easy regular cuts up his young son’s pancakes, tantalizingly topped with Reese’s Pieces.
“We have a lot of regulars already,” Jamie says, looking around the space with a smile. “We’re feeling really good about it. We’re on our way.”
More than anything, the Bohnetts want their business to serve the community. In fact, Jamie—who worked in the nonprofit sector for nearly three decades and received a master’s degree in social entrepreneurship in 2012—thought very seriously about ways to create Over Easy as a nonprofit organization.
That plan didn’t pan out, but their devotion to helping nonprofits in our community remains strong. The Bohnetts hope to open the eatery—which closes at 1:00 p.m. on weekdays and 2:00 p.m. on weekends—to nonprofits, hosting afternoon or evening events that will serve local ACME Ice Cream on waffles or French toast, teamed with Fidalgo Bay coffee.
“I’m used to putting on events and am very aware how nonprofits really need to build relationships with their constituencies,” says Jamie, who plans to dub the events friendraisers rather than fundraisers.
Both Jamie and Colleen Bohnett are both hands-on when it comes to greeting and serving guests.
Any local nonprofit organizations interested in learning more about staging a “friend-raiser” at Over Easy, they can contact Jamie or Colleen at the eatery for more details.
Barron Heating's Building Performance Division Manager, Thoren Rogers, discusses the results of a home performance test with a homeowner.
Barron Heating’s Building Performance Division Manager, Thoren Rogers, discusses the results of a home performance test with a homeowner.
Cold spots in a home, room-to-room temperature differences, allergic reactions and more—the uncomfortable home can range from a small annoyance to a huge problem, and one that many people simply end up living with.
“They say, ‘This is just part of this house,’” says Thoren Rogers, Barron Heating Building Performance Division Manager. “They don’t know there are solutions that potentially aren’t even difficult.”
In fact, there are many things homeowners do regularly without realizing the problems they’re causing in their homes.
First, let’s get into a little bit of building science.
Your house has two barriers around it: air and thermal. The air barrier, in most homes, is the paint covering the outside; the thermal barrier is formed by insulation.
These barriers are key to energy efficiency and comfort—but leaks occur in every home, from ducts that aren’t sealed properly and around electrical sockets and can lights, to name just a few examples.
This can cause improper air pressurization in a home, creating uneven heating and cooling and/or poor air quality.
Consider an example of a cold-air complaint in a home during the winter, when the furnace is running.
“If this air barrier plane is not intact and causes, for instance, a lot of leakage in a room upstairs, downstairs will have a cold room,” says Rogers. “It’s drawing in this cold air, and being let out up top.”
A blower door infiltrometer tests a home for leakage.
Barron Heating can search for and seal those leaks, putting a stop to the cold spots and improving air quality.
Because every house is different, the problems and their solutions differ. But Barron’s team is highly trained in home performance and can pinpoint and eliminate trouble spots.
Barron’s Chris Baisch shares an anecdote about a recent customer’s experience.
“We had a woman contact us who had suffered from skin rashes for 15 years and had a concern about air quality and odor in her home,” he recounts. A home performance assessment showed that the home’s ducts had been leaking the equivalent of 450 5-gallon buckets of air every single minute.
Leaky ducts draw breathing air from the crawl space, attic, or other areas where the air quality is, well, not optimal.
“We went out and sealed her ducts using AeroSeal—an aerosol based duct sealant,” says Baisch. “And when we were done, the leakage was down to just 37 ‘buckets.’ That’s a monstrous improvement.”
Thoren Rogers heads up to a home’s attic to check for leaks.
Barron made this simple fix and three weeks later, her rash was completely gone.
“Now, that’s a one-off; each house is different your results may not be the same,” says Baisch. “But this is the logical first step when we come into a home with air quality problems.”
Barron wasn’t done yet. This same customer’s home also had a bit of odor from poor air quality, so they adjusted the home’s pressure by installing an energy efficient fan that always runs and pushes everything that had been coming into the home—outdoor allergens, wildfire smoke or particles from inside the walls and such—to the outside.
“We’re going to try one thing, because it’s our best measure based on what we see after inspecting at a home,” says Rogers. “We make a list of possible solutions to the unique problem and prioritize it, knowing it can sometimes be a process of building one measure on another to get to that final solution.”
“And if we’re wrong,” Baisch says, “we’ll go back and do the next thing on the list and if the previous measure doesn’t contribute to the ultimate goal – we credit that portion—because we are the pros and we have a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee.”
Rogers interjects, smiling: “I’ve never found a problem we haven’t been able to fix.”
Schedule a no-obligation home assessment with a Barron Heating Home Performance Expert. Let them put their diagnostics tools and training to work to help you understand what’s happening in your home and what can be done to improve it.
Riding with your children from an early age teaches them that the car isn’t the only way to get around town.
Bicycling with small children is a lot of fun—but it can also seem a bit overwhelming if you’re just starting out.
How do you choose what type of equipment to use? Is a trailer better than a bike seat? How do you get your toddler to wear a helmet?
I have ten years of experience biking with children. My family has one car, two working parents, a 12-and-a-half-year-old in sixth grade and a two-and-a-half-year-old in daycare. We bike, drive, walk and bus to get where we need to go.
All of the gear I’m about to review we purchased and used. No one has sponsored me or given me free items.
I always recommend trying to find used gear. As with everything, do some research so you know what to look for. (Is that a bike shop trailer or a big box store trailer?) Many of these items retain their value, especially if they are kept indoors. Depending on where you live, these items often sell within a day or two of online posting. We set up an alert so we’d get an email as soon as someone posted the item we were looking for.
Bicycle Trailers
Bike trailers keep littles ones relatively protected from the elements and are also great for hauling extra things like groceries and diaper bags.
Bicycle trailers come in two sizes: single or double. They’re great if you want to haul extra things like diaper bags, groceries, blankets, stuffed animals, etc. They’re covered, so your little one is relatively protected from the elements. We have a Burley Double D’lite. It isn’t 100 percent rainproof, but does a good job of keeping my son dry on the ride home.
Approximate new price: $600
Pros: You can carry extra things; you can carry more than one child.
Cons: A bit pricey new; the double is wider than your bike; you can’t easily do a bike/bus combo; and your child is further away from you, so you can’t easily talk.
Stories: My son and I biked to church one sunny morning and when we arrived I noticed he was only wearing one shoe. He had disposed of his shoe somewhere on the bike ride. He reached his little hand under the cover and dropped his shoe – his favorite red shoes and the only pair of shoes he had that fit him. I explained, as best I could to a two-year-old, that throwing things out of the trailer was not safe and that he now had to go to church with just one shoe. We biked home the same route but didn’t find it. I’ve been keeping an eye out for that shoe for the past month, with no luck. I’ve always wondered how someone could lose just one shoe. Now I know.
Front-Mounted Seats
We bought an iBert when Charlie was about a year-and-a-half. He instantly loved it. He loved being in the front of the bike, waving to people and observing the world around him.
The iBert front-mounted seat is a great way for your child to see and interact with their surroundings as you ride.
Approximate new price: $100
Pros: A great way for your child to see and interact with their surroundings; it’s fun for both passenger and driver; your rear rack is free to haul the diaper bag.
Cons: Not the best option when it’s raining; doesn’t work with all bicycle frames; only works up to about age two-and-a-half or three, depending on child’s height.
Stories: Charlie much prefers the iBert to the trailer, but unfortunately it doesn’t fit on my bike. He enjoys waving to and saying “hello” to people on the sidewalk while biking with Dad. The two of them have logged many miles together and Charlie gets really excited when Dad picks him up at daycare with the bike.
Rear-Mounted Seats
We had a rear-mounted bike seat when our daughter Izabelle was a toddler. It worked great for us because: 1) It was cheaper than a trailer, and 2) I could put my bike on the bus with her seat still attached. The seat we used was a ToPeak, and it had a special rack that went with it. That setup makes it easy to quickly take the seat off the rack. We bought two racks so we could each bike with Izzie.
Approximate new price: $170
Pros: Cheaper than a trailer; child is close to you, so you can easily talk.
Cons: You can’t use panniers; extra weight on rear rack takes getting used to.
Stories: I biked hundreds—if not thousands—of miles with my daughter using a rear-mounted bike seat. When she was around three or four, we would play “I Spy” on the bike or play the rhyming game. I would say one word and she would rhyme it with another, and so on. It was fun and we have a lot of great memories playing those games. She would also encourage me to bike up hills by singing me songs.
Trail-a-Bike
Trail-a-bikes or tag-a-longs are great ways to bike with kids starting around age three or four; they basically turn your bike into a tandem.
Trail-a-bikes or tag-a-longs are great ways to bike with kids starting around age three or four; they basically turn your bike into a tandem. Children are excited to be able to help you pedal and you’ll be surprised how much they do contribute (when they actually pedal). There a couple versions available now. The one you are likely most familiar with is where the kids are sitting upright. When we used the trail-a-bike, we bought an extra hitch so we could both use it on our bikes.
There is a newer version of trail-a-bikes made by WeeHoo, which is a recumbent. One of the benefits to the recumbent model is that younger kids can use it and if they’re tired they can sit back and relax.
Approximate new price: $250 – $400
Pros: Your child gets to help you pedal; can be used for kids who are too big for a trailer or rack seat, but not quite big enough for their own bike; great way for kids to experience bike commuting and learn rules of the road.
Cons: Child must be able to sit up and hold on (for non-recumbent model); long turning radius; can be wobbly.
Stories: We just found a WeeHoo on Craigslist after looking for about five months. We biked to the seller’s house to check it out. My husband attached it to his bike and took Charlie for a spin in front of the house. After he pulled back into the driveway Charlie, age two, began to cry, saying, “I want to keep riding, I want to pedal.” I think we’ll log many miles and many smiles on it.
Cargo Bikes
I bought an xtracycle four years ago primarily to solve the dilemma of having to bike to drop off or pick up my daughter, who was age eight at the time, for one side of a trip. For example, I’d bike her to school, but she’d take the bus home. I needed my bike to get to work, but she couldn’t bike home herself or take the bike on the bus. It was a great solution and a lot of fun. I ended up selling that bike a year ago; it was always a bit too big for me.
Other cargo bikes that many families use (I haven’t tried one) are bakfiets. These are the bikes that look like they have a box in between the handlebars and the front tire. Some models have the box in the rear. They are a great way to haul multiple kids and groceries or other supplies.
Approximate new price: $1,200+
Pros: You can carry multiple kids and extra things.
Cons: Expensive; heavy; a bit hard to bike up hills.
The ToPeak rear-mounted seat is simple to remove, which means you can still easily put your bike on the bus.
Stories: My daughter’s summer camp had a home base a few blocks from my work. Once every two weeks they’d have a camp-out, which meant bringing a sleeping bag, pillow and all the other gear she’d need for an overnight trip. It also meant that I’d be biking her to camp, but she wouldn’t be biking home that night. We were able to get all her gear and her on the bike. Cargo bikes are a fun way to challenge you to do more by bike and less by car.
Try it!
One of the best ways to decide which piece of equipment is best for you and your child is to simply try it. Unfortunately, we found that most local bike shops didn’t have any of these items ready for test rides; you need to call ahead and the shop will often set one up for you. If that isn’t an option, hopefully you know a biking family who will let you try out their gear.
Biking with kids is a lot of fun and introduces the concept at an early age that the car isn’t the only transportation mode.
For the third year in a row, in recognition of the tremendous Whatcom County-based fan following, Bellingham has been chosen as a stop on the annual 12 Tour of the Seattle Seahawks.
Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism and the Best Western PLUS Lakeway Inn will collaboratively host a 12 Tour event at noon Saturday, July 11 at the Lakeway Inn, 701 Lakeway Drive. The event will feature fullback Will Tukuafu and defensive end Julius Warmsley of the Seahawks, plus Sea Gals, Blitz the mascot and a performance by the Blue Thunder band in celebration of the official raising of the 12 Flag.
“We have been honored to serve as the Hawks’ 12 Tour headquarters for past two years and look forward to raising the flag with enthusiastic fanfare this year as well,” said Larry MacDonald, General Manager of the Lakeway Inn.
Seahawks fans of all ages are encouraged to wear their blue for the free rally. Specialty fan food and beverages will be available at the Lakeway Inn before and after the rally.
Tukuafu was originally acquired as a free agent in October 2014 as a fullback but also saw some time at defensive lineman. He played at both positions during the Super Bowl. He played in nine regular-season games with two starts at fullback.
Warmsley was signed to the Seahawks practice squad in September 2014 after spending training camp with the Houston Texans.
Builder and historian, Ralph Thacker, stands with his donation to the Community Boating Center.
By Lorraine Wilde
Builder and historian, Ralph Thacker, stands with his donation to the Community Boating Center.
A year ago this month, my husband hatched a romantic plan for our 15th wedding anniversary—gliding around Bellingham Bay in a 15-foot rowing dory, a rough replica of a boat owned by founder of Fairhaven, Dirty Dan Harris.
Handmade in Harris’ honor by 81-year-old, Ralph Thacker, the boat is now available for rent from the Community Boating Center in Fairhaven. Rowing around Fairhaven’s inland waters in this boat took me back to the 1850s where Dirty Dan earned his nickname, and made me curious about the history of the boat, Harris, and Fairhaven itself.
Thacker retired from an insurance and banking career in Connecticut in 1995 and relocated to Bellingham in 2001. His apartment on Fairhaven’s 11th Street overlooked the South Bay Trail system and Fairhaven’s waterfront. Having had a lifelong interest in boats and the water, Thacker became curious about the history of the waterfront outside his window. With meticulous research, Thacker discovered that most everything in sight had at one time been owned by Daniel Jefferson Harris (1833-1890), also known as Fairhaven’s founder, Dirty Dan Harris.
“There were stories about Dirty Dan, but most weren’t confirmed historically. My motivation wasn’t to change how people saw him necessarily, but simply broadened their view,” explains Thacker.
This is the only confirmed photo of Dirty Dan Harris, upon which Thacker based his boat building. Photo from Whatcom Museum Photo Archives, circa 1884.
Born in 1833 on Long Island, NY, Harris got his taste for the water at the age of 15 when he joined an uncle on a whaling voyage. He took a second voyage, at age 18, as a harpooner, traveling to the Antarctic and twice to the Arctic. He found it difficult to stay out of trouble, scrapping with crewmates. Harris eventually came to Bellingham Bay in 1854 and by the mid-1870s, he owned almost 190 acres of land, now occupied by the Village of Fairhaven and its waterfront. He homesteaded, traded, and transported coal as his official occupation, but not without incident. “Harris’ dealings weren’t always legal, but he was a survivor. He was like everyone else capable of living here back then—industrious and creative,” notes Thacker.
In 1855, Harris was arrested for selling “spirituous liquor” to First Nations People and again the following year for inciting the Stikine Native Peoples of B.C. to attack the Lummis. In 1867 he was arrested for smuggling goods and liquor by boat from Victoria, B.C. into the U.S. in barrels labeled “Honolulu Sugar.” Although jailed many times, Harris was never sentenced to serve a prison term. Selling parcels to individuals and business through a plat filed in 1883, Harris’ later life focused on turning his land into the Town of Fairhaven.
Fascinated by what he found about Harris, Thacker began sharing his findings serially in booklets and on a website beginning in 2007. During his research, Thacker found the only confirmed photograph of Harris in the Whatcom Museum archives, marked 1884, of Harris standing in a rowboat on the shore below Thacker’s window. Inspired by the photo, Thacker began building a replica of sorts in 2009. “There were no plans or details of how the boat was made, only the photo,” explains Thacker. “I’d been a sailor and taken boat building courses for many years so I did my best. A retired boat builder named John Othmer wandered past my workshop one day and offered his help, so the boat has more quality craftsmanship than I could have done alone.”
Thacker’s creation is one of a kind. Photo courtesy: Community Boating Center.
With that help and a lot of perseverance, Thacker finished the boat in 2013. “The dory is made of several types of wood including teak for the rail, okoume plywood, and meranti for the frame,” notes Thacker. “Friends donated exotic pieces of sapele and padauk that made it in there too. It was made with modern tools and materials that Dan wouldn’t have had access to, so it’s probably a touch bigger, but that’s made it a better size for the Boating Center.”
“Thacker was one of the original founding members of the Community Boating Center,” explains Executive Director, Steve Walker. “After moving to a smaller living space, he could no longer store the boat so he donated it to us. It’s one of the largest and most popular boats we have.” Thacker’s creation, along with paddle boards, kayaks, and small sailboats, is available for rent to the public. It also serves ongoing educational classes and youth camps.
Fairhaven’s main thoroughfare, Harris Street, is named in honor of the colorful founder. His now infamous nickname, Dirty Dan Harris, noted as early as 1867, was, “Not because he was divisive in his dealings, but because of infrequent bathing and an untidy appearance,” clarifies Thacker. That moniker has graced a popular Fairhaven family restaurant for more than 40 years, The Dirty Dan Harris Steakhouse, as well as the Dirty Dan Days Seafood Festival on the Fairhaven Green each April, recently completing its 13th year.
Thacker’s research of the past has influenced his vision for the future of the Fairhaven waterfront. He’s already shared his dream with Port officials for a multicultural international village, not unlike a tiny version of Disney’s Epcot Center, that would invite and educate both locals and visitors worldwide. “We can open people’s minds by sharing the food, art, and customs of Whatcom County’s Native Peoples, settlers like Dirty Dan, and the melting pot of nationalities that have colored our local history up through today.” Thacker welcomes correspondence on his vision, Dirty Dan, and boat building, too.
Fairhaven’s Community Boating Center rents Thacker’s boat. Photo courtesy: Community Boating Center.
It will be hard for my hubby to top all that last year’s anniversary present brought me—rowing with the spirit of Dirty Dan, meeting Ralph Thacker, and dreaming of Fairhaven’s future—but I’m willing to let him try.
Submitted by First Fed
When homeowners need flexible financing, a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) stands out as a versatile and cost-effective option. Unlike lump-sum...
For two months, more than twenty art upcyclers have sewed, glued, spackled and glittered recycled and donated fabric, clothing and household goods to create their original art submission for The Downtown Upcycle ThrowDown, an art and sustainability challenge event created by Ragfinery and Wise Buys Community Thrift Store of Lydia Place. This creative and original art contest, sponsored by Northwest Recycling, Inc and The Downtown Bellingham Partnership marks the first annual cooperative “Upcycle Challenge” of these two local nonprofits. The culminating group show-off exhibition and ThrowDown takes place during the Bellingham Art Walk on Friday, August 7, from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the new Hatch retail storefront located at 1302 Commercial Street in downtown Bellingham. Artist meet and greet, People’s Choice contest, live music provided by DJ Birdman of GMB Entertainment, cold beverages from Kulshan Brewery and Kombucha Town, and lots of sweet surprises top off this original art challenge featuring 100 percent recycled materials and 100% creativity.
