A Guide to a FulďŹ lling Senior Life in Whatcom County
ENCORE Wednesday, May 17, 2017
What’s Inside.... At the young age of 77, Harlan Kredit still loves to wear many hats.............C2 The annual Ski to Sea Race knows no age limit .................................................C6 Long-time Lynden Community Center employee Alice Fairall is retiring.....C8 At age 68, Gordon and Sally Van Corbach are still earning running medals ..................................................C10
A supplement of the Lynden Tribune and Ferndale Record
Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, May 17, 2017 | Ferndale Record
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Kredit earned, Kredit deserved At age 77, Harlan Kredit continues to wear many different hats By Nick Elges sports@lyndentribune.com
After 55 years of teaching and counting, Harlan Kredit is still busy at it announcing track and field meets for Lynden Christian High School. His orange beanie cap is a Kredit favorite. (Nick Elges/Lynden Tribune)
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LYNDEN — Growing up near Fishtrap Creek in Lynden, Lynden Christian biology teacher Harlan Kredit discovered a joy for the outdoors at an early age that has been quite significant in the development of his 55-year teaching career that has allowed him to serve a variety of roles. “When I was 12 years old, I was walking in the mountains with a former (Lynden Christian) principal and I saw a black bear walk across a meadow,” Kredit said. “I thought that was pretty cool. Now I take my own students up to that same meadow on Church Mountain and tell them that story.” As a biology teacher, much of Kredit’s teaching and passion stems from his love of the outdoors — the most obvious example being his annual senior biology trip to the Olympic Peninsula south of Neah Bay. During this trip, Kredit’s students are awakened at 4:45 a.m. so they can volunteer for the National Park Service for four hours. “I want them to give back and learn that giving back is important,” Kredit said. Students are also in charge of preparing their own food during this three-day trip that has become popular among LC students past and present. Kredit wants
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, May 17, 2017 | Ferndale Record
ENCORE to make sure everyone knows what he or she is doing, how to do it and why it’s being done. He also believes it is important to push kids out of their comfort zone and see how they respond. “If you give expectations and clear goals to kids and get out of their way, they’ll accomplish them,” Kredit said. “Don’t get in their way.” Kredit’s excellence in education and conservation ecology has earned him more than 25 awards and notably becoming the first Washington teacher to be inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 2006. A 1957 graduate of Lynden Christian High School, he began teaching at LC in 1974 after spending more than a decade teaching in Hudsonville, Mchigan — Kredit completed his bachelor’s degree at Calvin College in nearby Grand Rapids in 1961. “For me, working with these kids, the future leaders of our world, my challenge has been to get them to believe that they have enough ability to make a difference,” Kredit said. As one of the first people at school every morning, Kredit says, “There has never been a day that I can remember that I didn’t want to come to school. If
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Harlan Kredit leads a 2011 class out front of Lynden Christian High School. (File photo)
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, May 17, 2017 | Ferndale Record
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Harlan Kredit accepts the Lynden Tribune's Sol H. Lewis Award for community service in 2013. (File photo)
there was school on Saturdays, I would love it.” Kredit says this will be his last year in the classroom at LC, but he will still be involved as a science curriculum consultant for grades K-12. “When I really think about it, I could walk into class tomorrow and start over 55 years ago and I’d be thrilled with what I’m doing,” Kredit said. That’s far from the only hat that Kredit, age 77, will wear going forward. For the past 45 summer seasons, Kredit has worked as a park ranger at Yellowstone National Park. After the graduation evening at Lynden Christian in June, he will head back to Yellowstone for yet another summer in one of the great natural wonders of the world. Former students often visit Kredit while he is in Yellowstone each summer. “Growing up near the mountains, I liked national parks,” Kredit said. “After I graduated from college and got my master’s degree (from the College of William and Mary in Virginia), I was driving back to Washington through Yellowstone and wondered if I could work as a park ranger during the summer. I applied, was accepted and never left.” For his work in Yellowstone, Kredit has received multiple National Park Spe-
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, May 17, 2017 | Ferndale Record
ENCORE cial Achievement Awards. There is no telling how long Kredit will continue to go back to Yellowstone, as he says there is “no particular timetable” for how many more years he will continue to do so. When he returned to teach at LC in 1974, Kredit was also tasked with serving as the athletic director of the school. He held the position for 30 years. Today, he still supervises the football, volleyball and basketball teams for the Lyncs and helps as a track coach and with the big job of running track meets. “I love to see kids go as far as the ability God’s given them, the challenge of getting kids to improve, to believe in themselves and to fuel those fires,” Kredit said. He has also served for many years as a WIAA board member for the Northwest District and was recently reelected to another term. If there is a state championship event involving Lynden Christian and the Northwest Conference, you are likely to see him involved in award ceremonies, taking pictures and helping with the event in other ways. It might be hard to believe that Kredit has any additional free time, but he also enjoys rebuilding antique player
pianos that date back to the 1920s, climbing mountains and operating a salmon hatchery on Fishtrap Creek — an endeavor many of his students have been involved in. Among his outdoor adventures, Kredit has visited most of the national parks in the United States and first climbed Mount Baker when he was 14 years old. “I love the challenge of climbing to a different level and seeing further,” Kredit said. “I love the sound of the mountain streams, the beauty of the flowers, the berries and watching animals in their natural environment. I’ve always enjoyed that.” The mindset with which the positive and energetic Kredit has faced every day has been a driving force in his career and the life he has lived. Most people who know him well can probably tell you this, but a catch phrase for Kredit is “It’s a great day to be alive.” “I’ve approached (every day) not fearfully at all, but expectantly,” Kredit said. “I’m a Christian and I believe that we are here for a purpose and that purpose is to make the world a better place. “It’s been quite an exciting ride and we’ll see what God has in store in the next round."
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Harlan Kredit sits behind his iconic desk at LCHS. (File photo)
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, May 17, 2017 | Ferndale Record
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Taking on the Ski to Sea Athleticism and the competitive instinct know no age limits By Ashley Hiruko ashley@lyndentribune.com
Doug Puckering and son David practice for their canoeing leg in the Ski to Sea Race on Saturday, May 13, at Lake Terrell. Competing in the event for a final time was on Puckering's bucket list of things to do. (Ashley Hiruko/Lynden Tribune)
WHATCOM — He’s ridden a bike more than some people have driven a car. Doug Puckering has been cycling for over 40 years and has put thousands of miles on his two wheels. Not surprising for the Ferndale man, he’s remained active his entire life. And now at the age of 82, Puckering is the oldest man competing in the Ski to Sea Race this year. You won’t be seeing him on his bike, though. He won’t be participating in either of the two biking legs of the team relay. Instead, he will be alongside his son David in the two-person canoeing leg of the race. “I’m a happy old man because I can still do the things that are important to me,” Puckering said about competing. “I’m better than I deserve.” Anyone familiar with the Ski to Sea Race would tell you that its various segments are rigorous for even the youngest and fittest of athletes. The canoe portion is no exception. It goes for 18 miles on the Nooksack River, beginning in Everson and ending up at Hovander Park in Ferndale. This isn’t the first time Puckering has been in the famous race. His first time in it was in 2001, his last previous
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in 2011. Now the opportunity arises for Puckering to compete once again, after a five-year break, enabling him to check an important item off his bucket list. “I had intended to do it at least one more time,” Puckering said. “The trouble is I keep adding things to the bucket list and never seem to get the bucket empty.” Training for race day began six months ago in December. Puckering has been using a rowing machine at home, rowing with considerable intensity, and doing kinesthetic exercises such as push-ups and leg lifts. It’s all done to strengthen core muscles, to make paddling down the river that much easier. “When you get to be this age, you have to train very slowly,” he said. “You don’t dare injure yourself in the process. A recovery from an injury takes a very long time. So, equipping yourself to do something like this also takes a long time.” On top of at-home workout, Puckering and his son have been canoeing together for the last month, three days a week, on Lake Terrell. “That’s the best. Do the activity you’re going to do in the race,” he said. All of this work is done to help the pair reach their goal. It isn’t to come in
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, May 17, 2017 | Ferndale Record
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Alice Fairall ending her capable 34-year run at Lynden Senior Center
Almost all of the eight members of Ski to Sea team Mostly Geezers pose in front of a kayak. The team is full of mostly first-time competitors Matt McGaha, Jerry McGaha, Karen McConnell, Jane Chase, Bert Crosby, David Crosby, Cheryl Capron and James Valetti. (Ashley Hiruko/Lynden Tribune) first, or even in the top 50. They’re working toward placing within the top 200 canoes. The best the father-son duo ever did was 135th place. Being in the top half of all competitors doesn’t seem too farfetched, although Puckering admits he’s not as physically fit as he once was. Puckering believes he will compete, despite any concerns, as long an opportunity remains. “Opportunity is perishable,” he said. “You have opportunities now that you may not have two years from now, three years from now or ever again. If you don’t take advantage of them when they occur, they may never occur again.” Team Mostly Geezers It was on a recent Sunday afternoon that the members of a completely new Ski to Sea team, filled with eight members who had never competed together before, met at the home of member Karen McConnell. Their team name — Mostly Geezers. For the most part, the team name was accurate. Most members of the team are over age 60, with a few exceptions, making the average age of the Veteran division team well above the mandatory combined age of 385. But what the name fails to encapsulate is the team’s youthful invigorating demeanor. “You may notice that we haven’t done this before,” chuckled team member Dave Crosby. The first-time competitors sat around a kitchen table, looking over various maps and forms describing race legs, and making arrangements for race day Sunday, May 28.
Participating in the race was McConnell’s idea. She wanted to be a part of the big event ever since moving to Whatcom County. And she knew she needed seven other people to compete alongside her in order to make it happen. McConnell was their link, the team agreed. She knew each member from various places in various ways. Some she ran with, others she enjoyed skiing with. Some of the members were even getting acquainted with each other for the first time at the team meeting. “I’m a great believer in the first rule of improv: agree with the premise,” Crosby said about agreeing to compete. The 71-year-old committed to the road biking portion of the race — only 42 miles of mostly flat cycling, he said. “It looks like the easiest of the legs to me.” Most members of the team are relatively active, participating in some form of a recreational activity on a regular basis, sometimes competing in triathlons and other competitive races. Still, they simply hope to finish this race and have a good time. “I’ve never done this or anything like this really but running ... years ago and road bike stuff, but events are fun,” Crosby said. “There’s a bunch of energy at the event.” Don’t let their age fool you, however. When it comes down to it, the group is competitive in nature. “At the end of the day, I think everyone sitting at this table is competitive,” Crosby said. “We may not think of ourselves as that all the time or on any given day. I’ve seen these people before.”
Alice Fairall, center, is getting in her final hugs and coffee with the patrons of the Lynden Community Center. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)
She has been the bookkeeper, chief greeter at office counter By Calvin Bratt editor@lyndentribune.com
LYNDEN — Quiet and efficient, Alice Fairall was quite content to be behind the scenes as bookkeeper/office manager of the Lynden Community Center. But she was the first voice answering the phone, the first face greeting a walk-in visitor, and the one who knew details of the operation off the top of her head. “It it weren’t for her, the place would fall apart,” someone piped up last week. Alice no longer has to report in at 401 Grover St., since she has retired after 34 years of service. But there she was yet on Friday, playing the piano for the Music Makers singing group. This is a month of transition into the role for Jeff Heathers — minus the piano playing, he points out. And Jeff wanted the
focus to be on his predecessor. “Alice has devoted her life to this,” he said from his spot now in the office, having been through a training period with her. “She has earned (retirement). I call her the walking encyclopedia.” Indeed, Alice’s hiring in June 1983 goes back to when the Lynden Senior Center was located in the one-time Peoples State Bank building on Front Street and Dorothy Verduin was the energetic driving force behind the emergence of senior activity centers countywide. However, it was a location with flights of stairs not easy for older folks to navigate. Enter second manager Bob Long, who in 1990 oversaw the conversion of Nick Laninga’s grocery store into the ideal single-floor facility it still is for a 400-member senior center today. Alice — naturally good with details and numbers — remembers that the county’s $175,000 commitment to an elevator, plus the sale of the old building and then the city’s investment in remodeling the new space gave Lynden patrons a delightful new home.
ENCORE Alice can credit many who gave much over the years toward a strong program in Lynden, especially by leading the board of directors. One such was Everett Zuidmeer — “whistling in the door just to check on things” — who just recently passed away as “the last of the founding fathers.” Alice also can’t praise the center’s volunteers enough. “If we had to pay for all they do, we couldn’t do it. Somebody has to peel those fresh potatoes,” she quipped. She estimated 400,000 hours of volunteer time given to the Lynden Senior Center in 30 years. “To me, that’s just amazing, how many people donate from just a half hour to many hours.” Truth be told, there almost wasn’t a kitchen crew making hot meals each weekday at Lynden. When federal funding got cut, it was either go to frozen meals warmed up ... or Lynden could foot its own bill. The Lynden center stepped up to keep the noon meal program making and serving hot and fresh each day — and delivering out to homebound folks to boot! As bookkeeper, Alice is all too familiar with how the financial ledger needs to balance out each year. Toward an overall budget of around $300,000, the city and Whatcom County contribute about $107,000. The rest, close
Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, May 17, 2017 | Ferndale Record to $200,000, has to be raised from voluntary meal donations, bake sales, gift shop sales, building rental, some endowment earnings, and otherwise the generous giving of the community. It has been Alice who kept track of all that and put it down in simple form on a sheet of paper for anyone to easily understand. She hopes the Lynden center can retain its ideal single-floor location downtown, situated centrally and on a bus route. Alice grew up on a farm north of Lynden, and there is a photo of her as a girl sitting on the steps of the Lynden Methodist Church that long ago stood on what is now the senior center parking lot. Jeff Heathers likewise grew up in Bellingham, and he said is glad to get back to his roots here after most recently serving as the business director at Mission Springs Camps and Conference Center in California. Election of board members happened recently and this is the slate for the coming year: Wayne Hagen (president), Harold Bolt, Joe Branion, Ken Feller, Freda Groen, Cathy Humphrey, Wanda Haugen, Carol Preston, Dixie Scheffer, Nora Sischo and Clara Zoet. Cathy LeCocq continues as center manager.
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Jeff Heathers is the new center office manager taking over for Alice Fairall. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, May 17, 2017 | Ferndale Record
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Van Corbachs keep up their running, health at age 68
Sally and Gord Van Corbach realize how many race medals they have accumulated once they dump them all out on a table. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)
Couple runs a 10-mile route every Friday By Calvin Bratt editor@lyndentribune.com
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was the competitor in high school. Sports didn’t even exist for girls when Sally came through. Now, 50 years later, everyone is on an equal footing and Sally might be considered the one setting the pace as this Lynden couple sticks with a surprisingly strong routine of running for fitness at their age. At about 5 a.m. each Monday and Wednesday morning, the Van Corbachs are out on a four-mile run together heading west on the streets of Lynden from their Kamm Road home. Friday is their big day of a 10-mile route going all the way across town as far west as 19th Street and back. On two days of the week they just walk two and a half miles, and on Sunday they rest. It doesn’t matter much if it is cold, dark or rainy outside. Fog or iciness under foot are the only things that might deter them. They figure their headlamps and reflective vests will keep them safe otherwise. “We have to go in the dark so people don’t see us” is also their self-effacing ex-
planation. Gord is retired from a career in administration with Cascade Natural Gas. That means he has time to do more of the fishing he enjoys or some home projects — he recently expanded their living space out into backyard patio area. Sally, on the other hand, is still working four days a week as the treatment specialist for orthodontist Dr. Yeh — a role she has been in for many years with many families. She is on the job by 7 a.m. Monday through Thursday, so all the outdoor exercise must be before that. They don’t mind saying that their lifestyle dictates usually getting to bed by 9 p.m. So how did this good personal fitness regimen come about, and how do they keep it up? Sally will say that it is “a huge blessing each day” to be able to do what they do at age 68. She has had virtually no physical issues — usually it’s the joints — to prevent her from being physically active. Then her
optimistic attitude is “what can I do to bring glory to God today?” she said. It was about 18 years ago that they entered a Junior Ski to Sea run that they thought was only a half mile long, but actually was three times that. “We came in miserably last, but it was a lot of fun,” Sally remembers. She started pushing herself at running, not having done it before — Gord had been the runner. From “gasping for breath” going a pole’s length of road, she gradually got the hang of it, and reaped the fitness benefits. Their son Loren and son-in-law Jeff Ten Pas are also runners, and it was once when those two were doing a half marathon that Sally turned to Gord, admittedly in the “euphoria” of the moment, and said, “I think I’ll do that.” He wasn’t so sure. But the doubts of any toward her were met with a feisty “I’ll show you.” And so they got into this together. Gord and Sally were in the very first 2007 Bellingham Bay Marathon when the
ENCORE blustery weather was so bad they felt that they were being blown backwards. When they are in a competitive run, they each will each settle into their own most comfortable pace. They have now done enough halfmarathons (13.1 miles) — in Bellingham and Vancouver, especially — plus a lot of 5Ks (3.1 miles) in various locations that they can spread out quite a pile of the medals earned on their dining room table. They are big believers in “staying safe,” which for one thing means facing the vehicle traffic when running on open road. Sally insists on buying a new pair of running shoes every six months to get the proper support and spring in the sole of the foot. It’s so important that fitness becomes part of a manageable routine, Sally said. What they do has is “a good pattern for us,” she said. “You don’t let it run you, excessively. You keep a balance in what you choose to do. You keep healthy.” Both graduates in the Lynden Christian High School class of 1967, the Van Corbachs are coming up on a 50-year anniversary. They expect to keep running “as long as the good Lord gives us the same level of strength,” Sally said.
Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, May 17, 2017 | Ferndale Record
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After a race there’s always a time to smile together over the accomplishment. This was in Vancouver, B.C., in 2013. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)
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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, May 17, 2017 | Ferndale Record
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