Everson Nooksack News November 30, 2016 by Lynden Tribune

Everson-Nooksack News

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Winter Festival at 6 p.m. Friday in City Park

Chef Josh McConnell, and new owners Angel and Matthew Goering.

A quiet transition at Herb Niemann to new owners A family joins Santa Claus for his traditional Friday evening appearance in Everson last year. (File photo)

Santa giving goodie bags to first 160 kids; hot chocolate, wagon rides available for all EVERSON — Stanta Claus is coming to town! Bring the family for the Winter Festival fun in Everson City Park Friday evening. Santa and his elves arrive at 6 p.m.

Dec. 2 (and The Grinch makes an appearance too). Goodie bags will be given to the first 160 kids, with hot chocolate and Cramer Classic horse-drawn wagon rides free for all. The sponsor is Stremler Gravel. Also check out: • $2 hot dogs by Street Dogz • a holiday bake sale at the Everson Senior Center • business-hosted holiday open houses. • A used book sale of children’s books,

a great opportunity for grandparents to find gifts. Proceeds go to the Friends of the Everson Library. From 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4, the Friends’ annual Silver Tea will be in the library building, 104 Kirsch Dr. Enjoy refreshments and musical entertainment. Cookies will be served with tea. Craftmaking is for kids. Bring your camera to take a picture with Santa! (Note: No tea tables will be displayed this year.) Details: 966-5100.

Angel and Matt Goering took over Nov. 1, wanting to keep up the success By Elisa Claassen for the Lynden Tribune

EVERSON — Outside, the sign looks the same at destination dinner spot Herb Niemann’s Steak & Schnitzel House at 203 W. See Herb Niemann on C2

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, November 30, 2016

EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS

Herb Niemann: Former owners offered lifetime of meals Continued from C1 Main St. Inside, the menu items seem the same, listing steaks and schnitzel and other Bavarian specialties that patrons have enjoyed for years. The difference is in ownership, but not in management — or in direction, staff or even in menu pricing. As of Nov. 1, longtime employee Angel Goering and her husband Matthew Goering, both Everson residents, took the helm after a year and a half of transitioning with the Niemann family. As Herb Niemann was facing retirement, long-time employee and manager Angel was eager for the place to maintain what customers and employees enjoy. She and Matt were okay with the idea of doing a “facelift” to update the flooring and paint, but didn’t want to see someone else buy it and then potentially change it drastically. Angel worked alongside Niemann for six years — three as manager — after relocating from Kansas where her father Michael Bolton had owned a steakhouse as well in an old Victorian mansion. Matt, experienced in the local grocery industry and now at Fred Meyer in management, specializes in sourcing the best quality foods and helping behind the scene in maintenance, dishwashing or hosting. Angel had inheritance funds available. “It was fitting to roll it over into another steakhouse,” she said. “I started from the bottom,” Angel said of hosting at the front of Tern of the Century Steakhouse in Kansas. Following her brother and mother, she and her son came to Whatcom County for more opportunity. Asked about their own favorite menu items, Matthew said, “Everything.” Angel added, “For him, it most likely is the steaks.” “Everything (other than a few appetizers) is homemade fresh every day,” she said for their four chefs. This is one reason for focusing on being a dinner restaurant and not adding lunch service, as food preparation from scratch takes time. For those concerned about being on a budget, Angel recommends eating in the bar where the menu

Herb Niemann’s Steak and Schnitzel House in Everson has new owners, from right, Matthew and Angel Goering, along with main chef Josh McConnell. (Elisa Claassen/Tribune photo) is scaled-down in size and more affordable for families. One example is the $15.99 USDA prime sirloin steak meal that comes with garlic bread and a choice of a side dish or a side of spaghetti for children for $5.99, she said. Comparable steaks, also cut upon ordering, in the Seattle metro area sell for far more, she said. In addition to local diners from Everson, they have had calls for reservations from as far afield such as Snohomish, Anacortes and the Seattle area. Some say they had heard of it from their children attending Western Washington University. Others claim it was word of mouth from friends.

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The highest compliment came from Germans claiming Niemann’s German food was better than that at home, they said. “We want to be sure what we do is perfect every day,” Matthew said. Originally known as The Black Forest Steakhouse under Jack Niemann in the mid1990s, it was taken over by Jack’s brother Herb in 1999. The name changed to Herb Niemann’s. Jack, who passed away this summer, continued his restaurants in the Blaine area and Bellingham. The restaurant has three eating areas — bar, main dining room and private banquet room — seating a total of 155 people. There is no fee for using the banquet area with an

order of meals. In retirement, Herb and his wife Sue have purchased a home in nearby Chilliwack, British Columbia, Angel said. She has offered a lifetime of meals to Herb and his family and anticipates their coming back to visit. She praises what Herb has created in Everson and notes he had previously also operated restaurants in more prestigious marketplaces such as Leavenworth, Harrison Hot Springs, Whistler Resort and Kelowna. Dinner specials will be announced on the restaurant’s Facebook page. Herb Niemann’s is open seven days a week from 5 p.m. to closing (approximately 9 to 10 p.m.).

EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Nooksack Masonic Lodge for sale Too few members still attend; lodges merging By Elisa Claassen for the Lynden Tribune

NOOKSACK — Reflecting a drop in fraternal organizations’ memberships both locally and internationally, the Masonic Lodge building at 601 E. Second St. went on the market for the first time. Built in 1925, the 6,960-square-foot building contains a large meeting room, a cloak room, a commercial kitchen with a dining area, large lobby and office space. The website for real estate agents Moore & Company of Bellingham, www.mooreandcompany.com, gives the price as $304,788, $50,000 less than a May 2016 appraisal. Agents are Steve Moore and Dick Zagelow. Moore said they have had several calls from brokers representing unknown clients. Potential buyers are referred to the City of Nooksack with any zoning questions related to uses of the building; use by a fraternal organization, church or some private school is envisioned, he said.

According to www.msana.com, a website for the Masonic Service Association of North America that records membership statistics, U.S. total membership of Master Masons in 1924 was over 3 million. The number peaked in 1959 at over 4 million. As of 2015, that number had decreased to 1,161,253. Dick Decima, who originally joined the Masonic Lodge in Pennsylvania 50 years ago in another small town, has been a lodge member in Lynden for 15 years. Decima said that while another fraternal order, the International Order of Odd Fellows, has virtually disappeared, he hopes that the Masonic Lodge won’t suffer the same fate. Through a quit-claim deed on May 29, 1991, ownership of the Nooksack Lodge #105 shifted to an association serving as a holding company, Nooksack Masonic Hall Association. Funds received from an eventual sale will go to the association, Decima said. The Whatcom County Assessor’s Office has valued the land and building for taxation purposes at S122,525. The main See Lodge on C6

The Nooksack Masonic Lodge has lost its membership over the years. (Courtesy photo/Scottish-Rite.com)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, November 30, 2016

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Construction underway at all three schools Middle school is essentially getting a new campus look By Elisa Claassen for the Lynden Tribune

One project at Nooksack Valley High School will create a new fitness center for students. (Courtesy photo)

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NOOKSACK — After the phase of planning and presenting bonds for voters’ approval in February 2015, three of the five Nooksack Valley School District campuses are in construction projects. An entirely new Nooksack Valley Middle School is being built, on track for move-in in the fall of 2017 and completion that winter. Nooksack Elementary School and Nooksack Valley High School see partial improvements. Funding is from the voter-approved bond of $28 million, plus state matching money for the middle and high school projects through the State Construction Assistance Program. Tex Landish, construction project manager for Construction Services Group/Educational Service District 189, oversees all of the NSVD projects. “All three contractors are quality local contractors, top-notch,” Landish said. He provided a tour of the middle school construction on Nov. 16 and this overview of the projects: • Nooksack Elementary on Breckenridge Road is adding four classrooms and doubling the size of the covered play area at the rear of the school. Budget: $2 million. State matching funds: none. Begun: June 23, 2016. Estimated completion: December 2016. Architect: King Architecture (David King). Contractor: Strengholt Construction of Lynden. New construction: square footage not available. • Nooksack Valley High School’s prior last sizeable project was construction of the Performing Arts Center in 1998. Budget: $14.5 million. State matching

funds: $4 million. Current work started: Sept. 7, 2016. Estimated completion: Phased for February, August and December 2017. Architect: Zervas Group of Bellingham. Contractor: Tiger Construction of Everson. The old administration area, originally built in 1954 with subsequent remodels, will be demolished and replaced. A new fitness center is being added to the north end of the building in a present parking lot with a space for wrestlers and workout space for athletes and students in general. A new entrance to the gym, with an alumni hall, is being added. Classrooms receiving new or modified spaces include the science room, the career and technology center (wood shop and metal shop), new kitchen and renovated cafeteria. New construction: 27,000 square feet. Modernization: 42,000 square feet. • Nooksack Valley Middle School, which once served as the district’s Everson elementary campus, gets a completely new building. Budget: $22.5 million. State matching funds: $7 million. Begun: July 15, 2016. Estimated completion: Phase 1 in August 2017, Phase 2 in November 2017. Architect: Zervas Group of Bellingham. Contractor: Dawson Construction of Bellingham. New building: 58,000 square feet. Modernization: 11,000 square feet. In contrast to an original plan to demolish the current middle school and move students to portable classroom units, the district chose, Landish said, to move the new two-level school’s footprint behind the existing school. The one exception was removing a wing that contained the old kitchen and cafeteria, four classrooms and the music room. The main gym will receive extensive remodeling, rotating the bleachers to another side, and be joined to the new facility. Once completed, the school will have a new student drop-off area, locker rooms, a “commons” area as dining

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, November 30, 2016

EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS

This artistic rendering shows the new Nooksack Valley Middle School now being built for fall 2017 occupancy. (Courtesy photo) space with retractable bleachers, revised entry and landscaping, and additional parking. Although not much will be sal-

vaged from the existing school, mostly built in 1947, some furnishings will go to another school.

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During construction, food is being prepared for the middle school in the high school’s kitchen and transferred.

Once the kitchen is completed at the middle school, food preparation will be switched there for both schools.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, November 30, 2016

EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS

A new look for Starvin Sam's Library

a busy place in December Katy Shaw talks Dec. 17 about backpacking 95 miles at Mt. Rainier

Deli manager Gabby Boulos works the counter where pizza and fish baskets are now offered. The store is co-owned by Victor Boulos and Yanni Gholam. Shawna Zwiers, store manager of Starvin Sam’s Store #3 in Nooksack, said the eight-month remodel included gas pumps and tank replacement, finishing in July. Locating a natural spring onsite during construction slowed the project. The store aisles have been rearranged with the cashier’s counter moved to the side of the store and consolidated with the deli counter. (Elisa Claassen/Lynden Tribune)

Lodge: Meetings held monthly through April 2016 Continued from C3

floor has 4,860 square feet, the basement 2,161. Decima wants to emphasize the organization’s philanthropic goals. Locally, the Masonic Lodge has helped four school districts with its Bikes for Books program encouraging reading at elementary and middle schools. Programs also continue to exist for women and youth: the International Order of the Eastern Star (wom-

en), the Order of DeMolay International (young men), International Order of the Rainbow for Girls. Monthly meetings were held in Nooksack through April 6, 2016. Decima, who is also active in other functions such as Cemetery District 10 commissioner, was a Past Master of the Lynden Masonic Lodge, which has merged with the Ferndale Lodge to meet in Ferndale — considered to be more centralized for members in north Whatcom

County. Since then, Nooksack has also merged with the other two lodges, he said. The merger became active on April 30. Since few of the 35 members remained in the Everson-Nooksack area — the closest was four miles away — the building was placed on the market. “Not one member lives close by,” he said. The late Frank Juntunen, who had been a “mainstay” of the local lodge, passed away earlier this year.

EVERSON — These are December 2016 programs at the Everson Library, 104 Kirsch Dr., phone 966-5100: Throughout December by appointment — The library can help you with genealogy research and digitization of memories. Use Ancestry.com. For adults. Throughout December by appointment — Computer problems? Receive one hour of individual computer help from Paul Goff. For adults. Through Dec. 31 — The Nooksack Valley Heritage Center display cabinet features the Gooding Shingle Company. Marv Fullner displays photos and artifacts from the mill started by his greatuncle Edward W. Gooding. Located east of Glen Echo, the mill operated until 1918. Fridays, 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. (skip Dec. 23) — At Teen Fab Fridays, play Minecraft or board games, make a craft, or just come hang out. For grades 6-12. Friday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m. — A used children’s book sale in City Park is part of the evening’s Winter Festival. This is a great opportunity for grandparents to find gifts! Proceeds benefit the Friends of the Everson Library.

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EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS Sunday, Dec. 4, at 2 p.m. — The Friends of the Everson Library invite you to enjoy refreshments and musical entertainment at this beloved annual Silver Tea event. Kids make crafts. Bring your camera for pictures with Santa! For all ages. Mondays, Dec. 5 and 12, at 10:30 a.m. — Everson Stories & Play is for ages 3-5. It begins with a preschool storytime, followed by open early learning play with a variety of activities and materials. Monday, Dec. 5, at 4 p.m. — Teens Make Monday Matter: Cook It. Come the first Monday of every month to cook something. Supplies provided. Try out something different each month ranging from cupcakes in the cupcake maker to mug cakes in the microwave. For grades 6-12. Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. — Kept in Stitches is a good-natured group for an evening of knitting, laughter, crocheting, needlework and more. For all ages. Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. — In Your Tech Learning (recurring), staff member Cynthia Rogers offers friendly one-on-one half-hour computer tutoring on your choice of device. Learn new computer skills using our public computers, or bring your tablet, smartphone or laptop. Schedule an appointment by calling the Everson Library at 966-5100. For: All ages/family. Monday, Dec. 12, at 4 p.m. — Teens Make Monday Matter: Coloring: The second Monday of every month is for exploring the coloring craze. Have fun, reduce stress, find a basis for a gift. The coloring pages and a fun variety of tools to color with are provided. You bring the ideas. For grades 6-12. Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 3:30 p.m. — Even beginners are welcome to the All Levels Chess Club. Get together as adults, teens and kids to have fun. Cynthia Rogers leads various chess activities and pairs the players for games. More skilled players are handicapped for further challenge, and beginners are given assistance. For all ages/family.

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, November 30, 2016 Saturday, Dec. 17 — Make presents; the best gifts are homemade. For grades K-5. Saturday, Dec. 17, at 3 p.m. — Experience the beauty and drama of Mt. Rainier as Katy Shaw (daughter of librarian Eileen Shaw) shares her adventures backpacking the 95-mile Wonderland Trail. She calls it “A Rambling Unicorn.” For all ages. Monday, Dec. 19, at 4 p.m. — Teens Make Monday Matter: Create on the third Monday of every month is to create something. Supplies provided for a different project each month and you bring your imagination. For grades 6-12. Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 4:15 p.m. — Strumming and singing with the ukulele has become an international phenomenon! For the monthly Ukulele for Everyone, ukuleles will be available for use courtesy of the Bellingham Ukulele Group. Join Cynthia Rogers for a demo, beginning lessons and a song circle of the “happy instrument.” Singers and other instruments welcome as well. For all ages. The Whatcom County Library System will be closed Saturday, Dec. 24, through Monday, Dec. 26. All branches and the Bookmobile will reopen for regular hours Tuesday, Dec. 27.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, November 30, 2016

EVERSON-NOOKSACK NEWS