Encore October 2020 by Lynden Tribune

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Wednesday, October 14, 2020

What’s Inside.... C2 — City of Lynden and Let’s Pool Together team up for senior water aerobics C8 — The Dear Friend Pen Pal Project aims to build intergenerational connections during isolation C10 — Glen Echo Garden sold to Urbina family

A supplement of the Lynden Tribune and Ferndale Record

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, October 14, 2020 | Ferndale Record

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, October 14, 2020| Ferndale Record

Lynden pool being used for water aerobics

The first water aerobics session of the day is enjoying the Lynden pool on Monday morning, Oct. 12, with Julie Bailey as instructor. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)

City partners with Let’s Pool Together to offer seven morning sessions for now By Calvin Bratt editor@lyndentribune.com

LYNDEN — Seniors are again able to use the Lynden swimming pool for their valued water aerobics exercise.

Operation of the pool — and in fact of the whole Lynden recreation center at 100 Drayton St. by Whatcom Family YMCA — was halted by the coronavirus outbreak back in March, and nothing restarted until last week Monday, Oct. 5. Due to financial difficulties, the YMCA is no longer involved. All swimming is under a City of Lynden arrangement of the city-owned facility with the nonprofit Let’s Pool Together, said City Administrator Mike Martin. The upshot is that, for now, the pool

— the only one of its size in north Whatcom County — is being used all weekday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon for a slate of water aerobics sessions open to the public. The demand for this service was strong, and spots in seven 10-person classes are essentially filled up for the present, said Chris Coghill, a board member of Let’s Pool Together. But he urges people to use the website letspooltogether.SimplyBook.me (first sign up) and supporting phone number 360-594-1278 (from 8 a.m. to

noon) to see if there are any openings. “It just gives as many people as possible what opportunity we can,” he said, summarizing the effort. As of Monday, 86 had signed up. At this point and for the balance of 2020, the opportunity to swim is free for participants, with the city and Let’s Pool Together covering costs, between facility maintenance budget and some federal COVID relief money. Getting four instructors lined up, all See Pool on C4

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, October 14, 2020 | Ferndale Record

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of whom have years of local experience, was “absolutely critical to this getting started,” Coghill said. He also had to arrange a lifeguard for all pool time, which draws upon expert youth swimmers in the Bellingham Bay Swim Club, a parallel nonprofit providing swimming opportunity for youths ages 6 to 18 in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Although the morning sessions are low-impact water movement, Coghill is hopeful he can soon, with the city, also offer public afternoon lap swimming, again under tight COVID guidelines. The morning sessions use both the shallow and deeper halves of the pool, cordoned off by rope. Each session is 45 minutes long, with 15 minutes between each for transitioning. Let’s Pool Together has been around for quite a few years trying to increase pool access in northwest Washington, Coghill explained. The Bellingham Bay Three ladies come in the pool access door of the Lynden recreation center on Monday to check in for the next session of water aerobics. All participants are already pre-registered. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, October 14, 2020| Ferndale Record

ENCORE Swim Club, in turn, provides swimming opportunity for youths 18 and under in addition to whatever varsity programs may exist in local high schools. Just arrived in July from Austin, Texas, Coghill is the head coach of the BBSC and is a board member of Let’s Pool Together, so he is involved in both respects. Over the summer the youths Coghill coaches used Lake Padden and any usable small pools in the region they could locate to keep up their swimming. Meanwhile, Coghill was doing his part to line up lifeguards, set up a website, and more. “It’s been quite an adventure,” he said. That’s why everyone was so eager to find a way to use the Lynden pool when it was known to be available, and to work with city administration to try to provide the community use as well. Coghill became a key person, as he has a background in aquatics management and he also is a nationally certified pool operator officially able to direct the delicate balance of pool chemistry and purification. He is now at the pool before 6 a.m. to lead two hours of workout of his youth See Pool on C6

Chris Coghill is the organizing force behind restart of the Lynden pool, which is in its second week. He is a youth swim club coach, a certified pool operator and has experience in aquatics administration. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, October 14, 2020 | Ferndale Record

Pool Continued from C5

The check-in table is the place to make sure everyone is in the right class at the right time, using advance registration done through simplybook.me online. (Calvin Bratt/Lynden Tribune)

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swimmers before welcoming the first round of community participants. Water aerobics is considered extra valuable because it takes the weight pressure off the body while allowing good physical exercise. Come December, Coghill said, he expects the pool to be used also by the Lynden High School boys swim team as it starts up training in the COVID-rearranged prep schedule. He noted that one Lynden student has just joined the Bellingham Bay Swim Club. Swimmers are using the Arne Hanna Aquatics Center in Bellingham as well, but the restrictions on numbers put all pools at reduced capacity. The city’s arrangement with Let’s Pool Together is on a short-term basis for flexibility. Both Martin and Coghill said they hope a more long-term agreement can be in place for 2021, and it could involve a more over-arching operator of the whole center with the pool as just one part.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, October 14, 2020| Ferndale Record

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, October 14, 2020 | Ferndale Record

Pen Pal project aims to connect across isolation Aging Well Whatcom facilitates; WECUs are a drop-off point

Anyone is eager to see what the mailbox holds in terms of personal correspondence, and the old form of a handwritten card or note is what Aging Well Whatcom is using to overcome COVID isolation of seniors. (Courtesy photo)

WHATCOM — Aging Well Whatcom is a community initiative, sponsored by the Chuckanut Health Foundation, that aims to make Whatcom County a place with the culture, physical infrastructure, social supports and services for all of us to age well. The coalition of service providers, business owners and community leaders was launched in 2017. One goal is to develop intergenerational links for sharing information, support and connections. And now Aging Well Whatcom has commenced the Dear Friend Pen Pal Project to address loneliness and foster connection between community members of all ages in this coronavirus year. Studies show that finding ways to stay connected directly impacts mental See Pen Pals on C9

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, October 14, 2020| Ferndale Record

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health and improves well-being for both the giver and the receiver. As the weather turns toward winter and tests physical distancing in the ongoing pandemic, this project is meant to offer a meaningful way for families, children, students and older adults “to make a difference in someone’s day and to create connection,” states a press release. All community members are invited to participate. “We have received a handful of letters and are hoping to receive hundreds more. We expect that the project will be ongoing for a number of months,” said Chuckanut executive director Heather Flaherty this week. Actually, personally created artwork is welcome too, from all ages — “kiddos who want to draw pictures,” Flaherty said. “We welcome physical hand-written cards and letters — or art projects and drawings, or photographs — anything that you think might brighten someone’s day,” Flaherty said. The distribution will be general, but it is up to the writer or creator to decide how specific or personal they want to be, Flaherty said — “whatever the writer’s comfort level is.” They are not stopped from sharing identification or contact info, although they shouldn’t necessarily expect a response back, Flaherty said. “We recommend people start their letter with just Dear Friend, as the matching will be random at first," she said. The project will deliver cards and letters from the community to older adults experiencing isolation. “Our residents are experiencing isolation due to the pandemic,” reports Tonja Myers, administrator of Christian Health Care Center in Lynden. “Receiving a card, letter or drawing has a very positive impact on their day, even when it’s from someone they don’t know. We are social creatures, so when a resident receives a note from someone, it reminds them that they are an important part of our community, and someone is thinking of them. Often they will read and reread a card or letter, remembering the joy of that connection. It seems a small thing, but it’s so very important, especially now.” Any interested community members and groups are invited to participate as letter writers, with letters to

be distributed initially to residents of assisted-living facilities, senior centers and clients of the Whatcom Council on Aging’s Meals on Wheels programs. Partners in the project and places to drop off submissions are the Whatcom Family YMCA, Allied Arts of Whatcom County, Art & Happiness and Mindport Exhibit (all in Bellingham) and all WECU branches including its ones in Lynden (2045 Front St.), Ferndale (5659 Barrett Rd.) and Everson (106 E. Main St.). “WECU is pleased to use our local branches to facilitate letters being delivered to seniors in our local community,” said Reid Frederick, director of community impact for the credit union. “It’s critical to stay connected in these challenging times, and we’re honored to help our local seniors, friends and neighbors.” Detailed instructions for participation for both letter writers and interested receivers can be found at AgingWellWhatcom.org or by contacting AgingWell@chuckanuthealthfoundation.org. Cards and letters can also be mailed to the Chuckanut Health Foundation at 1500 Cornwall Ave., Suite 201, Bellingham WA 98225. Letter writers are asked to clearly mark the envelope Dear Friend Pen Pal Project. The Pen Pal Project grew out of a recognition that letter writing is an actionable, meaningful and safe approach to build connections during this time when opportunities for in-person interactions are limited. For more details, call Heather Flaherty at 360-224-7313 or email HeatherFlaherty@chuckanuthealthfoundation. org.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, October 14, 2020 | Ferndale Record

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Glen Echo Garden sold Dick and Jennie Bosch reflect on their years of building this place of botanical repose

WHATCOM — Glen Echo Garden, 4390 Y Rd. on the northeast side of Bellingham, was sold recently by Dick and Jennie Bosch to the Urbina family. The Bosches submit the following statement of reflections on their 49 years of making Glen Echo what it is today. Brothers Davíd and Tomas Urbina are the new owners. They will be operating the gardens from now on and plan to build upon the legacy the Bosches began. Glen Echo Garden will still be a family business, as Davíd and Tomas plan to bring their siblings and parents into the business as well. Jennie and I had the idea to develop a botanical garden or tourist attraction in 1968. We then started to look for a suitable piece of land and found the 16½ acres of wooded land with Anderson Creek running through it. In 1971 we bought the property located at 4390 Y Rd. and moved there three years later. We first had to clear some land and make a road down the hill to where the garden was going to be located. I worked at clearing the land three to four years, then dropped the whole idea of putting in the garden. We were running a garden center in Ferndale, had a landscaping business as well as a young family of four children to raise. We had a full plate, so the garden was put on hold for a good number of years. When I retired from landscaping and we sold the garden center, we took up the project again 15 years ago and worked a year and a half developing the garden. We opened Glen Echo Garden to the public on July 17, 2007. When we bought the property, we did not know the rich history that came with it. The property was previously owned by the Glen Echo Coal Company and had two coal mines operating until 1945. The land was also owned for a time by Gooding Lumber & Shingle Co. Part of the old Mt. Baker Highway ran through the north end of the property, and before 1940 this was the only way to Mt. Baker from Bellingham. There are 15 very large cedar stumps 12 feet across.

Jennie and Dick Bosch are transferring ownership of their Glen Echo Garden on the northeast side of Bellingham to the Urbina family, represented here by brothers David and Tomas. (Courtesy photo) The timber cut was made 8 to 11 feet off the ground and then slowly new trees now three feet in diameter grew out of the stumps. The magnificent size of these large trees growing from stumps cannot be seen anywhere else in the region. Glen Echo Garden has been visited by people from all over the world and has been used for many events such as weddings, wedding showers, wine tastings, reunions, concerts and all kind of parties.

We also wanted our guests to be inspired to see the beauty in nature and the flowers and trees and be in awe of God’s creation. Church groups have come in and had services, Sunday evening hymn sings, and more. Some people have come to pray and study the Bible. We even had a pastor come to prepare his Sunday message in the garden. We had a dedication service with our family when we opened the garden to the public. Led by the late pastor Barry Blankers,

he commented that he had never dedicated a garden before. Having turned 81 and Jennie 79, we felt that it was time to slow down. We have had the experience of meeting many wonderful people and we want to thank the community for their support and encouragement. Above all, we thank God for richly blessing us as we were tools in God’s hands to display his glorious creation.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, October 14, 2020| Ferndale Record

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, October 14, 2020 | Ferndale Record

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