There's nothing like Echo Valley Respite
By Racquel Muncy
For the Tribune
MAPLE FALLS — Hidden in the forested hills on the way up to Mount Baker, not far from Silver Lake, is a destination for senior citizens called Echo Valley Adult Daycare and Respite.
“We’re unique. There’s nothing else like us in Whatcom County,” owner Kris Mason said. “This space begs people to be here and enjoy the beauty.”
Echo Valley Respite opened in April 2022 and is located at Echo Valley Farm in Maple Falls.
When she first started she had one respite room, and she
said she is now up to three.
Kris has worked as a nurse and in the healthcare realm for more than 30 years and said she is a large proponent of aging in place, which is living at home as comfortably and independently as possible while people age.
She said after working through the COVID-19 pandemic she needed a change and wanted to create a space where caregivers remained in charge of their loved ones. She wanted to create a space where the spouse and family of the loved one could get a break from serving as a caregiver for a short period of time.
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Dave and Kris check on the baby pigs at Echo Valley Adult Daycare and Respite in Maple Falls. Mike speaks about his time owning cattle. Echo Valley Farms is thinking about adding a couple of cows to its list of farm animals. (Racquel Muncy for the Tribune)
Kris said she is able to have the senior for a few days at a time and also do day stays. She is also able to help with transportation as she said she realizes that can be a barrier being off the beaten path in East Whatcom County.
“It’s definitely an option for people to just come out for the day,” she said. “I want people to feel really comfortable.”
While at Echo Valley, Kris said the clients have a variety of activities they can do from games and outdoor walks around the farm, to a trip into town to visit a museum or a walk along the beach in Birch Bay.
She said it is up to what the client wants to do, which may be a good home cooked meal and relaxing day listening to music.
“You can turn anything into an adventure,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to be bored.”
Respite care facilities like Echo Valley help with that as it gives caregivers a break while Kris cares for the loved one for a short amount of time. Without the time
to relax, it may wear on the caregiver and lead to the one being taken care of going to a memory care or other long-term facility.
“We’ve been able to help quite a few families stay together,” she said.
Many of her clients have dementia, Parkinson’s or come for rehabilitation after a surgery, such as a hip replacement.
Two of Kris’ regulars, Dave and Mike, found the group through their dementia support group.
Dave’s wife Carla said Echo Valley has been a life improvement for both of them.
“It has kept me sane, or at least close to,” she said.
At first she said it was a difficult decision to make as she did not want to part with her husband for any sort of extended period of time and Dave was hesitant to be taken care of.
After spending some time with Kris and on the Echo Valley Farm she said she knows Dave is well taken care of and he enjoys his time on the farm.
At Echo Valley Adult Daycare and Respite, Dave, Kris and Mike pick some fresh strawberries to start off their walk. Dave said he enjoys his stays at the farm. He used to be a farmer and enjoys listening to the farm sounds and going on walks around the property.
(Racquel Muncy for the Tribune)
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“He loves it. He loves it so much it makes it okay,” Carla said. “I know he’s so well taken care of by Kris. That’s enough to give me respite and peace.”
It started with one-night stays every other week and is easing into five-night stays every other week.
Carla said it is important for Dave to have consistency, so being able to do more than a day stay has been important.
Dave said he enjoys his stays at the farm. He used to be a farmer and enjoys listening to the farm sounds and going on walks around the property.
Mike’s wife Martha said she began to look for respite care for Mike to go to their daughter’s wedding. However, most respite facilities are not able to say if they have the space until a week or so before. Echo Valley Respite is able to book clients in advance. This was necessary for Martha’s situation as plane tickets and RSVPing for the wedding were needed to be done far in advance.
She said she also liked that it was a home setting versus a typical facility and that Kris has at most three people, making the care highly individualized.
Martha said Kris was able to meet with the couple both at their house and at the farm.
“She made us feel really welcomed,” she said. “I didn’t feel anxious at all. I felt at peace.”
Mike, who is incredibly social and enjoys being the life of the party, according to Martha, enjoyed his stay and has since become a regular.
Mike speaks highly of Kris and the other clients at Echo Valley and it’s due to the people that he enjoys his stays.
“They’re friendly, warm, welcoming,
considerate and kind,” he said. “You can bring your problems here and they will help you work through them.”
Kris said Mike is constantly cracking jokes and has the group in stitches for much of his stay.
“His humor allows him to get through really tough times,” she said.
Mike said this was his first respite experience and hopes he never has to find another one.
“This is my second home,” he said.
He said Echo Valley also reunited him with Dave, whom he had gone to school with.
“Fifty years down the road I ran into him at this respite care,” Mike said. “I rec ognized that voice.”
Carla said Echo Valley has been equally as important for her as for Dave. During her time with the dementia support group, she said she has seen several caregivers pass away before their partner because they spend so much time worrying about their partner.
“It’s such a weight and it’s so difficult,” she said. “We have a way of putting every thing else off.”
However, thanks to Echo Valley she gets a break as well and is able to prioritize her self for a time.
“It’s so wonderful. It is definitely the personification of respite,” she said of Echo Valley. “It’s for both of us.”
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Martha agreed and said she is able to relax knowing Mike is in good hands for a few days. This allows her time to care for herself so she can be ready to continue caring for the both of them.
More information, visit echovalleyrespite.com.
Dave, Kris and Mike enjoy each other's company at Echo Valley Respite.
(Racquel Muncy for the Tribune)
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Lynden woman reflects on pioneering career in aviation
By Joe Kramer Sports Editor
LYNDEN — Bette Bach Fineman, a rare and pioneering female pilot, sits in her cozy home in Lynden and reflects on a career in aviation that spanned decades and thousands of miles. Now in her mid-80s, Bette logged more than 4,000 hours in the air and flew more than 40 different types of planes. Her career as a pilot took flight during an era when women were seldom seen in the cockpit, and she became one of the first 99 female pilots.
Bach Fineman’s life in aviation began with a spark ignited by her father Malcolm Franks during World War II. Franks, who taught flight classes, took her out to look at planes during her early youth. Those early experiences with aircraft would plant the seed for her lifelong passion, but her journey to the skies didn’t come without challenges.
Fineman contracted polio as a child. She was 6 or 7 years old at the time, an age when polio often left lasting effects on its victims. However, Fineman survived polio and eventually entered college a year early. Fineman’s journey into aviation didn’t take off immediately. After high school, she married her high school sweetheart, Richard Bach, who enlisted in the Air Force. As her husband traveled the world on duty, Fineman remained stateside and honed her writing and editing skills.
“I edited my husband’s work while he was serving, and I made it better,” she remarked.
She began her flying career as a ferry pilot, a role that would take her across the country and into the cockpit of numerous types of aircraft. Throughout her career, she logged more than 7,000 flying hours, 3,000 of which were solo. Among the 40 different aircrafts she flew were the Douglas DC-3 and the Tiger Moth.
Throughout her years in the air, Fineman faced many challenges that tested her nerves and showcased her calm under pressure. On one occasion, while flying across the country, the family encountered a lightning strike. As they flew through unpredictable weather, a flash of lightning crossed right in front of them.
It was Fineman’s calm demeanor and control that left a lasting impact on her daughter, Erica Berdan, who also lives in
Lynden resident and pioneering female pilot Bette Bach Fineman enjoys a quiet life in Lynden while she continues to inspire future generations of pilots. (Photos courtesy of Bette Bach Fineman)
As a teenager, she followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a pilot herself.
“I remember another time where I was flying by myself and there was a crosswind,” she recalled. “It was scary, but I thought, ‘No one else is going to land this plane but me.’ I had to do it. I went around, I think,
five times because the wind kept coming up and pushing me offline. It was getting dark, and there were no lights on the grass strip. I just had to land it. By that time, mom sent my stepdad out with a truck, and he was sitting there with the headlights shining across the strip. I thought, ‘You’ve got to land this time.’ I exaggerated everything
I was taught, pinned it down, and taxied up. It was a good experience for me.”
Bette’s love for aviation clearly passed on to her children. While Erica pursued flying for a time, it was Bette’s eldest son who made a career out of it. He now flies for American Airlines and carries on the family’s aviation legacy.
“I take some of those lessons along with me for the rest of my life,” Erica said. “Not giving up, persevering. Just remembering you can do this. You know what to do. Just don’t panic. So, I think I use a lot of those little lessons from flying, and I use them now. Just don’t panic and make the choices. And I’m a very cautious person, too. I think that’s what’s ingrained in me from growing up with airplanes.”
Erica’s memories of her mother’s calmness and perseverance reflected the traits that shaped Fineman’s life as both a pilot and a parent. Despite having juggled the responsibilities of motherhood, Fineman found ways to stay connected to aviation. Her husband bought her an airplane and the family moved several times over the years, including a stint in Massachusetts, but eventually settled in quieter locales such as Birch Bay and, later, Lynden.
‘We couldn’t handle the big traffic,” Bette said of their move to Washington.
Now, with a home just a block away from the Lynden airport, aviation is still very much a part of her life, albeit in a quieter, more reflective way.
Her involvement with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 404 at the Lynden airport remains one of her primary connections to the aviation community. The EAA, which meets monthly, brings together aviation enthusiasts to share stories, discuss restoration projects, and continue the legacy of flight. Fineman’s work restoring airplanes has also been a significant part of her life, keeping her connected to the world of aviation even when she’s not in the cockpit.
Although not all of Fineman’s children pursued flying professionally, their upbringing was undeniably shaped by their mother’s passion for aviation. Erica reflected on the unique nature of their childhood.
“I think having a mom who had that kind of extraordinary, not a typical mom ... no, she wasn’t at home baking cookies, let’s just say,” she said. “A lot of the times we kind of had to fend for ourselves if she was on a trip or if she was at the airport. We would end up just riding our bikes down
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to where the airport was and hanging out where she was.”
One summer, Erica even worked at one of the airports where her mother was stationed.
“Hey, mom’s here, and might as well be here too,” she said. “My job was to run the wings of the gliders, hook up the tow plane, and then run the wing until they could be on their own. You let go, and off they went. And then when they landed, we hooked the glider up to a golf cart and brought it back. At the end of the day, I got a free glider lesson out of it.”
This lifestyle, centered around aviation, became second nature to Erica and her siblings.
“Because of what mom chose, what she decided to put her life into, we just kind of followed along,” she said. “We really didn’t choose it. We just said this is what life is. We hang out at airports, we wash planes for money, we run the wings for a job for free lessons.”
“Every time we moved somewhere, there was a new airport,” she added.
Another scary flying moment Bette recalled was flying over the Great Lakes. With her children in the plane, they crossed into Canadian airspace by accident, a mistake brought on by the difficulty of navigating the massive body of water.
“We had a map covered in oil, and we were just trying to figure out where we were,” she said. “It was one of those moments where you just
“I am on the behalf of the LHM-EF writing this brief communication to enlist your support as we continue our efforts to give financial stability to the Lynden Heritage Museum.
We, I and nine other volunteers, serve as directors and officers of the LHM-EF. Our purpose and goals are to carefully and safely manage the invested funds that provide for quarterly distributions to the Lynden Heritage Foundation that provides day-to-day management of the Lynden Heritage Museum.
In addition to monitoring the invested funds we seek to grow our endowment. The founders of the endowment early on set a goal of $3 million. If we can achieve that goal, the amount we distribute
had to trust your instincts.”
Despite the close calls and the challenges, Fineman never lost her love for flying. She even wrote a book to encourage more women to get involved in aviation, demonstrating how to balance a career in flying with the demands of motherhood. Her book, “Patterns: Tales of Flying and of Life,” was published in 2007.
Fineman’s legacy continues to soar through the next generation of her family. Her greatgrandchildren have already begun participating in the EAA’s Young Eagles program, which introduces children to the world of aviation through flight experiences.
“My two boys were both given rides when they were very young, and one of them, my oldest, is interested in flying,” Erica said. “Now, mom’s great-grandchildren are getting involved. Last year, one of her great-grandsons went to the airport for his first flight, and they started at eight years old. So, this year, another of mom’s greatgranddaughters will be joining the program.
“Mom doesn’t fly anymore,” Erica said. “This program is so great because it allows these young ones to get in the seat, hold the controls, and have a 15-minute flight. Mom’s still encouraging them, trying to pass that love of flying on.”
Today, Fineman enjoys a quieter life in Lynden, far from the bustling airports and roaring engines of her past. But her legacy in aviation remains alive and well.
quarterly can rise to $60,000 annually without drawing down the total invested funds.
Currently our endowment is just over $2 million, a sum we have reached because of community support and some significant gifts and bequests. Many of our citizens have made regular yearly gifts to our endowment and others have made the endowment part of their estate planning. My wife and I use the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) option to give from our IRA. The endowment is a 501c3 charitable organization.
We would like an opportunity to add you to the supporters of the endowment in whichever way seems right for your participation.”
Donna Vander Griend adds new lines on life
Now a great-grandma, she began writing these pieces during ‘long COVID tunnel’
By Cal Bratt For the Tribune
WHATCOM — Now in her 80s and able to enjoy her first great-grandchild, Donna Vander Griend has something more yet to say from her distilled experience of life.
The Bellingham author, through local Village Books, has published “Lines: Stories and Sketches,” a weaving of meditations on the thread of different kinds of lines we deal with. These range from deadlines to boundary lines, family lines to hairlines, wrinkle lines to party lines, guidelines to fault lines.
And Vander Griend invites the reader to be interactive. At the end of each of her 42 reflections, she provides space, literally, to write or draw one’s own thoughts.
Almost a generation ago, Vander Griend wrote “Out of the Mouths of Grandbabes.” She wanted to record the utterances of her grandchildren before they aged out of their pure expressions of innocence and creativity.
Now Vander Griend can write of their next stage, and hers. The grandchildren are venturing out into the world to shape their own lives. They are scattering. At a summer’s end, Grandma is saying good-bye. And so the thoughts and feelings behind “Bye Lines,” sketch number ten.
What do we do the morning after ... a teen-aged nephew’s death? a too-young sister’s death years ago? What is one’s lifeline? “Come and have breakfast,” Jesus invites. And on into the Bible story of earnest personal conversation, the question “Do you love me?” and then simply “Follow me.”
What is the point of a plumbline (or whatever modern devise we use to measure straightness)? Yes, the foundation should be level so that a building does not collapse. But our lives are full of guessing and conjecture. “I wonder what percentage of our thoughts are unsure,” Vander Griend muses.
“Jesus welcomes us into an abundant life far beyond the serious impossibilities of measuring tools and checklists. Instead of leaving His beloved ones in a constant
Great-grandma Donna Vander Griend has written “Lines: Stories and Sketches” as her way of downsizing, she says, and passing on to others what may be of value about life. (Photo courtesy Donna Vander Griend)
self-struggle to become flawless, He invites us to enjoy His handmade beauties exploding like fireworks everywhere.”
In the sense of being spiritual reflections on life, this is a traveler’s memoir.
For more than 10 years, Vander Griend was a counselor at Lynden Christian High School. She loved the job because of its unpredictability. She might have her appointments scheduled, but the predictability ended as soon as that student’s personality walked in her office door. Her guidelines needed to be flexible, a dotted line.
These meditations of spirit arose out of “the long COVID tunnel and its aftermath of isolation, surgeries, caretaking and losses,” Vander Griend said. God gave
her a writing assignment to infuse plodding days with some purpose and also to find healing, hope and humor. “I needed to remember, by writing it down, what I still believed and what I still want to believe.”
Sometimes things she was purging from her files became a spark for new reflection. It turned out to be “a surprise of joy,” she said.
The pieces, when pulled together, were enough for a book. But Vander Griend did not want to go through the process she is familiar with -- she also wrote materials for a women’s Coffee Break ministry -- of working remotely with a publisher, under a contract, on a deadline. “I just felt like I needed real people,” she said.
She found the solution with Village Books, which will do publishing with an author.
Vander Griend was directed to a local formatter sympathetic with her purpose and vision, right down to the look of the cover, as though this is a spiral notebook meant for the reader’s thoughts and creativity as well.
She rediscovered the truth that “there is power in writing,” both for the writer and the reader, she said.
Since a soft release of the book in May, Vander Griend has felt rewarded when people send her their own sketches of personal reflection upon what she wrote.
She expects that a book talk will happen at the Lynden Village Books store in the fall.
Donna Vander Griend’s new book “Lines: Stories and Sketches.” Since a soft release of the book in May, Vander Griend has felt rewarded when people send her their own sketches of personal reflection upon what she wrote.
Big changes at Lynden Community/Senior Center
Evan Samsill to be center's new manager
By Jennifer Lautenbach Executive Director, Lynden Community/Senior Center
LYNDEN — The summer was hopping around the Lynden Community/Senior Center. We partied, we played, we learned, we supported each other, we had fun.
Our seniors competed in the Senior Summer Games during a special week in July. They exhibited marksmanship (with squirt guns), threw the discus (frisbee), and ping-pong’d the week away.
The bocce tournament crowned a new championship team at the Bender Bocce Courts. And we came together on a Saturday night for the Harvest Moon Dinner to fundraise for our meal program. On Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., the center will host What’s Next: Exploring your Medicare Options sponsored by Guided Solutions.
Resource vendors, preparing for Medicare Open Enrollment presentations and a vaccine clinic will be offered.
See our website, lyndencommunitycenter.org, for more information on this and other events.
As we enter October and the changing leaves of fall, we see a time of change arriving at the center. One of the big changes will be related to a construction project. The City is updating the HVAC system that keeps us warm in the winter and cool in the summer to a new, efficient, rooftop model. Our current system is pieced and patched together with components from the mid-60s to the mid-90s. It was time.
This work will necessitate some downtime for the center. City staff, the construction company and center staff are working to make it as little closure time as possible.
As I write this the construction schedule has not been finalized, as are waiting on information about the actual HVAC equipment. However, it looks like a November/December project.
Keep an eye on our website and our Facebook page for updates.
The center will also experience a change in leadership in October. I have been offered an amazing opportunity to help another wonderful local nonprofit, Lions Camp Horizon Foundation, located in Birch Bay. I will be the new executive director and focused on fundraising and promoting the camp in and around north-
Community ukulele players performed on Sept. 27, above, at the Lynden Community/Senior Center. Below left, the center’s new manager, Evan Samsill. (Photos courtesy Lynden Community/Senior Center)
The bocce tournament crowned a new championship team at the Bender Bocce Courts, bottom right photo on opposite page. Then, the Lynden Community/Senior Center came together on a Saturday night for the Harvest Moon Dinner, pictured above, to fundraise for our meal program. On Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., the center will host What’s Next: Exploring your Medicare Options sponsored by Guided Solutions. (Photos courtesy Lynden Community/Senior Center)
west Washington and lover British Columbia.
I can’t thank you enough for the love, support, and laughs that you have shared over the last four years, and you all have a special place in my heart. Because of this opportunity I have grown as a person and a non-profit professional. Thank you to the staff and board members, past and present, that have been on this journey with me.
We survived a pandemic and snow closures. We have grown and celebrated. We have mourned friends passings. Through it all we have remained present for each other and extended a warm welcome to new folks. While I am sad to close this chapter, I intend to remain connected to the center and just filled out a new member application. In true Lynden fashion, I waited until Oct. 1 when the New Member Special is live and by paying $45 for this year, I get all next year free.
So, this is see you later, not farewell. And now I would like to turn it over to the center’s new manager, Evan Samsill.
Evan Samsill
Hi, my name is Evan Samsill, and I am thrilled to introduce myself as filling some big shoes here on behalf of Jennifer for this community I have called Lynden my home for 14 years. As we look ahead to many of the changes outlined above, I am honored to play a part in maintaining and building upon the services, connections, and yes, community this center provides here in Lynden and the surrounding area.
As we prepare for some great upgrades to the facility, we will continue to host classes such as Powerful Tools For Caregivers, a weekly program emphasizing supports and tools for the health and betterment of yourself and your family. We will continue to keep our calendar and media outlets updated with other events and opportunities for gatherings and resources. I am very excited for what we have in store for the future here with all of you.
Activities at the Lynden Community/Senior Center
Oct. 3
Recognize & Prevent Fraud
Consumer Protection Washington will have a panel of experts to share information about protecting yourself and your loved ones from fraud and scams. The event is Thursday, Oct. 3 from 1-3 p.m. at the Lynden Community/Senior Center, 401 Grover St. Call 360-354-2921 or email info@lyndencommunitycenter. org for more information.
Oct. 11
Lynden Music Festival
Join us for Folkert Hans Tolsma from the Netherlands, on Friday, Oct 11 at 12:45 p.m. With his vocals, trumpet and saxophone, Folkert turns festivals into parties. He will play at the Lynden Community/Senior Center, 401 Grover St. For more information, call 360-354-2921 or email info@lyndencommunitycenter.org.
Oct. 15
State of Lynden Public Schools
Superintendent David VanderY-
acht will share about Lynden Schools on Tuesday, Oct 15 at 12:45 p.m. at the Lynden Community/Senior Center, 401 Grover St. For more information, call 360-354-2921 or email info@lyndencommunitycenter. org.
Oct. 15
Painting with Anne
Anne Levinson assists students to create a painting with acrylic paints, on Oct. 15 from 1:303:30 p.m. Fee is $25 for members, $30 for non-members. Registration is required before the class begins. Lynden Community/Senior Center is at 401 Grover St. For more information, call 360-354-2921 or email info@lyndencommunitycenter.org.
Oct. 17
Nerka Salmon
Join commercial Alaskan troller Tele Aadsen on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 12:45 p.m. as she tells her memoir story of “What Water Holds” at the Lynden Community/Senior Center which is located at 401 Grover St. For more information, call (360) 354-2921 or email info@lyndencommunitycenter.org.
Oct. 18
Aging Well Resource Fair: Medicare & Vaccine Clinic
Join workshops, vendors and more on Friday, Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. In addition, we will have a vaccine clinic with
flu shots, COVID-19 boosters, and available at the Lynden Community/Senior Center, 401 Grover St. For more information, call 360-354-2921 or email info@lyndencommunitycenter.org.
Oct. 29
Northwest Regional Council
Meet with Sandy Wisecarver, an NWRC program specialist, at the Center to help you with information about Medicare/ Medicaid, caregiver support, long term care, in-home care, legal, medical/dental. She will be here on Tuesday, Oct. 29 from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
Call 360-738-2500 to make an appointment.
Tuesdays in October
Watercolor Series Class
Lois Dahl will teach beginner and more experienced skills depending on the student’s abilities on Tuesdays, from 10 a.m.noon. The series of four classes will be $30 for members, $35 for non-members. Registration is required before the class begins. Lynden Community/ Senior Center is at 401 Grover St. Call 360-354-2921 or email info@lyndencommunitycenter. org for more information and to register.
