Who's Who 2023

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Brim Tractor weathered, changed industry

By Elisa Claassen For the Tribune

LYNDEN — The history of Brim Tractor began with Bill Brim, father of current Owner and General Manager Dan Brim.

When Bill was 22, he became part-owner of his first tractor dealership. He remained in the business for 40 years.

Bill and his wife Margaret founded Brim Tractor Company in Lynden in 1966.

According to the company, the two not only weathered the constantly-changing industry but they shaped it.

One example of that was when Bill brought the first hydraulic-arm Bomford mower into the United States from England, which transformed the maintenance of roadsides and freeways.

Another forward measure was when several of Dan’s brothers, Bob, Alan and Dave, computerized the company in the late 1970s.

See Brim Tractor on 6

Henry Buiter, with 35 years of experience in sales, shows part of the tractor inventory at Brim Tractor at the Lynden store. Brim Tractor’s zeroturn mowers have proved popular with homeowners who may have a larger lawn to maintain.

(Elisa Claassen for the Tribune)

Everson Nooksack Farmers Market now on Sundays

Jesse Johnson spearheads second season

By Elisa Claassen For the Tribune

EVERSON — About a year ago, the owner of Sunset Farms decided the Nooksack Valley should have its own farmers market.

Now business manager of the Everson Nooksack (EN) Valley Farmers Market, Everson resident Jesse Johnson said she put her plan together on a whim.

Johnson had so many ideas and having a community garden, which she also has been involved with at times, wasn’t enough. “I love to shop at them (farmers markets),” she said. “I don’t like to go to Bellingham.”

Johnson also noticed when she did go to the Bellingham market that many of the vendors were not from Bellingham.

“Lots of them are from here,” she said.

Everson also needed more fun, family-friendly activities.

Jesse Johnson at the Everson Nooksack (EN) Valley Farmers Market. This year’s market will be on Sundays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. (Elisa Claassen for the Tribune)

While Johnson did find advice and mentorship from other small market farmers such as Savannah Flynn of Flynn Farms in the nearby Lawrence neighborhood, she also turned to YouTube to see presentations tailored for the situation.

One that caught her eye was Luke Marion, a blogger known as MIGardner, who has homesteaded since 2011 in Michigan.

Through Marion she discovered that not only did she need to know how to farm and grow her crops but also to get insurance and a business license and the other components of running a small business.

Johnson’s boys watch with her and have talked of eventually having their own YouTube channel talking of caring for animals, they said.

While talking at the farm, several friendly and colorful hens came up for attention, speckled Sussex and lavender orpington varieties. A small

gosling also made its way over to visit via her son’s small hands.

The mother of three young boys was working nights last year at the Everson Market and had acreage and animals at home. Yet, she made the calls and showed up.

The site chosen is the Everson City Park behind City Hall at 201 Lincoln St., but last year’s market was on Saturdays which competed with most of the other local farmers markets.

This year, Johnson is moving market day to Sunday, beginning this year on May 7. She’s also adding a Friday night once-a-month art market to the mix.

Last year, the vendors weren’t required to commit to the whole season, so the vendor count varied.

Johnson has tried to keep from having last minute cancellations which did happen last season and impacted the market experience.

L-R: Kim Stafford, Jake Burns, Raheem Barzey, Landen Sorensen, Tammy Sorensen, Ryan Sorensen, Rick Sorensen, Evan Sorensen, & Martin

See EN Valley Farmers Market on 12

Jesse Johnson with her children on her farm. The family raises chickens and geese and sells the eggs as well as vegetables. (Elisa Claassen for the Tribune)

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That measure became a separate company known as Dealer Information Systems (DIS Corp.) which still continues.

A changing of the guard occurred in 2000 when Dan came back from college and went to work for the company. In 1988, Alan Brim bought Brim Tractor from Bill.

In 1997, Dan and his wife Teresa bought the company from Alan. Since that time, the company has expanded under Dan’s leadership in Washington and Oregon, with other locations in Chehalis, Eugene, Mount Vernon, Salem, Rainier, Klamath Falls, Redmond, Central Point, and Christmas Valley.

Brim Tractor offers the newest models including New Holland, Yanmar, Alamo, Bad Boy, Braber Equipment, JCB, Millcreek, Diamond Mowers, Supreme, Snorkel, Xtreme and Woods.

“We will help you maintain your excavator, tractor, spreader, rake, skid steer, balers, mowers and more so that it will run for years,” according to the corporate website. “If it is having problems, we can diagnose and repair it.”

Brim Tractor Marketing Manager Chad Baron said the company has three target audiences: equipment for the homeowner (small tractors for moving dirt and snow), agricultural equipment for farms, and larger construction equipment (excavators and skid steers).

to the BIA booth and UTVs (Utility Task Vehicles). It also has electric tractors by Solectrac, powered by Ideanomics, Baron said.

Baron believes Brim may be one of the first in the area to carry them.

Brim Tractor is known for its superior customer service and has put together a team, according to the company, of knowledgeable sales members, finance experts, service technicians, and parts and accessories staff.

Brim Tractor is at 350 Duffner Drive, Lynden. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Closed on Sunday.

For more information, visit brimtractor.com. Also visit Brim Tractor at this year’s Home and Garden Show, April 28-30 at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds, 1775 Front St., Lynden.

Rids Kids: A place for community basketball

Group aims to reach people across Whatcom County

By Nathan Schumock Sports Editor

LYNDEN — Rids Kids is a

nonprofit serving the community’s athletes since 2021.

Luke Ridnour is a former NBA player who attended Blaine High School in the late ‘90s. He started the Ridnour Athletic Courts and Rids Kids with his wife, Kate. In a statement online, Luke said Rids Kids “wanted to create a toptier gym where kids can have

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Luke and Kate Ridnour with five of their kids (above). Rids Kids is a nonprofit serving the community’s athletes since 2021. (Courtesy of Rids Kids)

The RAC logo with a silhouette of Ridnour.

(Nathan Schumock/ Lynden Tribune)

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fun, chase their sports dreams, and build memories. We offer training for the recreationallyminded all the way up to those pursuing elite-level competition.”

Rids Kids serves as a nonprofit that uses the RAC as a space for community basketball activity for kids and adults. According to Executive Director Emma Stump, they also use the RAC to support other sports, such as volleyball, wrestling and football.

Currently, they host tournaments, camps and are looking to provide more high-level training for athletes.

Stump said, “This is where Luke and Katie’s heart is, the community, kids and sports. They just want to be a resource and a safe, family-friendly place and show that through sports.”

The RAC is also available to be rented out by local teams and people as a space to practice their sports. It costs $65 an hour to rent the whole gym and $35 for half the gym. All of their fees and costs go back into the RAC and Rids kids.

According to their website, all donations are used to provide scholarships for underprivileged children, operate the RAC, and to do community-service projects to lift up families in need.

In addition to their camps and tournaments, Rids Kids host monthly open gyms for high school athletes so they can work on their craft. While

they are primarily focused on kids and youth, they host men’s three-on-three leagues on their court.

One of their main focuses for the future is expanding their range and reaching more kids in neighboring communities. Stump said they want to stay immersed in the greater Northern Whatcom County communities while also bringing in kids from other places.

“We really want to grow our leagues. That would be the main thing to get more teams

and more kids playing to have a bigger impact on the community. We also want to grow our tournaments because those are big and more fun for more competitive teams,” Stump said.

Stump added that they want to create more chances for girls’ sports because they often have lesser opportunities than the boys.

Stump said since the gym and Rids Kids is still in a relative infancy as a new business, they are working to balance

out the renting of the gym and putting on their own productions.

“We are just trying to grow and get our name out there because I think a lot of people do not know what Rids Kids is,” Stump said. “So, just trying to get our name out there will help.”

More information about Rids Kids and the RAC can be found at attherac.com. They also have a Facebook page that offers updates on events and happenings at the RAC.

Kids listen to a coach from the Lynden Academy from inside the RAC gym. (Nathan Schumock/Lynden Tribune)

EN Valley Farmers Market: Open Sundays

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“I learned a lot,” she said. While Johnson promoted the market on Facebook and with some signage, she has increased the signage with business sponsors to help cover the costs.

Johnson also is planning to have an entry in the local festival’s parade and a booth at the festival to promote it. She’s also on the lookout for more types of vendors and has found a cookie gal to add this season.

Johnson has also urged another friend who is both a potter and a flower farmer, to participate.

“The Everson Nooksack Farmers Market is designed to be a community building event,” she wrote on her flier. “Our goal is to gather local farms and local artisans in one central location, to give mem-

bers of our community a convenient and fun way to support these local small businesses.”

In addition to the farm vendors, which includes her own farm, Johnson has reached out to artists, food truck operators and people who do face painting and perform live music to appeal to all ages.

Johnson once cared for horses at the Whatcom Humane Society’s large animal shelter. It was there she met her husband, Mathew, who now works at Christensen Net Works in Everson.

While her former horse needed to go to another level of training – and now lives in Maui with a new owner, Johnson now gets to see horses at a neighbor’s home and has an assortment of goats, chickens, and ducks at her Everson area farm in the woods along a ridge.

The family lived in Nooksack for five years and filled its urban farm with as much as possible before relocating to the country before the floods. This location, she said, has not experienced any flooding.

When looking for what to name her own farming operation she turned to the name of the property, which was Sunset Ranch, and it became Sunset Farm. It was added to her business license.

The views from the ridge at sunset are amazing, she said and pointed over the trees growing alongside the hillside.

Looking down one side of the ridge is runoff of mountain snow water resembling a creek. Down another side is a steep incline to a space beyond the trees where she tilled her space in March for the farm garden’s vegetables.

Johnson is waiting for the frost to leave.

Savannah Flynn, who now focuses on the wholesale market, has worked with her to provide certain vegetables specifically for the market but Johnson will be the one selling them, she said. Flynn is too busy this year.

In the yard by her front door, she has removed many of the flowers and replaced them with more vegetables or edible flowers, she said.

The boys – 7-year-old Hunter, four-year-

old Hawk and two-year-old Rocky – like to help with collecting eggs from the chickens and geese and washing them to sell and planting some of the seeds.

Johnson’s parents, who once lived in Whatcom County, relocated to Kirkland to care for a family member but still come up to bring their photography to the market

and to occasionally perform music.

For anyone interested in being a vendor in the market, contact Johnson at envalleyfarmersmarket@gmail.com.

Also visit facebook.com/profile. php?id=100083289425340.

For vendors, other than artists, Johnson said she does require a business license.

It starts with berry growing

Mo

Sangha’s work across 40 years is base for son Paul to build on

By Cal Bratt

For the

Tribune

WHATCOM — Farming is still the heart of what they do, with commercial ventures secondary, says a family with a hand in both.

At Hinote’s Corner, another building is taking shape in the commercial plaza on the northeast side. It is the effort

of Paul Sangha, who says this last building will be the anchor of the site, although he can’t exactly disclose yet who the tenants will be.

But it’s down Hannegan Road a bit south that Paul and his father, Mohinder “Mo” Sangha, really have their base of operations, and their livelihood, on a property for growing and processing blueberries.

“Our bread and butter of what we do here is farming,” Paul Sangha said.

The farming trait runs deep in their heritage, they say, back to the small village of DaroliBhai, near the city of Moga, in the Punjab state of northwest

Father and son Mohinder “Mo” and Paul Sangha stand where their Mountain View Berries farm truly has a view out toward mountains. (Cal Bratt for the Tribune)

Paul Sangha answers a question in the conference room of the Mountain View operation. (Cal Bratt for the Tribune)

India. The original Sangha home is there, to which Mo, 71, and other relatives return each year for a visit.

The senior Sangha came to Whatcom

County in 1983 — after stints also in British Columbia and California — and began berry farming along Halverstick Road. Mo believes he was just the second man

of Punjabi Sikh origins to be here, along with Jatinder Ghuman.

Early on, Mo met a neighbor and farmer north of Lynden who was also to become a good friend and eventually a real estate adviser. Mo gives high credit to Marv Van Mersbergen for helping the Sangha family achieve what they have, including connecting them to the Hinote’s Corner area and property possibilities there.

In 1997, the Sanghas bought this former farm of Gilbert Huizenga and then Myron Lancaster. The land below is rich soil that would eventually be planted into blueberries. Incidentally, across Hannegan Road are more acres of blueberries owned by two more relatives, Amarjit and Mehar Brar.

Mo Sangha had a hand in starting the receiving station, just around the corner on East Pole Road, that is now the Northwest Berry Co-op for local raspberry growers.

The next step, or two, was to begin to convert the former dairy farm into their own blueberry receiving and packing operation, and for Paul especially to work

With several businesses in two other buildings already, a final building is going up in the plaza of the Sangha family at Hinote’s Corner. (Cal Bratt for the Tribune)

Ferndale by the numbers

Figures from the US Census Bureau. Figures retrieved on April 13, 2023. Data derived from population estimates, American Community Survey, Census of Population and Housing, Current population survey, small area health insurance estimates, small area income and poverty estimates, state and county housing unit estimates, county business patterns, non-employer statistics, economic census, survey of business owners and building permits.

** Figures from the Washington State Report Card from the Washington Office of Public Instruction

Population

Population estimates (July 2021): 15,476

Population census (April 2020): 15,089

Population census (April 2010): 11,415

Age and Sex

Female: 51.9%

Male: 48.1%

Children younger than age 5: 8.4%

Children younger than age 18: 29.4%

Senior citizens (65 and older): 15.4%

Ethnicity

African American: 0.2%

American Indian and Alaska

Native: 2.6%

Asian: 7.8%

Caucasian: 74%

Hispanic or Latino: 12.7%

Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander: 0.2%

Two or more races: 3.6%

Population characteristics

Foreign born: 13.9%

Veterans: 1,107

Housing (2017-2021)

Owner-occupied: 65.6%

Median value of owner-occupied: $366,200

Median selected monthly owner costs with a mortgage: $1,823

Median selected monthly owner costs without a mortgage: $532

Median gross rent: $1,174

Families and living arrangements (2017-2021)

Households: 4,936

Persons per household: 2.99

Living in the same house one year ago (percent of persons age 1 year or older): 86.1%

Language other than English spoken at home (percentage of persons age 5 year or older): 20.5%

Computer and Internet use (2017-2021)

Households with a computer: 96.1%

Households with a broadband Internet subscription: 91.1%

Education (2017-2021)

High school graduate or

greater, age 25 and older: 94.8%

Bachelor’s degree or greater, age 25 years and older: 32.9%

Health (2017-2021)

With disability, younger than age 65: 8%

Persons without health insurance, younger than age 65: 9.9%

Economy (2017-2021)

In civilian labor force, female and male, ages 16 and older: 63.4%

In civilian labor force, female, ages 16 and older: 56.7%

Transportation (2017-2021)

Mean travel time to work, minutes, workers ages 16 and older: 21.2

Income and Poverty (2017-2021)

Median household income: $77,746

Per-capita income for previous 12 months: $30,692

Persons in poverty: 11.3%

Lynden by the numbers

Figures from the US Census Bureau. Figures retrieved on April 13, 2023. Data derived from population estimates, American Community Survey, Census of Population and Housing, Current population survey, small area health insurance estimates, small area income and poverty estimates, state and county housing unit estimates, county business patterns, non-employer statistics, economic census, survey of business owners and building permits.

** Figures from the Washington State Report Card from the Washington Office of Public Instruction

Population Population estimates (July 2021) 16,048

Population census (April 2020) 15,749

Population census (April 2010) 11,951

Age and Sex

Female: 50.6%

Male: 49.4%

Children younger than age 5: 8.2%

Children younger than age 18: 26.7%

Senior citizens (65 and older): 18.2%

Ethnicity

African American: 0.8%

American Indian and Alaska

Native: 0.6%

Asian: 1.4%

Caucasian: 83.1%

Hispanic or Latino: 11.9%

Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander: 0.1%

Two or more races: 7.0%

Population characteristics

Foreign born: 9.6%

Veterans: 1,005

Housing (2017-2021)

Owner-occupied: 63.6%

Median value of owner-occupied: $394,600

Median selected monthly owner costs with a mortgage: $1,902

Median selected monthly owner costs without a mortgage: $543

Median gross rent: $1,385

Families and living arrangements (2017-2021)

Households: 5760

Persons per household: 2.64

Living in the same house one year ago (percent of persons age 1 year or older): 86.6%

Language other than English spoken at home (percentage of persons age 5 year or older): 11.7%

Computer and Internet use (2017-2021)

Households with a computer: 91.4%

Households with a broadband Internet subscription: 87.6%

Education (2017-2021)

High school graduate or greater, age 25 and older: 93.2% Bachelor’s degree or greater, age 25 years and older: 25.5%

Health (2017-2021)

With disability, younger than age 65: 6.5%

Persons without health insurance, younger than age 65: 8.4%

Economy (2017-2021)

In civilian labor force, female and male, ages 16 and older: 66.8%

In civilian labor force, female, ages 16 and older: 59.3%

Transportation (2017-2021)

Mean travel time to work, minutes, workers ages 16 and older: 24.2

Income and Poverty (20172021)

Median household income: $78,004

Per-capita income for previous 12 months: $34,507

Persons in poverty: 6.9%

Sangha: It starts with berry growing

Continued from 15

his way into the corner commercial development.

“Any venture we’ve gone into has kind of been a family thing,” said Paul Sangha, 38. “There were a lot of hurdles and learning.”

He credits his dad for leading the way. “We are very much a product of all the hard work and dedication he put in when he came here,” Paul said. That was before Paul, a 2002 Lynden High School grad, was even born.

Further, Mo was a voice and a force in the Punjabi Sikh community for getting the Guru Nanak Gursikh Temple established on Pole Road, the son said.

The Mountain View plant will take in, and package, at least 4.5 million pounds of blueberries in about 70 days each summer, from 50-60

growers. It’s a mix of fresh and for processing. Marketed fresh, as Whatcom Berries, of course, commands the higher price.

This is a valued contact point between the bountiful

each o ce is individually owned and operated Dream.

yield of Whatcom County’s blueberry fields and retailers wanting to stock their shelves.

Mountain View employs 10 in regular operation, 20 to 30 more come berry harvest. Mo Sangha is fully in charge

in the fields in those busy JulySeptember weeks. “Dad is the biggest adviser and teacher I have, so I make good use of that,” Paul said.

Already now in mid-spring, father and son are together making sure a lunch room and toilet facilities will be ready for extra workers. Also, a bunch of new processing equipment will be arriving in May to be set up.

Fortunately, the construction of a new commercial building is close by and can be watched as well.

Footnote: Norm Sangha, Mo’s older brother, also owns Whatcom County farmland while doing various commercial projects including construction of Raspberry Ridge Estates condominiums at Hinote’s Corner.

Another brother, Baldev Sangha, berry farms on East Hemmi Road.

Paul Sangha points to where blueberries will come in the doors of the Mountain View processing plant at harvest time. (Cal Bratt for the Tribune)

Quiet force behind Ferndale’s murals

Taking on thankless jobs, Rebecca Xczar creates better community

By Sarah McCauley Staff Reporter

FERNDALE — Everyone in Ferndale knows about the murals that decorate

downtown. They bring a pop of color and life to Main Street. But not everyone knows the woman behind them: Rebecca Xczar.

Xczar is a quiet but powerful force in the community. This is how her friend and fellow founder of Connect Ferndale describes her.

“She’s not an outspoken person,” O’Connor said. “She can be. I’ve seen her get fired up about things. But she sort of hangs back and she listens, she observes. But when she speaks, she’s got something to say.”

Right away it’s easy to see that she is, as

O’Connor describes her, a force.

One of those people who, rather than just sitting around saying they wish things would change, actually rolls her sleeves up and gets to work. For proof of this, look no further than the list of things she is involved in.

Her resume includes helping found the nonprofit Connect Ferndale, serving as chair of the Ferndale Arts Commission (FAC), co-owning Empress Tattoo, and on top of all this, devoting her career

Rebecca Xczar is the woman behind the murals decorating downtown, and here she stands in front of one of her favorite murals that drivers see as they head toward the bridge to leave the historic downtown area. (Sarah McCauley/Ferndale Record)

Xczar: Quiet force behind Ferndale’s murals

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to serving the community as county assessor. Xczar also once served on city council. Two roles in government that are important and often thankless. But Xczar is happy to do it, especially her role as assessor thanks to her “fantastic team,” she said.

“I think because I had been on the city council, and previously I’d been on the planning commission, and then through being an appraiser - I really felt like I had all of these collective skills that were going to be really beneficial for this position,” Xczar said.

Through this position and her time on city council, she learned how hard it can be to hear the needs of the community, but have your hands tied when it comes to being able to fix it.

“Being on city council, a

lot of things come to you that you really can’t do anything about, even though you want to,” Xczar said.

This knowledge of the limits of what government agencies can do, motivates her in her roles at the FAC and Connect Ferndale.

Decorating downtown

The idea came out of a desire to help breathe some life into downtown where there were “a lot of vacant fronts,” Xczar said, which led her to wonder, “How do we help?”

Thus, the brainstorming process began. Xczar said most ideas she came across were either not the right fit or too expensive.

Xczar participated in a workshop where they talked about a community that had created a series of murals. The attendees were challenged to think about how Instagram-

worthy their own town was. Xczar laughs as she remembers how she thought this was a silly idea before sitting with it and realizing it might be worth considering.

“This has the potential to draw people here. Maybe they’ll stop for lunch or hit the antique store,” Xczar said.

Thus, the idea for the murals came to be and Xczar did what she does best: got to work and made it happen. Over the past few years she has brought multiple murals to Ferndale, working with various artists and businesses.

“I learned a long time ago, especially with the arts commission stuff, a lot of times you can do great things if you’re willing to do the work,” Xczar said.

Through the FAC, Xczar and her team do even more than making these murals appear.

They regularly host events

meant to bring community members together, and to have fun. From crafting days at FrinGe Brewing, to knitting get-togethers to create sweaters for trees, they create opportunities to connect.

Connect Ferndale

Much like how her work at the FAC is about connecting community members and bettering Ferndale, so is the goal of the other major force in town that she is behind: Connect Ferndale.

Connect Ferndale is on a mission to cultivate “community growth and connection through civic participation and community building to advance inclusion, honor diversity, and encourage participation for everyone in our community,” according to the organization’s website.

The group began in 2019 as a response to an incident

where a group called Patriot Front, which was identified as a hate group by the AntiDefamation League, posted flyers in downtown Ferndale.

“There was a big push for the city to do something, but the city can’t really do anything,” Xczar said. “So, it was kind of a push for some of us in the community. How can we actually do something?”

Xczar and O’Connor were both motivated by the incident and had the idea to create this group focused on connection.

As they began envisioning what the group would look like, they imagined group dinners and events that brought people together. Unfortunately, this was just before a global pandemic would take over, creating the need for everyone to stay separated for the sake of safety. Again, where others might call it quits, Xczar and the team behind Connect Ferndale persevered.

They got creative, finding ways to continue fostering connection, while keeping ev-

eryone safely separated.

“We sort of switched and we thought, ‘Okay, well we still want to be active, we still want to do stuff. We can’t necessarily bring people together.’ So we really thought about it,” Xczar said. “Let’s start with social media, let’s start with education. Let’s start with identifying the cultures that are in the community and starting to highlight them.”

Xczar said they ended up hosting book clubs and other educational opportunities for the community over zoom, while honing in on how the group would look and function to serve Ferndale.

The nonprofit seeks to fulfill its mission through hosting various events and educational opportunities.

Last year, Connect Ferndale hosted a history walk where attendees were educated on the history of Ferndale “with particular emphasis on highlighting the histories that have been under-represented in Ferndale’s local history,” ac-

cording to the Connect Ferndale website. Xczar said they plan to bring the walk back this year.

They also host film screenings and even created their own video last year for and about Juneteenth called “I am the Hope and the Dream.” This video can still be viewed on YouTube. They hope to create another video this year highlighting the experience of Black people in Whatcom County.

This is just a small sample of the projects the group is taking on.

Looking forward

What does the future look like for Xczar? Since this is a reelection year, Xczar will be busy with her role as assessor. But even a big task like this will not keep her from tackling other projects.

Xczar wants to see Connect Ferndale continue to grow. Xczar also looks forward to the upcoming events, including bringing back the history walk and creating another June -

teenth video. But it’s her project, the murals, she seems to be particularly focused on as she is always looking to bring in a new work of art to brighten the walls of Ferndale’s downtown.

“I think the continuation of the murals is important. I love that project in general,” Xczar said. “I think more art downtown in general is beneficial.”

People enjoying the murals as they drive through downtown might not know that Xczar is the person they should thank for bringing a splash of beauty into their day, but that’s alright with her.

From Connect Ferndale to her work as assessor, she doesn’t do any of it for praise. Just as long as this community she loves is growing and getting better, that’s all that matters.

“The work is really important,” Xczar said. “I live here, I’m raising kids here. I want my community to do better for them.”

-- Contact Sarah McCauley at sarah@lyndentribune.com.

Ferndale Food Bank sees record numbers

By Sarah McCauley Staff Reporter

FERNDALE — If you step into the kitchen of the Ferndale Food Bank, you’ll encounter a synchronized flurry of action as volunteers work to meet the needs of the Ferndale community.

Be on your toes, ready to dodge a volunteer rolling a cart of produce headed one way, and another one carrying cans of fruit headed the other direction.

According to Jill Hough, co-director of the Ferndale Food Bank, the food bank serves more than 1,000 people each week as it reaches about 300 households.

An impressive but somewhat troubling number knowing that it means so many people are in need. Hough has a saying to this point she likes to share.

“We’re the only business that would be much happier if we went out of business,” Hough said.

Picturing a food bank, one might imagine pre-made bags of groceries ready to be

handed out, or a bunch of the same hot meal ready to go. But a one-size-fits all approach is not how the Ferndale Food Bank operates

Instead, they offer their clients the chance to fill out a grocery list with about 50 items to choose from. This ensures they receive food they actually need. Plus, the food bank is arranged with a little market in front where clients are able to pick out their own produce.

They take into account dietary needs such as vegetarianism, gluten-free foods, or Halal meats.

Volunteers work to ensure those who stop by in need of a meal leave with food that actually meets their unique needs.

Hough said they like to remind people that truly all are welcome. They will help anyone in need of support. She said even if it’s just one week where a person finds themselves in a position struggling to put food on the table, they are welcome to come by to get some food.

“The message we really want to get out

is if you or your family is struggling, even if you don’t think you’re the kind of person who goes to the food bank,” Hough said. “If you’re struggling, please come and check us out.”

Hough explained that the list has changed over the years into what it is now, as the food bank is constantly growing and evolving to meet the needs of the community. They are evolving even more so now as demand has increased greatly since households stopped receiving emergency funds.

On March 1, the federal government ended the temporary benefit increases given to households relying on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) throughout the pandemic. Hough said they saw a 30% surge in the number of people they were serving in the weeks immediately after the additional funding for households stopped coming.

“But people’s needs have not changed,” Hough said. “Costs are still up.”

Although Ferndale Food Bank Co-Director Jill Hough (inset) is passionate about serving the people of Ferndale, she plans to step away from the role in the near future. Her co-director, Andrew Babson (above left), said it was “an amazing honor and a privilege to be able to work with her.”

(Sarah McCauley/Lynden Tribune)

Food Bank: Sees record numbers

Continued from 22

Volunteers are always needed, but especially now with the increased demand for the organization’s services. And summer is on the way, which means they need more volunteers on hand to cover shifts as people take vacations.

There is even an option to be a substitute volunteer, which is less of a commitment. An ideal option for anyone looking to test out if volunteering is right for them. Or anyone just needing a lighter schedule.

Working at the food bank is a rewarding role, so it’s hard for Hough to pick a favorite moment from over the years. However, one does come to mind of an 80-year-old woman who had been coming to the food bank for years.

Hough offers a bit of context for the story: Some of the food

they get for the people they serve comes from Haggen in the form of food nearing the sell-by date. It has to get off of the shelf, but it’s still perfectly safe to eat. So, they donate it to the food bank.

On this particular day, one item nearing the sell-by date that the store passed on to the food bank was a piece of wagyu beef.

“I happened to be packing her shopping list that day, and I brought it out to her. She was looking through the produce and I said, ‘You better get something to go with some fancy steak.’ She laughed, and I said, ‘No, really there’s a fancy steak.’ And I showed it to her and she burst into tears,” Hough said. “It was great just to be able to really make a special moment in her life.”

Andrew Babson is Hough’s fellow co-director at the food

bank and has similar sentiments to say about how rewarding the work is, and also his concern over the recent surge in the number of people they serve.

Babson shared that when he started at the Ferndale Food Bank about a year ago, they were serving about 35 families per distribution, and there would be about three distributions per week. Now, the numbers have nearly tripled as they average about 70 families per distribution. Another sign of increased demand after the drop in funds families are receiving.

“Luckily we have such a supportive community,” Babson said. “We’re seeing support all across the board from so many different groups and organizations. And it just means the world to me because it makes the work we do so much

easier when we know we have the support we do.”

Hough has announced she intends to retire from her role with the food bank soon, and her co-director Babson has only kind things to say about his colleague.

“It has been just an amazing honor and a privilege to be able to work with her. I’m sure that she’ll still be involved in some way or another even after this transition occurs. But for right now, she’s still on the team and she’s still doing amazing work with us,” Babson said. “I can speak for everybody here that we are just so thankful for everything she’s done.”

Anyone interested in volunteering or donating should visit the food bank’s website at ferndalefoodbank.org.

-- Contact Sarah McCauley at sarah@lyndentribune.com.

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Honcoop family furthers farming tradition

Farming on family land

By Elisa Claassen For the Tribune

LYNDEN — Long-time Lyndenite Dillon Honcoop hosts the Real Food Real People Podcast. Honcoop has combined his love of growing up on a family farm and his broadcasting career.

Honcoop also works in communications for a local farming non-profit which has branches for educational outreach locally as well as statewide and works in a building alongside other agricultural groups.

“Real Food Real People is a brand new effort to create community and awareness by connecting farmers and eaters, rural and urban dwellers, and everyone in between,” its website says. “We believe who our food comes from is as important as where it comes from, and now more than ever it’s vital to hear from the people who grow our food.”

In 2017, Honcoop left KGMI of Cascade Radio Group where he had moved up from entry level broadcaster to show host and management. Honcoop left because he found a way to share the stories of farmers, tackle issues associated with food production, and also move back to live on his maternal grandparents’ farm not far from the Canadian border on Northwood Road in 2018.

At the same time, his wife Tiffany “Tiff” (White) has been able to find her own place using the family farm’s facilities.

While the couple is not using the buildings and property for full-scale dairy or berry farming operations, they are introducing their daughters to a love of the land and sharing that love with others.

Dillon grew up with his parents, Randy and Leslie, farming 55 acres of red raspberries which they started in 1986 after custom farming and dirtwork. Eventually, his father stopped berry farming but has continued truck driving.

Tiff grew up in a city suburbs setting in North Delta, B.C. Canada with parents who may not have farmed but

certainly conveyed a love of plants and gardens.

Dillon and Tiff met as communication students at Trinity Western University in nearby Langley, British Columbia. With a bit of paperwork, including a permanent resident green card for Tiff, they were able to marry and move into the states to start their family. Until the pandemic, they were continuing to regularly go

back and forth across the border to the church Tiff’s family helped found and where she was also working in a multifold capacity using her graphic arts, web design, and musical skills until 2016 when the children started to be born. Once the pandemic hit, the involvement there stopped entirely.

It also became more dif -

Tiff and Dillon Honcoop work together on the family farm in showing their three daughters and customers why they love food and flower farming. (Elisa Claassen for the Tribune)

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The

Family furthers farming

father which was common at that time.

ficult when Tiff’s father became quite ill, and eventually, passed in October 2020 from cancer, in Canada during a restricted border.

The Honcoops have refocused both her career closer to home and to being involved in a local church, North County Christ the King, where Tiff was recently on stage playing piano with the worship team.

On Jan. 10, 2023, the family experienced another passing. After 17 years with Parkinson’s disease, Ivan Likkel passed away.

According to his obituary, Likkel’s family had journeyed from South Dakota to farming on East Badger Road.

He attended Lynden Christian schools until the ninth grade and then worked full time on the farm with his

Likkel and wife Kay continued the farming tradition in several locations, settling to raise their girls on Northwood where Dillon and Tiff are now.

From Leslie, Erin and Megan being the fair little maidens on a Holstein farm, the little blonde girls running around the farm are now 7-year-old Emma, 4-year-old Allie and 2-year-old Olivia.

Visitors walking up immediately saw the girls at a small table showing the Early Girl tomato plants with a small decorative Easter egg poking up.

They planted 24 – and sold all 24, Tiff said.

Their mother has advertised via Facebook an open house for Maidenfair Floral Farm, where she is founder and CEO in a legal sense,

but joining them to meet and greet customers with big smiles on their faces in a small outbuilding resurrected for this purpose.

In addition to selling some plants and many dahlia tubers, which they have been propagating, they are also running a subscription plan service (CSA-community supported agriculture) for 12 months of fresh-cut bouquets.

Most of the flowers involved are fresh from the farm during growing months but are supplemented during winter months, she said.

While Dillon is talking of farmers and food, Tiff is spreading joy with colorful flowers, and is thinking of other products and ways to invite other children to the farm.

“It’s my heart,” Tiff said. “Flowers make people happier.”

Tiff explained a good number of customers came from a friend, who had also been running a similar home floral farm, but needed to return to the workplace. She knew Tiff would treat them well, she said.

Tiff is organized and sets aside the second Tuesday and Wednesday of the month for delivering to the 50 CSA customers personally with the girls. They look forward to it.

“There are a lot of moving parts,” she said, “But we get it done.”

Another good part of this type of business? “A special part of starting a business has been getting to know the people and connect. Flowers are a small piece of this.”

“It’s such a blessing to grow from the same piece of land my grandfather farmed,” Dillon said.

Schatz receives SPARK award at annual gala

Renowned science educator, advocate for informal science education

BELLINGHAM — The SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention recently presented its fourth annual SPARK Award to Dennis Schatz, a renowned science educator and advocate for informal science education.

The award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to science education and advocacy, was presented at Ignite the Night, the museum’s fourth annual fundraiser, on March 18.

“We selected Dennis Schatz for his dedication to informal science education and his huge impact on science education in general,” said John Jenkins, SPARK Museum president and CEO. “Making science accessible and relevant is something we strive for at the museum, and Dennis is a wonderful choice as we look to honor those who are truly making a difference when it comes to science education.”

Schatz is best known for being a long-

term staff member of Pacific Science Center and a program director at the National Science Foundation.

Schatz is currently the retiring president of the National Science Teaching Association.

In addition, he is on the board of BSCS Science Learning and a technical adviser to the Smithsonian Science Education Center. He also serves on the Science and Engineering Education Council of the Universities Space Research Association.

Schatz has received numerous honors, including having Asteroid 25232 renamed Asteroid Schatz by the International Astronomical Union in recognition of his leadership in astronomy and science education.

Somehow, in the midst of his amazing career, Schatz managed to find time to author 26 science books for children.

The award was presented at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal during SPARK’s annual fundraiser.

Funds raised by the gala will enable the museum to continue expanding its education program with more availability for school field trips and upgraded handson, educational experiences throughout the museum.

Exhibits at SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention span four centuries of scientific achievement in a world-class collection celebrating the inventions and innovations that make our modern world possible. SPARK Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Located in downtown Bellingham, the museum is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

For more information, visit sparkmuseum.org or call 360-738-3886.

A renowned science educator and advocate for informal science education, Dennis Schatz recently received the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention’s SPARK Award. (Courtesy photo)

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