At the direction of Whatcom County County Council, the county public works department is preparing to conduct a drainage assessment of the Point Roberts watershed. Council acted upon the request of the Point Roberts Community Adviso- ry Committee (PRCAC) who had received appeals from swamped residents during unprecedented rain events last November. According to the Birch Bay Water and Sewer District which tracks precipitation at its office in Birch Bay, rainfall in Novem- ber 2021 totaled 15.14 inches versus 4

cluded Ernie Loreen, Sue White and Joe Pisetti. As a little kid I was often sent out on deliveries with Joe and I always remembered his very positive outlook on life … specifically, when he would come to work on December 27 and declare that there is only 363 days until Christmas. Every delivery was loaded by hand until we got our first forklift in the early ’70s. Bookkeeper Sue White went with Tom to work in Blaine and a few years later started the Mt. Vernon Building Center. Linda Myrdal took over bookkeeping and I remember her being devastated and having to leave early the day Elvis died.

I went off to university and ended up working for a company in Vancouver, Washington. After a year there, the opportunity to come back and manage Nielson’s came about as Dad was looking for a change himself. His focus had moved to building the Shell gas station and assembling property and permitting the Point Roberts Golf Course.

Throughout the 1980s, my sister Kris and I expanded inventory, held big sales events in spring and summer, computerized bookkeeping and did some major renovations to the old building. It was fun times in Point Roberts with the Breakers, Reef, Penny Lane Fish & Chips, Karoonies, the Cannery, TJs, Clark’s Store, Blackberries and many other small businesses very active in the community.

In 1989, we held the first ever beltsander drag race as part of a customer appreciation party. Somehow a keg of beer arrived and the races not having any official rules became a free for all. Marina mechanic Ken Keaton modified his sander and infamously became Cheatin’ Keaton. From that humble beginning, the International Belt Sander Drag Race Association (IBDA) was formed, trademarked and incorporated. The annual belt sander drag race grew to national recognition with over 60 sanctioned races across North America and the first national championship was held in Indianapolis May 23, 1998. Richmond’s Steve Mackenzie became the first national champion with his modified sander “Grinder.”Nielson’s was part of the PRO hardware buying group until 1994 when the opportunity to join Do it Best, a hardware wholesale co-op with over 4,000 members stores, came to be. This opened the door to a very competitive pricing structure and a much larger range of products delivered to Point Roberts.

Over the years, we’ve had an amazing group of employees. For many, it was their first job and we’ve seen these local kids move on to great things. Michelle Schwalback started in 2006 and quickly became a very important part of the store’s management and success. She met her husband, Don, in the paint aisle.

Without question, the greatest reward has been meeting all the Point Roberts property owners, permanent and second homeowners. At some point everyone would find their way into the store building, improving or fixing something. Thank you all for 59 incredible years.

On December 31, 2021, Fred Pakzad purchased Nielson’s Building Center. Mr. Pakzad owns both the Chevron and Point Fuel & Pantry gas stations and the new UPS store that will be opening soon on Gulf Road. Michelle has become Nielson’s third general manager.

LIFESTYLE CLOTHING

FOR MEN & WOMEN

Billabong • O’Neill Element • Rhythm

Herschel • Reef SAXX • Corkcicle Native Northwest Obey • Sun Bum Stance

Shop online at www.angelas.ca

4831 Delta St. Ladner Village 604.946.5211

s From l., Ron Nielson, Joe Pisetti and Ernie Loreen in the 1970s.

Trinity Community Lutheran Church

Join us for Sunday services at 11:00am

Current WA state gathering rules will be observed.

Our website accepts US & Canadian donations: www.pointrobertschurch.com

1880 APA ROAD, POINT ROBERTS, WA 98281 • ADMINISTRATION PHONE: 360-945-7105