Happy Mother's Day!

All Moms, Grandmothers, Aunts, Daughters, Nieces, Sisters, and Girlfriends are invited to attend our Ladies Spring Tea, Saturday, May 11th at Noon.

Ferndale High School Leadership Club members will seat you at a lovely, decorated tea table. You will be served through the program with a light lunch of tea, finger sandwiches, scones, fruit and dessert.

Louise Sager has again generously donated her time to display several Victorian

dresses, and we will be delightfully entertained by the popular singing sensation “The Honeybees”.

Selena Vogel, our friend at Silverado Senior Living Center is sponsoring us with tasty eats by Barb’s Pies and Pastries. Yogi Tea of Portland, Oregon donated a selection of delicious teas. Annette Lee, owner of Lee Manor, as donated fresh flower arrangements, and Anita and Michael DeLancey, have once again provided us with a wonderful spring display of VanWingerden’s blooming plants, all to be raffled.

Tickets are on sale now for only $5. Seats are limited and are expected to sell out fast. Please bring your favorite teacup or any cup will due. Wear your spring hat if you wish.

Raffle tickets are on sale now for the fresh flower and blooming plants.

The Muse's friend, tea does our fancy aid,

Repress those vapors which the head invade,

And keep the palace of the soul serene.

“Of Tea” by Edmund Waller, England 1606

Our Favorite Yodeling Bus Driver

Article by Peggy Stone

First the Ferndale Senior Activity Center purchased a bus. A purple and gold bus that had a few miles on it. It came from the Cornwall Church of God, whose members had earlier bought it from the University of Washington where it had been used as a team bus. But then the Center needed a driver to take the Jet Oldsters on their trips. Wes Martinsen, who was a past-president of the Center and also had been a Ferndale Schools principal, knew just the man: Al Ulrich, who had driven young students back and forth to their schools for 30 years. Al was approached, and now retired, found it a perfect match. Al says that though he enjoyed the young people, he finds the senior job much less stressful, for the seniors never misbehave!

Al is a Ferndale native of Swiss heritage. His father came to America on his own, traveling the U.S., and in 1920 bought a dairy farm on the corner of Imhoff and Ulrich Roads. He returned to Switzerland to bring his young bride, Agatha, over. They had 4 children. Al was the youngest, and the only boy. He went through the Ferndale schools, graduating from Ferndale High. He liked to skate, and he and his friends often frequented the rink in Pioneer Park, in what is now the temporary library.

There he met Jacqui, a young White Rock, B.C. woman, and they married in 1961. They took over ownership/operation of the dairy farm, and made a life there with their 2 children. Today they have 4 grandchildren. As life progressed, farming reached a point at which they needed to expand or get out.

So, they changed from dairy farming, to become suppliers of young heifers to area farmers. Operation of the farm was less time-and-labor consuming, and so Al sought another job, and became a school bus driver! He worked in this position until 2007 when he retired.

In retirement, he and Jacqui enjoy camping and traveling in their travel trailer. They have visited extensively in many of the western states, but have never been east of the Mississippi River. They also enjoy bowling, and Al can boast an almost perfect game in which he was just one pin shy.

For 28 years he was involved in The OldeSettlers Association, and was its president for 2 years. Some of those years he was in charge of bringing talent to the event, including both local and famous performers. And in addition to being the FSAC bus driver, he also is on its board of directors. Around here, he may be best known as the guy who can yodel! The yodeling* is self-taught, learned by listening to Swiss bands. He also likes and sings country music. It isn’t unusual to find him on the stage of the Ferndale Senior Center on a Thursday.

Note:

Al won the 2012 Mt Angel, Oregon Oktoberfest Yodeling contest. It is Oregon’s largest folk festival. Congratulations Al!!

Chapman Elected Treasurer

By Peggy Stone

When Johnson Chapman was born she threw her family for a loop, especially her father, who had been totally expecting a son. After all, he already had daughters! In anticipation of the baby’s arrival, he had carved “KV, Jr.” into the cradle. So he had to make some adjustments and come up with a new name. The result is Lawana, which he made up. She describes her parents as the Ozzie and Harriet of rural America. The family lived on a farm in the Laurel area and the girls went through Meridian schools. The one exception to living in that location was the six months when they moved to Alaska, and her father worked in a mining camp. During that short time the daughters attended a one-room school.

Lawana and her husband lived at Sandy Point. He worked at Pioneer Ford in Lynden, and she at Sea K Fish Company, from which she retired after 33 years. Within 3 months of her retirement her husband passed away unexpectedly. Suddenly she was faced with many adjustments and decisions, but she made them all, and that is behind her.

The latter son is the U.S. military attaché to that country. Her children have given her five granddaughters.

Most important to her now are family, friends and community, to which she gives generously of herself. She is active in so many community organizations, too numerous to list here, but among them is the Ferndale Senior Center. She serves its Jet Oldsters as treasurer and grant writer. Her years of work at Sea K where she

served as accountant and office manager, and the various volunteer positions she has held in service organizations have prepared her well for this office. They have given her a good overall view of money management and accounting. She says, “You take what talents and skills you have, and contribute to the community.”

Her current interests include reading, and exploring Pacific Northwest artists by visiting galleries. Much to her own surprise, she also has acquired a taste for Impressionism art. She is thankful of the many joys life has dealt her, and “for the wonderful childhood I had, for it gave me the faith to face life’s challenges.”