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!!
