Encore February 2022

ncore E What’s Inside....

C3 — Tai Chi & qigong classes at the Lynden Community Center C4 — Linda Calkins celebrates her return to art C7 — Garry Phillips carves out time for woodworking after retirement C10 — A look at one of the newest inductions into the LHS Athletic Hall of Fame

Wednesday, February 16, 2022 A supplement of the Lynden Tribune and Ferndale Record

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 16, 2022 | Ferndale Record

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 16, 2022| Ferndale Record

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Balance, breathing: tai chi & qigong

Sandy Brewer demonstrates tai chi movements at the Lynden community/senior center. (Leora Watson/Lynden Tribune)

Sandy Brewer brings marital arts to Lynden senior community

By Leora Watson leora@lyndentribune.com

Sandy Brewer teaches morning qigong class at the Lynden community/senior center.

Brewer’s favorite parts of teaching tai chi and qigong are seeing his students learn the art and asking questions of how they can get better. (Leora Watson/ Lynden Tribune)

LYNDEN- Sandy Brewer’s favorite parts of teaching tai chi and qigong are seeing his students learn the art and asking questions of how they can get better.

“I just like to see people learn something new and learn the balance and breathing,” said Brewer. “I get really evangelical.”

Brewer first started learning tai chi and qigong through a school in Blaine after he retired. Right before he retired, Brewer had met the owner of the school, Guo Cheng, and began studying with her in 2008.

Brewer is an actor who had an interest

in tai chi before meeting Cheng after seeing people use it as a warm up during acting classes.

“I was taking a couple acting classes from some people and they had an instructor come out who was a Shakespearean actor from New York,” said Brewer.

“He was talking about how in his warm up he did certain tai chi routines."

Tai chi is an ancient Chinese martial art that is practiced as a graceful form of exercise that involves a series of movements performed in a focused, slow manner accompanied by deep breathing, according to the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit American medical center that focuses on integrated See Brewer on C8

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 16, 2022 | Ferndale Record

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ART

Calkins rekindles love of art Lynden artist's paintings on display at Jansen Art Center

By Bill Helm bill@lyndentribune.com

LYNDEN — A Whatcom resident for most of her life, Linda Calkins has loved art virtually her entire life.

As a youngster, Linda began to draw and to paint.

Then, she stopped.

“I think about it now,” she said recently of her time away from art. “I had at least one teacher who said, ‘you’re really good at this.’ Back then, parents didn’t praise their kids much. I remember Mr. Murphy at Meridian Grade School. He was very encouraging. But then I let it go for years.”

Truth is that Calkins had bigger fish to fry than making art. She became a parent.

“There’s a period in everyone’s life when that’s just the way it is,” Calkins said. “Now, all six are doing their own thing.”

When she retired in 2000, the Lynden

Linda Calkins of Lynden stands next to her painting, Little One, on display at the Jansen Art Center in Lynden. An artist as a child, Calkins has again painted consistently since she retired in 2000. (Bill Helm/Lynden Tribune)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 16, 2022| Ferndale Record

ENCORE resident returned to her love of painting.

“I’m not a great painter,” Calkins said. “I just like to paint.”

With teenage grandchildren who she said “are extremely artistic,” Calkins said it’s “extremely gratifying to spend a weekend doing art with your grandkids.

“It’s so wonderful to have that in common,” Calkins said.

One of Lynden artist Linda Calkins' favorite pieces, "The Girls." Jansen Art Center Marketing Specialist Mary Fitzgerald said that Calkins' paintings and the subjects "have a lot of confidence and personality,” Fitzgerald said.

“You can feel their energy or hear their voice or see them move. The longer you sit with a piece, the more you feel like you’re getting to know the character, and I think Linda as well. I’m a big fan of her work.” (Courtesy)

‘Quirky’ Through Feb. 25, one of Calkins paintings, a portrait of an Asian girl titled ‘Little One,’ is on display at the Jansen Art Center.

Although Mary Fitzgerald does not know her, Jansen’s marketing specialist said she feels “like I’ve gotten to know her through her work."

“Linda’s paintings and the subjects have a lot of confidence and personality,” Fitzgerald said. “You can feel their energy or hear their voice or see them move. The longer you sit with a piece, the more you feel like you’re getting to know the character, and I think Linda as well. I’m a big fan of her work.”

This actually is not the first time that Calkins has shown her work at The J. “I am a big supporter of Jansen’s and have sold several paintings that have See Calkins on C6

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Calkins: Art on display at Jansen Art Center Continued from C5

been displayed there,” Calkins said. “Jansen’s is integral to the art scene in Whatcom County and provides a professional venue for serious artists.”

Although the portrait on display at the J is representational in nature, Calkins said she tends to paint “my personality, which is quirky.”

“Quirky animals, quirky people,” she said. “My art can be serious, but it tends to be whimsical.”

Working on canvas with acrylic paints, Calkins explained that her pieces are usually a “conglomeration of things I put together that are pleasing to me.”

“I’m inspired by the things I see,” she said. “I shoot pictures of things, and I save things, (such as) advertisements, other people’s photography. I don’t think I know a painter who sees something and doesn’t think … that everything is a

potential art piece. You see something and you want to make art of it.”

Calkins’ favorite subject matter is animals and people. Oftentimes those people are “women with attitude, women of color,” she said.

“But it has to be something that speaks to you, something that has a story,” Calkins said.

‘We learn from each other’ When she returned to art after retirement, Calkins found she was a bit rusty. Maybe a lot rusty.

“When you haven’t painted in years, you lose your ability,” she said. "So I took classes at Whatcom Community College. It’s a great place for artists to start.”

A good artist never stops learning, which is likely why Calkins has studied painting for years with local, nationally known artists such as Lorna Libert and Trish Harding.

“Whatcom County is rich with amazing artists of all kinds, but we

just aren’t on the national radar like other areas of the country,” Calkins said. "Lorna Libert, she’s a fabulous painter, a fabulous person. We learn from each other.”

Calkins understands that in art, each person has a distinct style.

The key is to not think about the style, to just create.

“Lorna just paints,” Calkins said.

“Painting with other people, you might learn something. You have to keep an open mind.”

In 2021, Linda Calkins showed "Southwest Woman" at the Jansen Art Center. Jansen Art Center rotates its exhibits seasonally.

Jansen Art Center Jansen Art Center rotates its exhibits seasonally. Artists of all calibers and mediums are invited to submit up to five pieces for consideration by a rotating jury made up of artists, curators, and other members of the regional arts community.

Artwork can be purchased through Jansen’s gallery shop and is available for pickup when the exhibit closes.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 16, 2022| Ferndale Record

ENCORE WOODWORKING

Whatever’s Wooden: Garry Phillips

By Elisa Claassen For the Tribune

LYNDEN – Garry and Robbin Phillips have been together a long time, starting with meeting in Vancouver, B.C. in 1967 when he was there with his boat in the military during the Sea Festival.

A group met at the Courthouse fountain and danced. Garry and Robbin continued to sit and talk for hours. Within a few weeks, Robbin and a friend, already slated to go to California on a road trip, extended the drive to San Diego. She and Garry went back and forth with the blessing of the law firm she worked at,

met each other’s parents, and got married on Aug. 4, 1968.

The first long portion of their lives together was in the San Diego area where Garry had family and they raised their daughter. Garry worked for many years, after leaving the military in 1970 aboard the USS King, a Farragut-class guided missile destroyer in the U.S. Navy.

“It’s bigger than a destroyer, smaller than a cruiser,” he said.

With many years of career electrical work behind him after that, including spending about six years of being on the road working on Wells Fargo See Woodworking on C8

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At their Lynden home, Garry and Robbin Phillips have a room devoted to Gary's finished wood projects.

(Elisa Claassen for the Tribune)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 16, 2022 | Ferndale Record

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Woodworking: 'Now I have time,' Garry Phillips says Continued from C7

banks was the caveat he would have to fly home on weekends to be with family.

Garry Phillips' large wood shop is in the back yard with space for multiple projects, some big, and others small. (Elisa Claassen for the Tribune)

Wood working in Lynden “Now I have time,” Garry said simply of his prolific hobby in addition to traveling back to see Robbin’s family in Scotland and playing golf.

The couple moved to Lynden in 2007 after Garry’s retirement. Robbin’s sister had worked with Realtor Herm Gunst to find them their home.

The idea was to eventually be closer to Robbin’s family in nearby Canada, especially when her mother was aging.

Thankfully the border was still open to go back and forth when she was in her final years.

She had loved her gardens and eventually was moved to a location that maintained that very thing.

The neighborhood also has brought special friendships with those large and small. During the COVID-19 pandemic, neighborhood children have brought them little gifts and have left them on the porch or taped to the front door. It’s not the only

benefit of the move north.

“One of the pleasures of living here is the availability of many types of wood which enables him to pursue his life-long interest in woodworking,” his flyer says.

“You name it,” Robbin said. “He does it.”

Simple, appreciated Garry learned a bit from working with building projects with Robbin’s father, homebuilder Ross Alden, but is primarily self-taught.

While pre-COVID-19 they went to the Lynden Farmers Market and local crafts shows, but with fewer craft shows Garry rethought the results from his work in his large backyard wood shop which has the space for him to leave his work out.

While their living room and a spare room serve as show rooms to Garry’s talents utilizing wood to create furniture, earrings, and small figures sitting in miniature gazebos or swings.

There are also display cases, treasure boxes, and lamps.

Simple Jacob’s ladder toys, popular in bygone eras, are something he has made to share with children. They are simple and appreciated.

Brewer: brings marital arts to Lynden senior community Continued from C3

health care and education.

Brewer started teaching tai chi with his instructor Cheng in 2014, but later

branched out on his own and started teaching tai chi and qigong at the Lynden community/senior center with the previous director to learn a different style of tai chi.

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Brewer’s instructor Cheng moved from Whatcom County, but Brewer, along with others, were tasked to keep teaching tai chi and qigong at the senior centers.

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How classes were taught changed after the pandemic started though, according to Brewer.

“We started when the center was closed doing things outside and we moved up to Peace Arch park,” said Brewer. “We did tai chi in the park. We were up there three days a week for two years and we’ve just now moved back to where we’re inside the senior center again.”

Brewer also teaches tai chi and qigong at other senior centers and locations in Whatcom County including the senior centers in Blaine and Ferndale.

Tuesday mornings at 9 a.m. Brewer teaches tai chi classes at the Lynden community/senior center and teaches qigong at 9 a.m. Wednesdays.

“I just think it’s one of the best things for people that I can think of to get the energy flowing and be coordinating the breathing and stretching,” said Brewer.

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 16, 2022| Ferndale Record

ENCORE Manzanita wood was salvaged from a friend’s property in Ramona, California after devastating fires swept through the area in 2007.

While the large bushes were damaged and had to be taken down, the wood was still good to use with a bit of cleaning upand seeds spread to create new growth for new Manzanita to flourish.

Long-time friend Many other pieces have been crafted from raw wood grown, cut, and milled here in Whatcom County. It was his search for wood that not only brought the needed wood but a new and long-time friend.

Garry saw an ad in the newspaper not long after moving here for furniture grade wood. The ad was outdated, but the wood still remained on property in Acme.

It turned out no one else had responded, but Garry. Once on site, he found the wood was here and there on the property.

A relative of the man had been involved in grading, cutting, and planning lumber.

The lumber – which was alder, maple, birch, and English walnut – sat at the farm for about 14 years.

Saw a need Since Garry had a bit of time and saw that the owner, Jeff, needed some help.

He offered to do so. Six years went by with Garry visiting and helping Jeff in cleaning up the property, organizing belongings, and eventually Jeff gave his wood supply to Garry. He appreciated the help and knew he would use it.

Jeff wasn’t the only one. Eventually others, and their wood supply, made their way into Garry’s life. Sometimes Garry took the wood and made something for the families who gave it to him. These days some of the fruit of Garry’s labor, desks, has been enjoyed by area children, suddenly learning in makeshift classrooms in their homes. He saw a need and did something about it.

Likewise he has been in touch with families helping those impacted by the flood and they have been collecting and making things to help them.

Anyone curious can see other items at the Lynden Pioneer Museum, such as a wooden bicycle and wooden water wheel in the exhibits.

For more information, contact Garry at itsrphil@comcast.net or 360-3544695.

Garry and Robbin Phillips in the woodworking room. The couple moved to Lynden in 2007 after Garry’s retirement. (Elisa Claassen for the Tribune)

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SPORTS On Friday, Jan. 28, Rich Waldemar’s outstanding service and impact on Lynden’s youth sports community received the recognition it deserved.

He was inducted into the Lynden High School Athletic Hall of Fame, joining the other 42 inductees since the award’s inaugural year in 2008. (Connor J.

Hall of Fame induction ‘a humbling experience’

Benintendi/Lynden Tribune)

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LYS board member, president Rich Waldemar has spent the better part of 47 years serving Lynden’s youth

By Connor J. Benintendi connor@lyndentribune.com

LYNDEN – In the context of coaching, Rich Waldemar has worn many different hats.

His passion lies heavily in playing and coaching fastpitch softball, but the longtime Lynden Youth Sports board member and president has coached kids in baseball, Amateur Athletic Union basketball, football and soccer.

Waldemar’s love for improving the lives of young people is what makes his success in leading such a wide range of activities possible.

“I’ve always said that I maybe was never the best coach when it comes to X’s and O’s, but I love motivating young people to be the best they can be,” Waldemar said.

“So I always coached with a positive attitude. Kids didn’t need to be torn down

or beat up as far as how they played. They needed to be instructed, guided and helped along so they could be better.”

On Friday, Jan. 28, Waldemar’s outstanding service and impact on Lynden’s youth sports community received the recognition it deserved. He was inducted into the Lynden High School Athletic Hall of Fame, joining the other 42 inductees since the award’s inaugural year in 2008.

He never saw it coming.

“I was shocked,” Waldemar said. “It was a very humbling experience, and it was very meaningful to my family too. My kids all grew up — I coached all my kids in all their sports.”

He first became involved in volunteering his time to youth sports shortly after he and his wife married 47 years ago.

Some friends of theirs had young kids who were involved in sports, and they asked Waldemar and his wife to coach a girls softball team.

When he had kids of his own, Waldemar remained on the scene. He enjoyed the involvement, and it was now directly going to affect his children.

“I always have liked working with kids,” he said. “For some reason, I can be on

ENCORE their page. Then, we had kids of our own, and they got to the age to start playing. I started coaching and was able to coach my kids’ teams. In fact, typically — I had four children — I’d coach all four of them in youth sports.”

Even once his kids grew up and went into the high school programs, Waldemar never wavered from his post.

It had grown into a passion, and time willing, he would continue to pursue that light in his life.

“They made my life easy; they made my life a lot happier,” Waldemar said. “Each and every time I was working with young people, it was just a simpler time for me.”

It hasn’t just been his work through LYS that allows Waldemar to work with young people.

His son opened Exceleration Driving School in Bellingham 15 years ago, and Waldemar agreed to help him out as an instructor. Over time, he realized the joy it brought him was similar to that of coaching.

They since sold off the location in Bell-

Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 16, 2022| Ferndale Record ingham in favor of focusing on the Lynden location, which Waldemar opened after deciding it was something he’d want to do full-time.

“I think kids bring out the best of me because I enjoy being around them so much.

I try to be positive at all times,” Waldemar said. “Kids will read and feel who and what you are. So you better be true, you better be sincere, and I think from that — I can teach from that.”

Waldemar is thankful for his support system and the opportunities he has had to continue doing what he’s been doing for so many years.

He is a figure in the community, but he’s also a father, husband and grandfather to four of his children of his own and 11 grandchildren.

“I’m blessed to have been born and raised in this community, and I’ve had an avenue that I can give back through youth sports. It’s been just a real passion of mine,” he said. “I’ve been very blessed that I have a wife that’s supportive of me doing that, and it’s an amazing community.”

Rich Waldemar is presented his Lynden Athletic Hall of Fame plaque on Friday, Jan. 28. Waldemar stood at center court with two former students of his with his entire family in attendance. “I’m blessed to have been born and raised in this community, and I’ve had an avenue that I can give back through youth sports,” Waldemar said. “It was a very humbling experience, and it was very meaningful to my family too. My kids all grew up — I coached all my kids in all their sports.” (Connor J. Benintendi/

Lynden Tribune)

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Lynden Tribune | Wednesday, February 16, 2022 | Ferndale Record

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