Play indoor wheelchair gangball Mondays
Katie Manly represents Ferndale at state meet
Two-hour activity in community building at Bloedel Donovan Park. — Calendar, A3
Cross Country to compete on Nov. 4 in Pasco. — Sports, B1
NOVEMBER 1, 2023
SINCE 1885
Día de los Muertos a chance to celebrate the lives of loved ones
FERNDALE, WASHINGTON • $1.50
‘Thoughtful, articulate, passionate’ Former Ferndale Chamber director Megan Juenemann to take over as communications arm for City of Ferndale By Bill Helm Editor
Members of Las Chicas Reinas at the 2023 Jam on the River event in Ferndale. The dance group will host a Day of the Dead fundraiser event at Pioneer Pavilion Community Center on Friday, Nov. 3. (Taras McCurdie/Ferndale Record)
FERNDALE — In a few short years, Megan Juenemann has gone from stay-at-home mom to Communications and Community Relations officer with the City of Ferndale. Recently, Ferndale’s leadership chose Juenemann from a pool of 24 candidates, of which six they interviewed. Ferndale Mayor Greg Hansen said that Juenemann “emerged as the top candidate for a number of reasons.” “But mostly, it was Megan’s personality that made her our choice,” Hansen said. “She has an enthusiasm, a desire to learn, a desire to contribute to her community, and eye for detail that made her the ideal candidate.” See Juenemann on A6
By Taras McCurdie Staff Reporter
WHATCOM — People think of death and the concept of an afterlife differently. Dying may be feared by some. To others, if they feel they have lived a fulfilling life, death means there will be no more pain and suffering and rather a chance to reunite with family, pets and friends who passed on earlier. The tradition of recognizing death is seen at a funeral service. These are somber times where a
endary singer. “In Mexico, death rites date from pre-Hispanic rituals represented in murals, painted pottery, monuments and artifacts, which shows how the Day of the Dead has its origins in the rituals practiced by the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Its precedents date to more than 3,000 years ago when the Olmecs and subsequent Toltecs, Mixtecs, Zapotecs, Maya and Aztecs honored death,” according to The Mexican Museum’s website. “Those who passed are alive in our memo-
body is placed six feet under ground and a service is held for that person. In Mexico, people still grieve the loss of a loved one, but the approach to coping with death is by holding a celebration to remember their life on Earth. This is called Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. A good example of this cultural practice can be seen in the Disney Pixar movie, Coco, where a child named Miguel battles his family’s ban on music in the household and goes on a journey to find that his great-great-grandfather was a leg-
Megan Juenemann will leave her post as the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce’s executive director to serve as Communications and Community Relations officer with the City of Ferndale. Juenemann is pictured in October at a Ferndale Chamber meeting. (Bill Helm/Ferndale Record)
See Loved Ones on A3
Scandinavian culture comes to Whatcom County History, food, music and dancing inside Ferndale Community Center By Taras McCurdie Staff Reporter
On Nov. 4, folks Scandinavian or otherwise will partake in the 23rd annual Nordic Festival. Previously known as the Scandinavian Fair, this is the first year the event will be inside the Ferndale Events Center. (Photo courtesy Karin Dewell)
WHATCOM — Denmark, Norway and Sweden are geographically a part of what we call Scandinavia. Though not geographically Scandinavian, Iceland, Finland and The Faroe Islands are culturally connected, meaning they share history, traditions, literature and design.
More than 9% of Ferndale residents and almost 7% of Lynden and Nooksack residents are of Norwegian ancestry. Slightly more than 3.5% of Sumas and Everson residents are also of Norwegian descent, according to Statistical Atlas. Not even 1% of Lynden or Ferndale folks are of Danish descent but approximately 4% of Everson, Lynden and Ferndale residents are of Swedish ancestry. On Nov. 4, folks Scandinavian or otherwise will partake in the 23rd annual Nordic Festival. Previously known as the Scandinavian Fair, this is the first year the event will be inside the Ferndale Events Center. Years before it was held at Fox Hall Events Center in Bellingham.
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Karin Dewell is the chairman of Nellie Gerdrum Lodge No. 41, part of the Daughters of Norway group that will host the festival. She said the event has been wellattended by local and out-ofstate folks for years that they have simply outgrown the Fox Hall venue. With more than 1,200 people attending previous years, Dewell expects an even larger turnout this year. Members of the lodge, Dewell said, just completed a full month, two days a week of making lefse, a thin potato-dough flatbread. One day was spent peeling the potatoes and the next was rolling them out and griddling them. Dewell said the group has already made more than 1,000 packets ready to go for the event.
For ingredients and a recipe, visit cooking.nytimes. com/recipes/1016973-lefse. There will also be a bunad parade, which Dewell said is a display of elaborate dresses representing counties where people reside in from various parts of the Scandinavian nations. These dresses Dewell said are expensive with some costing thousands of dollars. She said women have made their own dresses, or they have been passed down in their family for generations. Coming from as far away as Oregon, there will be several musical groups performing at the festival. Locally, Dewell said the Bellingham Damekor, a choir group, will sing. Joanne See Culture on A5
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