LUMMI ISLAND LOMMUNITY CLUB
NEWSLETTER
J A N U A R Y 1 9 7 6
J A N U A R Y 2 8 W E D N E S D A Y 6:45 PM G R A N G E H A L L
LUMMI ISLAND COMMUNITY CLUB . . . . . . . . . . . . .POTLCK DINNER MEETING
Representatives from the assessor’s office and the State Dept of Revenue will try to explain their property evaluations. They are Lewis Turner, assessor and Dorothy Lang, assistant; Clyde Rose will represent the State Dept of Revenue as chief of the property tax division.
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The tentative date for the ferry tieup is from Sunday night, May 9th to Saturday morning, June 11th. The county is looking at 2 or 3 possible passenger boats at the present time, but no definite decision has been made as yet. Some determinations have to also be made regarding fuel oil, gasoline and garbage.
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The island church will begin Sunday services again the first Sunday in February.
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And a soggy Lummi Island salute to you all for 1976, the nation’s 200th year. Wonder what it was like around here some two centuries ago? Guess for one thing the island was heavily wooded with few clearings. Some of the ancient stump remains would indicate that a lot of the trees were enormous. Possibly some were bigger than those now existing in Washington forests. We would imagine that the early natives weren’t too interested in logging, looking at these giants with nothing but a stone axe. However, they did manage to peck away at sizeable cedars for their aquatic transportation ‑ probably was a lifetime job, too, since apparently their life span wasn’t too long anyway. According to the local historians some of the Indians upon occasion used a few of the island beaches as sort of a fishing camp, but do not believe there was ever any permanent settlement established. Apparently they collected a dozen or so varieties of berries, hunted deer and dug clams besides. Most of the fish caught was smoked and dried on the beaches. At various times, skeletal remains and Indian artifacts have been unearthed at various places on the island but principally at Legoe Bay and Lane Spit. According to the local ancients who remember quotes ancestral, there used to be a sizeable sand spit bigger than the present Lane Spit in front of the Willows, and that Lane Spit itself was originally twice as large as it is now. The homesteaders who eventua1ly settled on the island were from all reports a rugged lot and probably would have fought to the death against the government sponsored so-called civilized society that we present day natives have so apathetically accepted. Wonder how they would have reacted to our gradually eroding freedoms now.
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Speaking of eroding freedoms, one of the most heinous and recent has been the re-evaluation of property for tax purposes in Whatcom County, with the island community getting more than its share of absurd declarations of land values. Many properties have been re-valued out of sight in the space of one year’s time. Some have actually increased 15 times or more (for example, from 4,800 to 73,200). Wonder if the Dept of Revenue is so callous that they assume these evaluations will be acceptable. The workings of the entire system of governmental intervention is preposterous when one considers that on one hand we are in the process of being throttled with a highly restrictive zoning imposition that demands that we do nothing with our land without first having their paternal approval, and on the other hand the tax assessor who says in effect, “so sell it, you can’t afford it anyway.” As more and more residents are affected, an ever louder rumbling is being heard, and it is highly possible that the ultimate explosion is not too far distant. In this respect, a move is now afoot to petition the state legislators to re-examine the total tax structure and to change the system to a more equitable, fair tax for all.
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Bi11 Smith sort of won the prize for the worst flu miserable but he looked and sounded twice as miserable too. He is still singing very deep bass, about six and a half lines below the staff yet…. Floyd Tuttle’s heart attack stunned his friends, but fortunately it was a somewhat mild one, although serious enough. He is at home now and guess he has to remain a bit immobile at home for some time. Probably that should give him time to recollect what it was that he was so frustrated about that brought on the stress. It seems that his initial symptoms were a bit unusual in that his forearms pained him along with a headache and tightening of his chest…. Jack Miller has regained his mobility surprisingly fast and does most everything on his own, including trips to town and elsewhere. As to when he can return to his ferry job, this has not been determined. Jack says that he was told not to cross his knee when sitting down, as it would be bad for his back. So he has tacked onto his kneecap a slip that says ‘no‑no’. Understand this little goodie was instigated by Opal Edwards….. Guess the ferry crew had to requisition a couple of experienced salt water types so they got Marion Tuttle and Reb Boykin to fill in since they have spent considerable time jockeying the fishing fleet’s pickup boats and scows around. We gather they enjoyed the fishing chores a mite better.
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The mini ‑bus is still taking seniors and the handicapped to town every Wednesday, but passengers must now meet the bus at the ferry dock on the mainland side. Take the 9 AM ferry and bus will bring you back in time for the 4 PM return. Make reservations through Jerry Anderson at 758‑2320 before 3:30 Tuesday. Fare is by donation. Riders are making up car pools for transportation to the ferry.
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Dave Granger won the quilt at the Grange’s Christmas Bazaar drawing.
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We understand that during one of the recent storms a 25 ft pleasure craft broke loose in front of Lockwoods’ and ended up on the beach in Delta, B.C. It was salvaged undamaged by Tim and its owner Kim Houston.
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It was a beach party in midwinter when Civic Club met in Libba Johnson’s patio room January 8th. Members were greeted by hostesses Libba, Beth Hudson and Helen Pabor in long ago style long dresses at the club’s first meeting of the bicentennial year. The checked tablecloth at the long table displayed many shells from Lummi Island and faraway beaches. Dessert was prepared by Libba from the Club’s Potluck Recipes cookbook, a choice of country ice-cream or low cal sherbet served with strawberries and cookies. Helen Pabor outlined the evolution of our American flag, and Libba told about the Bennington flag. A guest at the meeting was Mrs. Alma Luke, a former Civic Club president. February 12th meeting wi11 be at the church with co-hostesses Vivian Behrends, Alice Behrends and Grace Miller.
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The passing of Mel Nottier removed a real interesting island institution from the local scene and we will miss him. Mel believed in the simple life and the simpler the better. His devotion to liquid excesses and oftimes unorthodox activity governed his daily life, but his sage observations left little doubt about his discerning philosophy. We know of no one who was not his friend in one way or another.
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B.E.A.C.H. S.C.H.O.O.L. N.E.W.S.
COMING ATTRACTIONS Tuesday, 7:30 PM JANWARY 27th Speaker: Nate Smothers
Subject: Upcoming Levy for school district and Taxes, Taxes! Nate is a man who VOLUNTEERED to be the budget Committee ‑ and who VOLUNTEERED to come and listen to our frustrations and gripes. He doesn’t promise all the answers but he can and will give us an intelligent thoughtful review… he
deserves our audience. He does NOT work for the Ferndale Schools.
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FRIDAY, the 13th of February would you believe a BAD LUCK POT LUCK? We thought all the parents not attending the Jan. P.T.A. meeting could be in charge of all the arrangements for square dancing and fun… fair?… or their ‘bad luck’? Welcome All.
WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING……We lost two families who moved away during vacation….. sure do miss Michel Wean and Matt and Paula McCandlis! …Lots of other children have been absent, some for a whole week. .Lots of odd flu and colds going around….. Pre-schoolers are having their sessions at the Grange since the church is closed for winter…..they love their new place …. All children in the district to be dismissed afternoons on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month for the next three months so teachers can work on curriculum goals on the orders from the School Board…..Mr. Davis back this quarter with another fantastic film series every Tuesday. If you’d like a program & the films to be shown and times, please drop by before or after (or during) school and pick one up in the kitchen. We welcome visitors and the films are superb! ….. Annie Dillard here with two real meteorites and one tetrite after vacation and explaining to us what scientists think they are and from where and why! Where else but on Lummi Island would you get science teachers like Lloyd Davis and Annie Dillard, I ask you?! The “Artists in the Schools” groups came to visit one whole day and we had one artist teach brush strokes and depth painting, another doing block printing, and another doing movement. The children did learn a great deal…thank,YOU, taxpayer, for allowing this program to be.
MANY THANKS TO YOU…. Charlotte Nesbit, Jeanne Finney, and Sally Hudson for again helping the children dye the lovely paper for Christmas …. Sally Hudson for the ‘Magnetic Math’ game….Ray and Flo Konecke for the newspaper subscription…. Paul Davis for all the planning and building of shelves and constantly fixing the blessed staplers (!)…. Annie Dillard for all of that money to buy science books ….. Charlotte Nesbit and every single person who helped her to put on a wonderful Christmas social..…it was probably the best attended in years and the people of Lummi are the best audience any child could hope for. You listened, laughed and cried and later wrote us letters when you went home. Every child felt they belonged to all of you… and they do.
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From a Lummi Island column in the New Whatcom Daily Reveille for Friday, February 1, 1895:
What Lummi Island needs is a daily mail, a wharf, less old bachelors, a graveyard, a few more good Christian families and a church.