Selected Stories

Master craftsman aims to make Bellingham’s Champlin Guitars a ‘welcoming space’ (Made in Cascadia series)

On any given afternoon, Champlin Guitars might feel less like a retail/repair shop and more like your favorite musician’s living room. String instruments, tools and band memorabilia hang from every available surface. A rear wall is plastered with Polaroids of customers holding instruments, their names labeled with neon permanent marker. Most conversations are underscored with laughter and the gentle twang of guitars.

This warm atmosphere isn’t by coincidence: Owner Devin Champlin is intentional about making Champlin Guitars a welcoming space. The Bellingham-based luthier/musician is as approachable as his easygoing folk music would have you imagine — but despite his laid-back personality, he’s a master at his craft. Champlin, 45, restores (and sometimes builds) all manner of stringed instruments, from brand-new guitars to vintage, classic and occasionally unusual models. READ MORE

Late-in-life love at Bellingham’s Senior Activity Center

The Bellingham Senior Activity Center offers a wide range of classes and activities — but for many community members, lunch was the initial attraction. Robert Rome is no exception. After his wife of 53 years died of a lung disorder, he began having meals outside the house as a way to socialize.

“I had some friends say, ‘Go down to the senior center, they have a really good lunch there,’” Rome said. He followed their advice — and, in addition to enjoying a hot meal, Rome met Joan Armstrong for the first time.

Armstrong, 76, had recently moved to Bellingham and also began frequenting BSAC to build community. On the day she met Rome, “I was volunteering in the dining area, serving coffee and tea and all of that,” she said. “He was this tall, good-looking guy that just said, ‘Do you want to text?” READ MORE

What it takes to preserve and revitalize the Nooksack language, Lhéchelesem

As a child, Joshua Olsen always paid attention to foreign languages. When strangers would speak Spanish, or Punjabi, or any other language native to their country, he’d think: “I only have English — and I know that English was forced on the Native people.”

Olsen is a member of the Nooksack Tribe, whose language is Lhéchelesem, one of many Indigenous languages spoken in the Americas prior to European colonization. But when its last native speaker passed away in 1977, Lhéchelesem was classified as extinct, so Olsen didn’t hear it growing up.

Efforts over the last century, however, have helped preserve knowledge of Lhéchelesem for future generations. READ MORE

Chardi Kala Project showcases Sikh culture in Whatcom County

It’s a Sunday afternoon at Bellingham’s Singh Sabha Gurdwara, one of three Sikh worship spaces in Whatcom County. The building is abuzz with activity: Adults greet one another as their children play games. Musicians, called ragis, perform gurbani kirtan (Sikh hymns) on harmonium with tabla. Just across the hall, the smell of freshly made daal and well-spiced chai wafts from the langar into the entryway.

Today the langar hall is a gathering place for Sikh worshippers, but on March 23, 2024, it will become the venue for the Chardi Kala Project’s third annual Children’s Art Festival. The Chardi Kala Project works with Whatcom County’s three gurdwaras to build bridges between Sikh and non-Sikh community members. Individuls of all faiths are invited to exercise their creativity, enjoy a meal and maybe learn a thing or two about the diverse cultures within Whatcom County. READ MORE

Father and son duo lead legacy of Drayton Harbor Oyster Co.

Mark Seymour made his first-ever dollar harvesting oysters for his father. Out of four siblings, he showed the most desire to be on the water — a quality he still shares with his dad, Steve. “I think we’re cut from the same cloth,” Mark said.

Today, mementos from this chapter of Mark’s childhood hang on the walls of Drayton Harbor Oyster Co., an oyster farm and waterfront restaurant in downtown Blaine. Blaine has a rich history of aquaculture, and Drayton Harbor wears this heritage on its sleeve: From the dart boards mounted on vintage buoys to the shiplap walls, the restaurant’s charm comes from its sense of place.

Drayton Harbor has existed as an oyster farm since 1980, but the restaurant itself is just 5 years old. Neither Steve nor Mark ever intended to go into food service. But Drayton Harbor is now a community cornerstone — and the Seymours have become inadvertent stewards of Blaine’s culture and ecology. READ MORE

Uncovering Bellingham’s ‘virtual restaurants’ that only exist on delivery apps

Picture this: You’re shopping for takeout on DoorDash, only to stumble upon a restaurant you’ve never heard of before. Confused, you click on its address — only to be directed to a totally different, (seemingly) unaffiliated eatery.

Don’t worry, you’re not going crazy. You’ve just stumbled upon a ghost kitchen.

These so-called “virtual restaurants” exist only on delivery apps such as DoorDash and operate from a shared kitchen space, usually within another restaurant. They’ve been around since the COVID-19 pandemic, when restaurants were forced to pivot away from dine-in services.

But while this model can be a lifeline for local eateries, ethics are dicier for national corporations. Takeout isn’t cheap, and no one wants to spend $40 on a brand they wouldn’t knowingly support. If it happens to you, it’s natural to feel disappointed — both in your own gullibility and the horrors of late-stage capitalism. READ MORE