Everyone has unique experiences in life. Each person has a story to tell and words of wisdom that can be shared with others. With that in mind, we’d like to introduce you to some of the wonderful people who live here at CHCC. Here is a recent resident spotlight interview we did with Nettie.
Q: Have you lived in other places besides Lynden?
A: I was born and raised in Lynden and spent time in Arizona and Yakima. My husband and I were snowbirds and lived in California for six months out of the year, too.
Q: What industry did you retire from?
A: We owned a mobile home park in Yakima, which is what I retired from. I also drove truck. My husband and I owned four or five trucks, and we hauled eight-ton loads. I owned a restaurant here in Lynden called “Nettie’s Place.” When I was younger, I worked at Sears and was a model for them. People who read this interview may think, “This crazy nut, she did everything!” Well, that may be true. I didn’t sit on my buns. [Said with a laugh.]
Q: What was your favorite thing about the work you did?
A: I loved driving truck. Not many women did that job back then. I was a pretty good driver; I never even scratched a truck.
Q: If you could have any type of food, what would it be?
A: A great big steak, cooked medium with a baked potato and salad. [Update: Nettie’s niece delivered a nice steak dinner to CHCC for her to enjoy!]
Q: What is one thing that you have been most proud of in your life?
A: I brought up two really good kids, Barry and Arlene. They’ve both done really well; they’re honest in their jobs and trustworthy.
Q: What is one thing you did or experienced that was scary?
A: Driving a truck alone at night was scary. I slept with the window open because it was so hot. I’m tough. [Wink.]
Q: What was your favorite decade to live in, and why?
A: When I was 35, I married my husband Les. I have good memories of the time we met.
I was working one day and had to go into the local National Guard Armory to use the phone to call my kids to see how they were doing with the babysitter. Les was a sheriff, and he was in the armory with a bunch of co-workers for a dance. He saw me and asked for a dance, but I turned him down because I was on the job.
I was with a co-worker who was a friend of mine, and I told her all about it. She told me I should’ve said yes because he was a catch in our town. Everybody loved Les because he was a real nice guy. As she was telling me this, he came back to ask for a dance and my friend said, “Do it; I’ll make an excuse for you to the boss.” Within a month we were married. He was a peach of a man.
Q: What is one life lesson that you learned from your parents?
A: One lesson that I learned was to never lie and to behave yourself. [Said with a laugh.]
That’s one thing I taught my kids, too, and I think it stuck with them. People knew they could be trusted because they told the truth.
Q: What is one piece of advice that you would give a 16-year-old person today?
A: Just be honest, and always come out with the truth. And, have respect for older people.
Q: What is one thing most people don’t know about you, but you wish they did?
A: When I was young, we got around using a horse and buggy! I remember going to church here in Lynden on a horse and buggy. I also used to ride motorcycles with my son. I have a nice picture somewhere of me on the back of a motorcycle.
Q: You’ve lived through other historical events — wars and recessions and such. What do you think of the pandemic that we’re living through now?
A: Terrible; the worst I’ve ever seen. You just don’t know what to believe anymore, and I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. But I know God’s going to take care of us. You just must pray and believe. I’ve had a hard, tough life, but I thank God for it. He put me through hard things, and I know he’ll get us through the pandemic, too. The older I get the more I realize how God is taking care of us.
Q: What is one thing that you like about living at CHCC?
A: I like the Christianity that is in it. That’s the main thing. There isn’t any swearing, and it’s a nice, clean place. The staff do for you what they can, that’s for sure.