Linda Harkleroad has spent many hours volunteering for the Ferndale Heritage Society for the past 25 years – the past 10 as the organization’s vice president. She loves being a part of a local group that helps preserve Whatcom County history through Pioneer Park’s log cabins.

“This is something that I’ve got to protect,” Harkleroad said. “I feel like I owe this to our community.”

Harkleroad is a Whatcom lifer. She was born in the old county hospital off Northwest Drive, raised on a dairy farm off Olson Road west of Ferndale, and has lived much of her adult life in the Neptune Beach area. She said she loves the tight-knit, small-town feel of the Ferndale area, and is grateful to have grown up here.

“I remember going to Larson’s Shoe Store with my mother as a kid, and you knew everybody,” Harkleroad said. “We were so fortunate in this small community.”

While attending Ferndale High School in the ‘70s, Harkleroad was highly involved in student activities. She played volleyball and threw shot put for the Golden Eagles’ track and field team. She also was the ASB vice president, on the yearbook committee, and raised meat steers for the FFA team. Harkleroad has fond memories of advisor Dick Rightmire leading her FFA group.

“He’d take a van of us kids, and we’d drive around Washington judging everything from chickens to cows,” she said. “Those were good outings.”

Harkleroad said she made life-long bonds at FHS.

“There’s 12-13 girls in town, and we still all get together,” she said. “That’s a tight-knit group.”

After graduation, Harkleroad attended Western Washington University for about a year, until her part-time employer Intalco offered her a full-time position. She took it and stayed with the company for 32 years. Harkleroad held a variety of positions at Intalco: managing land, making carbon anodes for bake ovens, working in the environmental quality department, etc.

“It was a great gig,” she said. “They were a real local company in those early days, so there were a lot of other Ferndale High School grads out there.”

Soon after retiring from Intalco in 2013, Harkleroad became the Ferndale Heritage Society’s vice president. She’s in charge of publicity and marketing for the group, including promoting events like the annual Olde Fashioned Christmas festival. Harkleroad also takes photos for events and student visits, schedules the use of the Tillicum House for groups and events, and is the society’s liaison with the City of Ferndale.

Over 5,700 people visited Pioneer Park during the first three weeks of last December, Harkleroad said.

“When you run these events and you see a family and their little kids are happy, that’s the best part,” she said. “You made their day!”