Sew far, sew good.

That phrase, perhaps more than any other, helps define the lasting impact volunteer Lynn Beebe has had as the common thread running through two decades of Swinomish after-school tutorial and enrichment programs.

A retired teacher and current La Conner Community News board member, Beebe joyfully welcomes local youth to her afternoon sewing and science sessions at the Swinomish Boys & Girls Club, where her approach is to encourage creativity and student achievement.

She’s been at it since 2008, when Beebe was recruited by the late Dixie Otis to volunteer at a study hall on Swinomish Reservation whose focus was student homework and makeup assignments.

In time, sensing that students who had been desk-bound all day needed a change of pace, Beebe added new layers to their after-school experience. One truly seamless transition was her launch of a youth sewing club.

Beebe, who sewed clothes as a 4-H member in her own youth, received permission to retrieve and make use of tribal sewing machines then in storage. Those machines became a popular teaching tool.

“We got the sewing machines out of the closet,” Beebe recalls, “and that was a big hit with the kids. They loved it.”

With Beebe’s tutelage, students set about making ribbon skirts, pillow covers, pajamas and more. They continue to do so today.

“Once they know how to make a pillow or a bag,” Beebe says, “they’re pretty much able to make anything they want.”

It’s a twofold learning process, Beebe points out.

“They learn a skill and how to operate a machine,” she says.

Students with prior sewing experience often act as peer teachers, sharing what they know with novice sewers.

Beebe’s role in providing opportunities for students to be creative and innovative is universally lauded.

“We’re so blessed to have her,” Swinomish Senate Chair Steve Edwards says. “She’s truly amazing. Lynn makes a big difference here at Swinomish and for the entire community.”

Swinomish Boys & Girls Club Director Charlie Edwards, a cousin of the chairman, echoes those sentiments.

“Lynn is so consistent,” he says. “She’s here every week and she’s always willing to work with us to help provide great experiences for the kids.”

Meeting the needs of young people has always been Beebe’s calling. She was a career teacher, instructing students of all ages both abroad and in King County prior to retirement. It wasn’t long, however, before Beebe realized she isn’t the retiring type.

It helped, too, that Otis gave her a friendly nudge.

As Beebe tells it, she and her husband, Bill Halstenrud, had purchased a home on Hope Island Lane in 2001. While there on weekends and vacations, Beebe frequented the La Conner Soroptimists thrift store where Otis — herself a revered La Conner teacher — often volunteered.

“Dixie kept saying that when you retire you need to volunteer at the after-school program,” Beebe says.

That set in motion an ongoing chapter in Beebe’s remarkable life story, one whose other highlights include but aren’t limited to open-water swimming and all-weather cycling.

“People have wondered why I volunteer so much,” she notes. “Well, teaching has been the absolute joy of my life. I was so fortunate in my career to have been paid by the public to do something I love, to have a good job that gave me a retirement (income).

“So, I really felt strongly that when I retired,” Beebe continues, “that I needed to give something back.”

She’s been bobbin’ along ever since.

Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.