Classmates, community rally in support of ailing La Conner High alum

By Bill Reynolds

La Conner Community News

In a week when La Conner High School alums gathered here for their annual banquet, members of the school’s class of 2004 rallied support at the Oyster & Thistle Restaurant for one of their own.

Davin Taipale, Rebecca Springer, Valerie Higgins, Brian Nelson and Oyster & Thistle co-owner/chef Josh Van Hine collaborated with local farmers and producers to host a benefit dinner and silent auction last Thursday for classmate Brianna Hertz Widen, who has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease that attacks peripheral nerves and, in extreme cases, can cause paralysis and difficulty breathing.

The syndrome’s exact cause is not fully understood. Recovery can take a few weeks to a few years as nerves gradually regenerate.

Widen, who has received treatment at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, is slowly healing but was unable to join the fundraiser.

But she was definitely there in spirit, inspiring much love from among the many attendees, including several of her former La Conner teachers, who raised about $10,000 to help defray Widen’s medical expenses.

As one diner described it, the night was akin to “a class reunion where they also invited the parents.”

“We’re a pretty tight-knit class,” he explained. “It was a great night, with all the support, and it’s something that’s very special to me.”

Van Hine said all food sales from what Higgins hailed as “a spectacular menu” were earmarked for Widen’s ongoing therapy.

Van Hine recalled how he and Widen met as children, attending pre-school together. Their parents had been friends before they were born, he said.

Taipale also expressed appreciation for the deeply-rooted friendships he and his classmates forged in La Conner.

“We’ve all tried to keep in touch,” he said. “We all try to see each other when we can.”

When Widen took ill, her La Conner classmates quickly shifted into full-speed support mode. It only seemed natural, given Van Hine’s co-ownership, to plan a fundraiser at Oyster & Thistle. By all accounts, those plans came together seamlessly.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better event,” Widen’s mom, Jeanie Hertz, said afterward.

Among those who attended was retired La Conner culinary arts instructor Georgia Johnson, Van Hine’s mentor from high school, and the teacher who inspired him to pursue the career that has taken him around North America and finally back to La Conner and the Oyster & Thistle.

Thursday’s “farm table dinner,” as Higgins described it, was composed of donated beef, Dungeness crab, potatoes, fresh greens and the Oyster & Thistle house bread. It proved apropos as Widen and her husband, Ryan, co-own Widnor Farms in Whatcom County where they raise diversified livestock and operate a popular ranch store.

The focus of their family-friendly venture, from its inception a decade ago, has been to bridge the gap from farm to consumer.

“Her vision has always been to bring friends together on the farm,” Van Hine said. “My wife and I have catered dinners there.”

Van Hine and his fellow 2004 classmates reversed that approach for the fundraiser. They brought the farm — reflected in Skagit Valley’s agricultural bounty — to Widen’s friends.

Hertz said the turnout for her daughter was heartwarming and represented a true community dinner, the kind of get-together that is a La Conner hallmark.

“The last few months have been a whirlwind and a blur at times,” she said in a social media post. “At other times, so full of emotions. Thursday night was another one of those emotional nights for me, but this time in such a good way.”

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