LYNDEN, Wash. — The community of Lynden, Washington, gathered Saturday to create what they hope is the longest strawberry shortcake in the recorded history of the world.
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The weather was fine; Front Street was soaked in sunlight.
Lynden is known for fresh, abundant berries and dairy farms. The city is located on a bluff above the fertile Nooksack River valley.
The shortcake reached 1,250 feet, snaking across four downtown blocks. [See downtown Lynden live over their webcam.]
Gary Vis, executive director of the Lynden Chamber of Commerce, said afterward the community was invited to eat the fruitcake.
"Since we have the world's sweetest strawberries and shortcake is such a wonderful way to enjoy them, this will be a fun way to celebrate Lynden's 125th anniversary," Vis said.
Lynden was settled in the late 1880s in part by Holden and Phoebe Judson. Holden and Phoebe came into contact with their Lynden home because of a friendship with James Alexander Patterson.
Patterson built a rough log cabin in view of the Nooksack River in 1860, according to HistoryLink. He often traded dairy products with Holden and Phoebe.
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Patterson had a wife and two young daughters named Dollie and Nellie. In the late 1860s, Patterson’s wife left him. He started to look for a foster home for his daughters. He knew the Judsons and had visited them on Whidbey Island many times.
He offered them his cabin and land along the river if they promised to care for Dollie and Nellie until they were older. The Judsons accepted.
Phoebe Judson became known as the "mother of Lynden." She was called "Aunt Phoebe," <a href="http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8389" target="_blank">according to HistoryLink.</a> "Someone you went to when you needed something, be it a pail of buttermilk or help during childbirth."
When she died in January 1926, the whole town of Lynden shut down for services. Stores were closed and schools were dismissed.
Holden Judson became postmaster of Lynden in 1873, afforded a salary of $12 a year. He was also the town’s first mayor, elected in 1891.
Phoebe was asked to select the name of the new town. According to HistoryLink, Phoebe chose a name she heard before in a poem, 'Hohenlinden,' written by Thomas Campbell, which reads in part:
"On Linden, when the sun was low,/ All bloodless lay the untrodden snow;/ And dark as winter was the flow/ Of Iser, rolling rapidly.'
For Saturday's fruitcake creation, Lynden Dutch Bakery baked the shortcake, Curt Maberry Farm provided sweet strawberries and Edaleen Dairy gave their ice cream, Vis said.
The whipped cream was provided by Darigold, a producer of dairy products that receives most of the milk produced by Whatcom County’s dairies.
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Toward the end of the 1890s, Lynden had already started embracing its agricultural value, shifting from a logging-oriented economy to one dominated by dairy and berry farms.
The town didn’t receive its own depot when the railroad finally reached the area, according to HistoryLink. The nearest train depot was over 6 miles northeast of Lynden.
A lack of railroad killed many small towns in the late 19th century, but Lynden “refused to pass away,” according to HistoryLink.
This weekend's attempt for the world’s longest strawberry shortcake followed a farmers parade -- and marked the 125th birthday of Lynden.
Cox Media Group
