For such a small community, Maple Falls area is bursting with big dreams coming true.

First, the book that captured the dreams and memories of many people over the past years—Reflections from the Heart of a Small Community, Mount Baker Foothills and Maple Falls Schools 1889-1999: A Collection of Photos and Memories—has become a national legacy in the Library of Congress.

Then, in the same year no less—within six months, in fact, over this recent, very rainy, Memorial Day Weekend—the WOW Festival (World of Wood) launched the Black Mountain Forestry Center across from Silver Lake Park. Years of seeking funding, volunteering, work parties and ideas have blossomed into a museum and demonstration site full of history and fun facts.

The original conception came from Wayne Beech, who spent 35 years of his life mapping and rating timberland for logging, as well as building and restoring many popular trails we hike today. Wayne’s love of the forest developed into a deep respect for timber’s value and the crucial role of proper management. One of the beauties of his approach in a day of frequent warfare between both sides was his unbiased view of the important roles of both forest preservationists and loggers alike. He dreamed of developing full and half-day tours through the local Mt. Baker foothills, showing all phases of logging and reforestation.

Wayne also dreamed of opening a museum full of photographs and artifacts from the local Mt. Baker foothills community. This museum is now the Gerdrum Homestead at the Forestry Center. Incredibly, it was built out of one cedar tree.

Sadly, Wayne passed on last October, before he could see his dream realized. But family, friends and community have pulled together to bring it to reality.

Today, the Black Mountain Forestry Center is both preserving the heritage of the Cascade foothills communities and using it to help establish new uses of local forest resources, encourage cottage industries, attract tourism dollars and educational programs, while guarding and maximizing the use of the treasures of our forests. A summer full of activities and tours now opens ahead.

The degree of community involvement and organizing in this project is astounding, ranging from Whatcom County Parks, Crown Pacific Corporation, Wayne and Danna Beech, the U.S. Forest Service and the Mt. Baker School District, along with dozens of others.

These two projects reveal the hearts and minds of people united not only to keep their community heritage alive, but to reach out and bless others.

If a small community like Maple Falls can do so much, what ought much larger communities be able to do?