In the summer of 2016, a chance meeting allowed two individuals with similar ideas to get connected and start the process of creating the Nokomis Woodworking Association.
Craig Christensen was supervising a kids’ activity at the Humboldt County Art Fair in June when Bret Davis stopped by and started to visit with him. Bret explained that he had space in a building and thought this would be a good place for a community woodworking club. Craig had been a multi-year participant in some adult woodworking classes that Dean Clasen hosted in the Humboldt middle school shop. Over the years, Dean had discussed with some of the adult woodworking participants the possibility of creating a woodworking co-op. The intent was to provide a place for the sharing of woodworking knowledge and for developing a social connection for local woodworkers. With two similar ideas having been presented to Craig, he shared contact information so that Bret and Dean could get together to discuss their visions.
Bret and Dean first met in the Fall of 2016 to share their ideas. Intermittent meetings followed over the next few months, and others were invited to share their thoughts, too. Mark Schultz was among those who showed up for a meeting, and had interest in what was being proposed. As others joined the group when they could; Bret, Mark, and Dean remained the constant, core members in the planning process.
Through the summer of 2017, the idea of a woodworking club became more real with meetings being held more frequently. Creating a set of guidelines for the club, examining all of the possible scenarios of operation, and exploring the potential hazards of allowing a group of individuals to share space and tools for their woodworking projects were all part of the discussions being held.
The development of the guidelines progressed, and in the Fall of 2017, it was time to get the space, located in the old Humboldt Springs building, cleaned up and turned into a woodworking shop.
At least three roll-off dumpsters were filled with the trash and other items that were left in the building. Some walls were removed; walls and ceilings were repaired and painted, and plans were developed for tool placement. Gary Lowe, a local woodworker who was also a friend of Mark’s, had passed, and his widow Janelle, had a large garage full of tools that she needed to do something with. Janelle had contacted Mark to get some feedback on how and where to sell the tools. The initial discussion centered on purchasing a few of the tools but evolved into an offer to purchase the entire shop. Several early members spent most of a day moving the equipment and cleaning out the garage for Janelle, allowing the woodworking club to get established.
A similar experience occurred several weeks later when Donna White, living on an acreage near Hardy, told the club she wanted to part with her deceased husband’s tools. When Mark and Dean went to check out the tools, Donna said that she would donate the tools as she just wanted them out of the basement. In exchange for her generosity, Mark and Dean cleaned out the basement room for Donna and brought a trailer full of tools and wood back to the shop.
Bret made significant repairs and improvements to the building, and work continued through the early part of 2018 on setting up the shop. The club, named for the park and historical Lake Nokomis nearby, held an open house and began accepting members on March 4, 2018. The club would need about 20 members to cover the costs of electricity and heating, as Bret was taking care of other property-related expenses early on. Within a few months, the club had grown to twenty-three members, providing a successful start that allowed the club to survive the first year.
Over the first few years, as word spread, the club grew to 30, then 35 members. As membership grew, tools were added, and some of the financial responsibilities shifted from Bret to the club. Bret repeatedly expressed over the early years his desire that the club would exist long after his affiliation ended, for whatever reasons that may be. He and his wife, Deb, planned to gift the building to the club at some point to ensure that the club would always have a home. Office space on the east end of the building had been rented to provide income for Bret and Deb to help cover some of the property costs (insurance and property taxes). Bret was confident that the club would be in a solid financial position with the income from membership dues and from renting the office space once the building ownership was transferred.
In 2025, Deb and Bret sold their successful food processing business (Sister’s Family Style Entrees’) so that they could retire. On July 10, 2025, as part of the retirement plan, Bret and Deb gifted the building to the Nokomis Woodworking Association. In appreciation for his and his wife’s generosity, Bret would be able to maintain personal space in the NE part of the building for as long as he desired. That area, while at that time was being used for storage of a variety of items, was meant to evolve into Bret’s “man cave.”
Unfortunately, Bret succumbed to serious health issues, passing away in December of 2025.
The ideas that were first discussed in the fall of 2016 have evolved into a successful woodworking club that had grown to 45 members in 2026.
The thought and planning that Bret had put into the transfer of building ownership has set the club up with a permanent home and the potential for long-term success. The work continues to fulfill Bret’s intent of the club lasting long after his passing, and his contributions to the early development of the club will be his lasting legacy.