2 questions about Words and their meaning

1) Actually my hometown in the United States happens to be known as one of the hometowns for Paul Bunyan. (elllo.org)

what does the word "happen" mean in this context ?

2) I have assembled the very best English teaching
techniques and combined them in a clear, simple, easy to use system.
(AJ Hoge)

what does the word "the very best" mean? It sounds a little bit unnaturally to me!

Please explain it to me! thanks a lot! Have a great day!

1) It means "incidentally (by chance) is"

ex:

My town happens to be the biggest in the country.
That ice cream happened to be the worst I'd ever tried.
I happen to be a male.

2) It means the absolute best.

Oh, and it's "unnatural", not "unnaturally"