Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 231
Andre and Gina Colon decided to move to Tehachapi after a visit to friends here. They enjoyed the visit so much that they decided to stay overnight and then eventually move. Andre said that the weather and the sense of community he found here helped them make the final decision. They had lived in Bakersfield for three or four years where Andre pursued his programming and web design business and Gina studied to be a Realtor while managing two popular Facebook pages in Bakersfield. "Bakersfield...
New-resident welcome to Krystal Watkins and welcome-home to her husband, David. David was raised in Tehachapi and graduated from Tehachapi High School before leaving to pursue his career in the wind industry. He and Krystal moved from Amarillo, Texas into their Tehachapi home in the middle of January; welcomed by a colder-than-normal Tehachapi winter. David said that they had visited only three or four times since leaving the area. David is the new regional director for World Wind & Solar...
"We want to get away from the big city," is the reason we hear most often from new Tehachapi residents and Michael and Lea Banton are no different. They had moved to Santa Clarita 13 years ago from the San Fernando Valley thinking they were moving to the country. Now both retired, they finally chose Bear Valley Springs as their retirement home. Michael said the move here was actually a compromise. He wanted to move to Arizona or Nevada but Lea didn't want to be that far from their kids, Sean...
The Stallion Springs General Store is back in full operation after just over three months of upgrades to the gasoline storage tanks and pumps. The old single wall tanks were replaced with new steel lined fiberglass tanks to meet current state regulations. A small grant from the state assisted with the cost of the replacement tanks. After tank replacement, the old black top parking lot was removed and replaced with a new concrete lot with drainage upgrades. Chevron assisted with upgrades to the p...
In early January, Hannah Thompson arrived in Tehachapi from Wichita, Kan. Her husband, Christopher French, had come to California in September to start his new job at The Spaceship Company as a test technician for rocket propulsion systems. He was just in time to be part of the launch team for Spaceship Two. Hannah said that she and Christopher have been married less than six months. He came to California for his interview the day after they got back from their honeymoon. Some of his friends...
Walt and Tina-Marie Bayer moved to Bear Valley from Mission Viejo in November accompanied by their two cats, Mini and Pepper. Walt retired last May after 28 years with Experience Marketing. He traveled around the country setting up auto shows for the company. Following Walt's retirement, they started thinking about the possibility of leaving Orange County. Every year in May, the couple would go on a trip to celebrate their anniversary. This year they visited friends who had a condo in the...
It was a long time from start to finish, but in November Tom Gates and Nydia Aguero finally made the move from Huntington Beach into the house Tom had been designing and dreaming about since 2002 when he bought the Stallion Springs property. For 24 years he lived in Huntington Beach and had planned to build a home in Tehachapi for over half of that time. Tom said that he originally had Fairview Ranches in mind until he found the lot in Stallion Springs that would be perfect for his all concrete...
After 24 years in Santa Clarita, in a house that overlooked Saugus High School, Robin and Kathe Rich purchased a home in Bear Valley with room for horses. They had always wanted to be able to have their horse at home and now they have room to add more horses if they desire. The Santa Clarita area grew too much said Kathe and they found Tehachapi a beautiful peaceful place to live. Fortunately, Robin does not do a daily commute to work. He is the Facilities Manager of the West Los Angeles...
Aviation historian Giacinta Bradley Koontz recently moved to Tehachapi from Prescott, Ariz. where she worked as a columnist for aviation maintenance magazines, gave occasional public lectures at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and was commissioned by the city to create a display of local aviation history in the Prescott airport terminal. A former resident of the San Fernando Valley, Giacinta sought to return and be closer to her friends and professional colleagues. She chose Tehachapi with...
It was over a year and a half ago that Dr. Sheryl Haggerty began looking for a home in Tehachapi. The physician had been practicing in Palmdale for over three years in the field of occupational medicine when she was offered a job in Bakersfield that she just couldn't refuse. She knew what she wanted in a house and was willing to make the hour and a half commute each way until she found what she was looking for. What appeared was her dream-come-true in spades. She knew she wanted owned-solar...
Yasmine and Shane Swisshelm moved into their Bear Valley home in August. After spending most of their lives in Orange County, they know that mountain living will be a real adjustment but are looking forward to it. It was Shane's work as an engineer that brought them to Kern County. Yasmine said she had lived in La Habra since she was 3 years old. She has a sister living in Lake Elsinor. Shane was also raised in La Habra with his two brothers and one sister. The couple met at work. Yasmine was...
Jason and Elise Duma moved to Tehachapi in August. They came from a little town called Wildomar in Riverside County. Wildomar is not too far from Lake Elsinore. Jason had worked as a lineman for Southern California Edison for 11 years and had been trying to get a transfer some place close to mountains, the outdoors, four-seasons and camping. Elise said that he had tried to transfer to Bishop but the area is so desirable that someone has to retire before anyone new can get in. He was offered...
McKenna and Danielle Ryan moved into their Tehachapi home at the end of August. They had been living in West Lancaster and really wanted a change of environment. The natural setting and seasonal changes of Tehachapi appealed to them. Both of them said they were trying to downsize but it was harder than they thought. It took them a while to find the right house, but when they did, they didn't hesitate. McKenna was raised in Downey, Calif. Her folks came to California from Rhode Island. She...
Michael and Michelle Wedekind arrived from Okinawa, Japan in August just in time for Michael to begin his job as a procurement specialist at Edwards Air Force Base. They had lived in Okinawa for about five years while he was working for the Department of Defense. By the end of August, their furniture still had not arrived and they were sleeping on a huge air mattress in the middle of the living room floor with no idea when to expect their belongings. Michelle said that they really hated to...
It was her new position with Tehachapi Unified School District that brought Lisa Villalpondo and her husband Richard to Tehachapi after having lived in Shafter for many years. They arrived in the middle of summer, just in time to settle in before the beginning of the school year. Lisa is the new sixth grade English teacher at Jabobsen Middle School. Richard is a self-employed General Contractor and, as a result, can work from almost anywhere although for now much of his work is still in the...
Dieter and Connie Brehm began visiting Tehachapi in 2016 when their son, Ernie, who is a Kern County firefighter, moved here. During weekend visits Dieter and Connie became acquainted with the Tehachapi area and grew to appreciate its beauty, sense of community and quiet lifestyle. With retirement on the horizon, they considered Tehachapi an option, and began a home search that culminated with the purchase of a property in the Old Town area. They made their move to Tehachapi permanent this sprin...
Sally and Ricky Barker moved to their mountain top home in Bear Valley at the end of May to basically, "get out of Bakersfield." Over the years, the valley pollution had taken a toll on Ricky's health and they felt there was too much violence there as well. They wanted to raise their four boys in the beauty and clean air of the mountains. After having spent 16 years in the oil fields of the Central Valley, Ricky has started a new business washing and detailing cars in Bear Valley. "He loves it,"...
After 27 years of living in Thousand Oaks, Joseph and Cheryl Onesto were looking for more open space, mountains and real seasons. They found a home in Bear Valley and moved into their new home in May. Cheryl is a recently retired Registered Nurse and Joe is a semi-retired real estate broker. Joe said he was raised in the South Bay area of L.A. and like most young men in 1957, he joined the military doing his active duty with the Air Force. Over the years he has held lots of jobs. He said that...
Jenny and Jeremy Jones moved to California from South Dakota. They came from Brookings which is about 45 minutes north of Sioux Falls. Jeremy was hired as a test pilot at Edward Air Force Base so they temporarily settled in Rosamond at the Air Park where they had the use of a neighbor's plane. However, they are not desert people and found the beauty of the mountains in Tehachapi and the weather closer to their native South Dakota. They found a home in Bear Valley and made the move in May. Both...
James and Kathy Govereau moved into their new Bear Valley home in April. They moved here from Broomfield, Colorado, a little town just north of Denver. They had lived there for 12 years after spending many years living in Las Vegas. Kathy said that they won an opportunity trip to Colorado, went for a vacation and loved it so much that they moved there. However, most of Kathy's family has lived in Tehachapi for many years and she and James had been coming here to visit three or four times a...
Bob and Tracy Anderson moved to Tehachapi last November from Lancaster where Bob operated a martial arts studio. He and Tracy had a plan to move to the natural setting of the mountains and open a combined fitness, self-defense and firearms training facility in Tehachapi. The result is Force 5 Training Center located in Old Town that opened its doors last month. Bob was born in the bay area and grew up in Fairfield. He was adopted, a fact he did not learn until he was grown and went to get a...
In 2003, Don and Kristin Freed began looking at areas that would get them out of Los Angeles. Both of them had grown up around Tujunga in the San Fernando Valley. For a time they considered Provo, Utah, but ultimately that would take them too far away from family. Don said that he started driving around and exploring areas around LA. One time he dropped Kristin off for a visit to Yosemite and on the way home just wandered around Tehachapi. When he picked her up, he said he had to show her someth...
Contractor Scott Crooke and his wife Susie bought Tangleweed Farm in Golden Hills last October. The couple had been living in Orcutt, on the Central Coast, and was looking for more room to raise a family and their two boxers, Sunnie and Summer. Scott had been coming to Tehachapi for years. He has a friend living in Paradise Valley, near enough to Tehachapi Mountain Park to hike there. About two years ago the Crookes bought a piece of property in Alpine Forest thinking they would build there....
Dan and Sarah Gildea arrived in Tehachapi from San Diego in November. Health problems forced Dan to sell the auto repair shop in Santee he had owned for 30 years and retire. The San Diego area is an expensive place to live if you're retired so he and Sarah began to search for an area that would suit their retirement needs. Affordability was a big factor and they also wanted a house that had room for Dan's welding shop. Dan said that he found Tehachapi on the internet so he and Sarah began to exp...
Victoria DeHaas arrived in Tehachapi in mid-January from Las Vegas, Nevada accompanied by her seventeen year old daughter, Elisa. As much as she was attracted to our beautiful mountain area, her true motivation was to be with her very first love, Paul Pleis, who has lived in Tehachapi for the last eight years. Victoria met Paul when she was 14 years old and they reconnected while she was living in Las Vegas. She also has family here, an aunt and uncle who have lived in Tehachapi for about 12...
