Meet Your New Neighbors

Brian and Kelli Ferrari describe themselves as “small town people” so it should be no surprise that they chose Tehachapi when they moved from New York to California this spring to join their sons who live in Bakersfield. They moved here from Schnectady in “upstate” New York, an area in which they had lived all their lives.

Brian was raised in Caroga Lake, New York, in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains. He became a drywall installer at age 18 and spent 30 years in that profession in and around Albany and Saratoga, New York, working on the homes of such high profile clients as Rachel Ray and Bill Parcells.

Kelli was born in the small town of Waterloo, New York, a town known as the birthplace of Memorial Day. She lived in that town for 32 years. Before moving to California, she was a cosmetologist and had a salon in Gloversville for 20 years.

Kelli and Brian have two boys, Aaron aged 30 and Kris aged 27. Both of them had moved to California and settled in Bakersfield. Kris is a pharmacist and is married to an operating room nurse. Aaron is working in the corporate offices of a uniform manufacturer. Brian and Kelli also have new occupations. When they moved to Tehachapi, they met the owners of Carefree Moving and Storage and it wasn’t long before they were asked to join the company.

Always the country girl, Kelli is working on a small garden at her Tehachapi home. She’s is having great luck with pots of strawberries and growing vegetables , especially squash, in her garden beds. Her gardening companion is a friendly Pug/Boston Terrier named Rocky. Her other hobbies are cooking and camping and I understand that Brian loves to fish whenever he can find the time.

It appears that Kelli and Brian are in their perfect environment and we welcome both of them to Tehachapi.

Cooler weather was only one of the reasons why Ernie and Patty Orsburn moved to Tehachapi from Bakersfield although it’s been at the top of the list this summer. The couple was also attracted to the clean air and the small town feel that was missing in the valley. However, in the process of moving, Patty injured her back necessitating surgery so getting into the swing of her new life has been very slow. In addition, Patty is a stay-at-home mom and takes care of the couple’s two adopted children, five year old Jackson and four year old Juliana . It has not been easy but Patty says she feels better all the time. She has even decorated her back brace with “bling”. Meanwhile,Ernie still makes the daily commute to the valley where he has been a facility operator for Chevron Corporation for the last six years.

Both Ernie and Patty were raised in the Central Valley although Patty did spend some time in Northern California. Ernie has a sister in Vancouver and Patty has one sister in Florida and another in Patterson, California, which is near Modesto.

They met on an online dating site and within a year they were married. Both had been married before and Patty has two daughters from her prior marriage. Amber is 31 and does medical data entry in Bakersfield. She has one child. Twenty nine year old Jessica is studying to be a nurse and has three children. This is one of those fascinating cases where Patty’s four year old granddaughter has a four year old aunt. Patty says all the kids get along really well and play together often.

Whenever Ernie has free time he likes to tinker with motorcycles and old cars. Patty loves to garden but this activity has had to be put on the back burner until her back heals. In the meantime, she enjoys sewing, crafting and playing with the kids. She told me that when things get back to normal, she would like to have a few chickens. In the meantime, she has to be content with caring for the family’s two bunnies, Gracie and Ruby. They also have two dogs. Sandy is a Mutt with the personality of a Labrador Retriever and Rocky is a Chihuahua who Patty describes as “ornery and doesn’t like anyone”. “

“Welcome to Tehachapi, Ernie, Patty and Company” and I hope it won’t be too long before Patty can get back to doing all the things that she loves.

If you have moved to the Greater Tehachapi Area within the last six months and would like to know more about your new community, call 661-822-8188. We will be happy to make an appointment for a hostess to come by and give you lots of helpful information, some valuable coupons, gifts and much more. Many families and individuals who come to the area are pleasantly surprised with the amount of knowledge they gather about their new home. Publishing your welcome article in The Loop newspaper is completely voluntary and is not a requirement of being welcomed.