Meet your new neighbors

David and Carol Faber moved to Tehachapi this spring from Paso Robles where they had lived for 20 years. They told me that it had just become too crowded. When it came time to retire, they decided that it was time to make a move. Four of their grandchildren were in Bakersfield so they thought Tehachapi would be a great choice. They brought Carol’s mother and sister with them as well as Molly, their twelve year old Basset/Lhasa Apso mix.

Both David and Carol had worked for the Department of Corrections. David retired after 23 years at Avenal and Carol had been an accounting technician in Paso Robles.

David was raised in Sacramento and has a brother and a sister. In his spare time, he is a professional ice carver. He has recently started a business here in Tehachapi called Iced Events. He and Carol just joined the Tehachapi chapter of the Kern Bridal Association and his work was displayed at a recent mixer held at Dorner Family Vineyard.

Carol was born in Hollywood. Her mother, Bernette, was also born in Los Angeles and told me that she had worked as a secretary. Carol said that she has lived in Norwalk and Diamond Springs (near Sacramento) and has created stained glass pieces from her own patterns for fifteen years. She has two brothers and a sister, Lynette, who moved to California from Missouri in 2009 to take care of their mother.

Between them, David and Carol, have seven children, eleven grandchildren and one great- grandson. The families are located in Texas, Bakersfield and Sacramento.

A big “Tehachapi welcome” to all in the Faber household.

Last March Michael and Odell Sloan arrived in Tehachapi from Wiesbaden, Germany, where Michael had been stationed for the last three-and-a-half years. Odell said that it was their second tour in Germany with another three-and-a-half years in Oklahoma sandwiched in between. Michael has been active duty Air Force for almost twenty years and for the last two years has been a special investigator for the State Department.

Michael was born in Sidney, Ohio, and is the oldest of four children. He loves theater and karaoke and has been known to perform at the local VFW.

Odell comes from a military family. She was born in Italy where her father was stationed during his 24 years in the Army. She has two brothers in New York and Atlanta. Her parents are also living in Atlanta. Odell also spent eleven years in the Air Force. She and Michael met while they were both stationed in Coco Beach, Florida. She enjoys photography, travel and history. Unlike Michael, she says that she is tone deaf. She too enjoys theater but prefers to be behind the scenes.

Michael and Odell have a nineteen year old daughter, Angeline, who is studying culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu in Atlanta so they have to be content with the company of Noodles the cat who joined the family in Germany.

Odell said that they might do one more overseas assignment before Michael retires but, in the meantime, Tehachapi is their home and they are glad to be here.

Welcome, Michael and Odell!

We also welcome Marco and Maribel Ayou and their family who were in Central Park on the 4th of July. It’s probably more like a “hi and good-bye” as they will be moving on in August. The Ayou family moved from Bellflower (near Los Angeles) to Tehachapi in May when Marco came to work for ICON Aircraft. He is an aerospace painter with ten years at Northrup under his belt. When ICON moves to Vacaville in August, the Ayou family will be moving with them. However, Maribel says that they love Tehachapi and already know that they would like to retire here.

Marco was raised in Bellflower and has two sisters. His mother now lives in Palmdale. Maribel was born in Calexico and has three brothers and two sisters. She was a medical biller prior to their move but would now really like to go back to school to be a medical assistant. In the meantime, she is “mom” to eight year old Jasmina, four year old Jayden, three year old twins Jakob and Serenity and two year old Sariah.

Marco and Maribel make their spare time family time, often taking the kids to the park. Maribel said that they are also big “Red Box” fans.

We’ll be sorry to see them go and hope they can return some day.

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 is completely voluntary and is not a requirement of being welcomed.