Meet Your New Neighbors

Cecelia “CeCe” Hozman moved into her new home in Tehachapi at the beginning of April. I knew she was coming here because a mutual friend in Santa Barbara gave me a “heads up” that the president of the Santa Barbara Women’s Club was moving here when her term of office was up. Even before I had a chance to officially welcome her to Tehachapi, we met at the Nonprofit Showcase. By welcome time, it was like we were old friends.

CeCe moved to Santa Barbara in 2005 and after 12 years she was ready for a change. Her daughter, Tina, a teacher at Little Sprouts Preschool, and her family have lived in Tehachapi over 10 years and encouraged her to move closer to them and her teenage grandchildren, Ben and Sarah.

Born and raised in Santa Monica, Calif., CeCe went to college at UCLA and then got her Master’s Degree in Education at Loyola/Marymount University. She said that she lived in Santa Clarita for about 10 years before she and her husband decided to “flee the congestion” of Los Angeles and move to Exeter in the Central Valley. She worked as a high school English teacher for 33 years and spent about a third of it working with at-risk kids.

Santa Barbara was actually her first retirement and she loved it. She lived within walking distance of all her favorite restaurants and the theaters. She was an avid supporter of the Santa Barbara Symphony and a member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) as well as the Women’s Club.

Obviously grass is not allowed to grow beneath CeCe’s feet. Since her arrival, she has already been attending our Farmer’s Market and joined the local AAUW. Both she and her little dog Buttons seem to have adjusted well to their new surroundings.

Welcome, CeCe. I know you will be a real asset to our community.

After an absence of about five or six years, Shelly and George Young are back in Tehachapi. The last time they lived here, they had a small ranch in Sand Canyon; this time they are living in town. They said that they loved it here and are glad to be back. They spent the last few years in Lompoc and Riverside doing what they do best, build and remodel homes. George does all the work himself. Over the last 40 years, they have built or remodeled 23 homes with no intention of living in them full time. This time may be different. Shelly said that the real reason they came back was because of Kohnen’s. “I tithe too Kohnen’s,” she added emphatically.

Shelly was born in Boston, Mass. but lived in Provincetown on Cape Cod. Her father was in the Navy and was sent to California to run the Naval Reserve Center in Pomona. She grew up in the Inland Empire. She has a sister living in Phoenix and one in Paso Robles. She developed a love for horses and over the years has had Tennessee Walking Horses while living in Orange County, the Inland Empire and Sand Canyon. The last time she lived here, Shelly worked as a tour guide at Tomo Kahni State Historic Park in Sand Canyon. Two years ago she became an ordained minister and now performs weddings throughout Southern and Central California.

George was born in Billings, Mont .; however, his family moved to Wyoming when he was two weeks old. Of nine children, George said that only he and a sister are left. After high school, he joined the army. He met Shelly at IBM where both worked in the Service Department. She was the first Selectric typewriter repair technician and he was her mentor. After five years they left IBM to start their own typewriter repair service. George said that IBM was not happy with them. Remodeling homes is now his passion. He said that, on the average, it takes about four months to redo a house. His longest project was three years.

This very active couple has no children but they do have a beautiful and very social retired racing Greyhound named Daisy. They said that they kept the last remodel that they did in Lompoc as a vacation rental and use it themselves if they can get a reservation. They are active with Lions and Kiwanis service clubs. Shelly loves art, music and food while George likes to build furniture when he is not building homes. They both are enjoying our wineries.

Welcome back, George and Shelly.

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.