Meet Your New Neighbors

Mike and Lisa Monahan had lived in Chino Hills, part of the Inland Empire of San Bernardino County, for 35 years. They raised their two children there. Both of them worked for Southern California Edison, Lisa in IT and Mike was a purchasing agent. Lisa said that her job was eventually outsourced, so it was time to think about retiring. Their son, Jason now works for Kern County Fire and lives in Bear Valley Springs with his wife and two children. The lure of grandchildren and living in a relatively rural mountain community made Tehachapi a perfect choice for their retirement. They finally found their retirement home on top of a mountain in Bear Valley last fall.

Lisa was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Downey. She has two brothers and a sister. Two of her siblings live in Kern County. Mike was born in Delran, New Jersey, located on the Delaware River between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He was the only boy with two sisters. Their son Jason also has an older sister, Nichole, who currently resides in Orange County. The newest member of the family is one year old Bailey, a cute combination of dachshund and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Both Mike and Lisa like to play golf and have joined the golf clubs in Bear Valley. They also have another mountain getaway at Big Bear in the San Bernardino Mountains at a much higher altitude than Tehachapi. It is obvious that the Monahans love the mountains. Lisa said that she loves gardening and she and Mike have their work cut out for them on their new property.

Lisa has been a crafter for many years. One of her new purchases was a new sewing machine which she set up in a sewing studio in her new home. She joined Crafty Ladies in Bear Valley and the Tehachapi Mountain Quilters Guild. Although she says she does not quilt yet, she is willing to give it a try and has the pieces cut out for her first quilt. She is a new member of a sub-group of the guild, a friendship group who call themselves the Bear Valley Stitchers. As a fellow member of that group, it is my pleasure to say…

Welcome to Tehachapi, Lisa and Mike.

Cynthia and Terrell Terrell arrived in Tehachapi in January when Terrell was transferred to the area by his employer, the Union Pacific Railroad. They were transferred from Tucson, Ariz. where they had been for the last three years. Terrell is a manager and has been with Union Pacific for the last 15 years.

Terrell was born in El Paso, Texas, but brought up in Anthony, New Mexico. Anthony is a tiny town on the New Mexico/Texas border and just north of El Paso. He has one sister. I had to ask Cynthia if her husband’s parents actually gave him the first name, Terrell, and she said that they did.

Cynthia was born in Vista, California, which is near San Diego. She said that she was an “Army brat.” She has two half-sisters and three step brothers. I asked her how a girl from Vista, California met a guy from Anthony, New Mexico. She said that her family was from Anthony and they met during a family visit. Some things are just meant to be.

Cynthia is an RN. She spent three years in cardiac care at Memorial Hospital in Las Cruces, New Mexico. When they moved to Tucson, she worked for Soreo Hospice and also in post-surgical rehabilitation at Casa Adobes Rehabilitation Center. Here in Tehachapi, she is only known as Mom to ten year old Rhys and seven year old Logan and to a five year old Shih Tzu named Rocket. That is enough for now. She said that she likes to read in what little spare time she has.

Cynthia said that Terrell likes carpentry and cars. She proudly showed me a beautiful coffee table that her husband had designed and made for the living room. She added that his real hobby is “playing in the garage”. He loves working on cars and they have at least four that he can “play” with.

A big Tehachapi Welcome to the Terrell family.

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.