Meet Your New Neighbors

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 something. He took her to a lot he had found overlooking Brite Valley and Brite Lake . They knew this would be their home. They camped on the property for the first five years and then started to build in 2009. Now, almost 10 years later and with the help of a neighbor, the house is not quite finished but they are here – at least most of the time – caring for their five cats and eighteen chickens.

Kristin was born in Glendale, California. Don was born in Carthage, Missouri but moved to California when he was about seven. They met in elementary school. Kristin was in the third grade, Don was in fifth, and they've been together ever since. Kristin's grandfather and father ran a house painting and roofing contracting business. Her two brothers joined the business, and so did Don and his two brothers. Don and Kristin now have three children and two grandchildren. Their daughter Raquel is the only one to join the family business, adding a fourth generation to the business that is now based in Burbank. Travis, their oldest, has set up assisted living centers in Southern California and Texas. The youngest is Audrey and she is mom to the grandkids.

Now focused more on Tehachapi, Don has started his own house painting service with a focus on roof coating. Don says that roof painting is a natural extension of the house painting business. With new products being added and thicker paints, white and reflective roof coatings are perfect for high temperature areas like Mojave, California City and Bakersfield, where residents are ever trying to conserve energy and save dollars. Don adds that the reflective roof paints have already caught on in states like Arizona and Florida. Don would be happy to tell you more about these products. You can find his ad in the Business Directory section of this issue.

Welcome (finally) to Tehachapi Don and Kristin.

Less than a month ago, Jean and Eric Reed arrived in Tehachapi from Brock, Texas, a small town about 45 miles from Ft. Worth, in an area that claims to be the "cutting horse capital of the world". Jean and Eric had lived in Texas for about 20 years and it was his new job as an engineer for Lockheed Martin that brought them to California. A desire to not live in the desert is what brought them to Bear Valley Springs.

Jean was born in Annapolis, Maryland. Her father was a Marine. She is the youngest of five with her brother being the oldest and the only boy. They moved around a lot and Jean said, that as a kid with a dad in the Marines, she learned early on not to ask questions about what Dad does. Her father retired when she was 14 and they moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas. Jean fell in love with horses at about the age of two when her dad managed the base stables, but she didn't get her own horse until moving to Arkansas. She then spent years competing. She spent 17 years working for J. B. Hunt Transport and was the Operations Manager of Dedicated Contract Services.

Eric was born in Dallas, Texas. He has one brother. His family moved from Texas to Fayetteville. He joined the Navy and served for six years; then he attended college and got his degree from the University of Arkansas. He met Jean on a blind date arranged by his best friend's wife. It turned out that Jean knew his brother and Eric knew her sisters.

They have a daughter, Hanna, who is working on her Master's Degree in Museum Science at Texas Tech, while working in marketing for Bank of America. After all her years of riding, Jean says it was Hanna who convinced her that she could jump leading to years of "eventing". Her 18-year-old horse, Bubba, is now her retired event horse. Jean says Bubba can cut and rein with the best of them. Jean said she hated competing but likes working cattle. She now has a young horse named Grace who, when trained, will become her trail horse.

Eric and Jean also have three large dogs and two cats. While Jean spends time with the horses, Eric spends time with his motorcycles.

Welcome to Tehachapi to the entire Reed menagerie.

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.