A sweet and special presentation

Provided.

To thank Linda Pettitt for her presentation, President Jennifer Palakiko presented her with a certificate, and a donation was made to the Rotary Foundation in her honor.

If you have lived in Tehachapi for any length of time, you have probably enjoyed eating a beautiful cake or delicious dessert made by local baker Linda Pettitt.

At the Dec. 5 Rotary Club meeting, Linda treated the club to a craft talk, where a Rotarian shares their life story, and what brought them to Rotary. Linda worked for many years in Tehachapi Unified School District, teaching elementary grades, music, and special education. Born in Alabama after the end of World War II, Linda said she was appreciative that she was brought up with music in her home, which eventually led to an opportunity later in her career.

When she wanted to go to college, she was awarded a small scholarship to Pasadena College, where she worked in the library and had a number of odd jobs to support herself, including gluing flowers on floats for the annual Rose Parade. One of the highlights from that time in her life was that she was present at an event where future president Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat Nixon, were in attendance. She said that she was thrilled to meet Pat Nixon and actually shook her hand!

After she graduated from college, Linda got her first teaching assignment, teaching Kindergarten in Watts, and she was there during the Watts riots. She said that the parents of her students were so caring and concerned about her and assured her they would come get her from the school to keep her safe if needed. She then met her husband, who had five young children from a previous marriage. They were married, and she shared a wedding photo which showed all five children present at their ceremony. Together, they had the sixth child, and she legally adopted the other five children as her own. Their oldest son saw an ad about a place called Bear Valley Springs, which was offering tours on the weekend. She said they didn't intend to buy, but came to Tehachapi for a tour, and went home as the owners of a piece of property.

After they moved to Tehachapi, Linda got hired to teach third grade at Cummings Valley in a portable classroom. One of her favorite memories is when she entered her class in a contest, where the class earned money for reading. She said her class read almost 5,000 pages and raised almost $5,000, which was more than any other class in the entire country! Her class won a trip to Sony Studios in Los Angeles, to attend a screening of the movie "Matilda," based on the book by Roald Dahl. They went on a studio tour, and got to meet with Danny DeVito and wife, Rhea Perlman, who starred in the movie. DeVito had also just finished filming "Batman Returns," where he played the villain, Penguin, so she said the kids had a lot of questions for him. DeVito and Perlman took the kids to a bookstore, and bought a hard covered copy of the book, "Matilda," for every child in the class. The author, Roald Dahl, had passed away by then, but his wife and daughters were there, and they signed every book for every student in her class.

In 2003, Linda retired from teaching, but not from baking. She opened a restaurant, and although she had a chef who cooked dinner, she made the rolls, special soup and desserts every day. She eventually closed the restaurant but opened a bakery on Tehachapi Boulevard. During this time, Tehachapi High School needed a music teacher, so she came out of retirement to take the job teaching choir. She started a show choir, and they went three times to New York City for competition, winning the first two years. However, their third trip was not to compete, but to sing at Ground Zero after 9/11. They raised money in the community to pay for the trip, and she said it was a very moving experience to sing at that location among the wreckage.

When she retired for a second time, she obtained a cottage license to make her delicious wedding, birthday and "just because" cakes, which gave her time to be home with her husband. They moved from Bear Valley to Golden Hills to be closer to town, and adopted a little poodle who had lost his owner, which has brought her a lot of joy. She said that she is thankful for Linda Carhart, who brought her to Rotary, and she loves being as busy as she wants to be contributing to various projects. The Rotarians look forward to her delicious treats each month, as she makes something special for birthday celebrations, and she also makes desserts for some of the Rotary events, like the Senior Tea and the Wine Pairing Dinner.

The Tehachapi Rotary Club meets at noon every Thursday at Kelcy's. Rotary is the largest service organization in the world, and is committed to "Service Above Self," devoting time and resources to projects in the local community as well as internationally. For more information about the Rotary Club, you can visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/RotaryClubofTehachapi/.