Cast of Characters, Part 3:

Frank Sanchez

     Pine Mountain Club is not incorporated as a city— no city council, etc., although it does have a quasi-government of sorts in the POA. But it DID have a Mayor (honorary, at least) for a time. Although he never sought the title, once it was bestowed on him, kiddingly of course, he reveled in it! 

     Frank (Frankie to those who knew him) was a Master Plumber by trade, and came with wife Kathy, daughter Marisa, and mother-in-law Barbara  French, to PMC in the early ‘70’s. Barbara moved in permanently, and Frank built her a house, big enough for the whole family, on Mil Potrero Frontage Rd., a block from the Village Center. The house had six bedrooms. We always teased them that the house was actually designed as a brothel, with Barbara as the Madam. If you knew Barbara, you understood why she loved to be kidded about that! She could take it, and boy, could she dish it out!

     About the time the big house was complete, Timberland Development (Mike Stone and Mike Steele), built a large commercial building on Pine Valley Lane, behind the Auto Center. Frank and Kathy opened Country Hardware on the lower level, that fronted on the lane between the two buildings. Kathy ran the store, and Frank began doing plumbing work locally. Frank loved being involved in local goings-on, and wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, even if his ideas were contrary to the status quo. The animosity between the Commercial Association and the PMCPOA had increased during his time as President of the PMC-CPOA ( see “Tale of Two CID’s previously published) and he jumped into the fray with both feet. Things ultimately worked out for the better. For some years, Frank chaired the Lilac Festival Committee, and organized the first of many Christmas Parades and Winter Festivals in the Village. Frankie was always around, it seemed. He was always willing to tell anyone and everyone about Pine Mountain Club, the golf course, and the happenings in the Village Center. Inevitably, his gregariousness earned him the honorary title of “Mayor.”

    Frank was an avid golfer, playing 18 or mores holes of golf on the PMC course almost every day, even when the fairways were covered in snow. When he was still a weekender, he dressed for golf to the max (for the ‘70’s) : tailored qiana shirt, polyester bell-bottom slacks, with white golf shoes. And the hair— a true Latino coif that Desi Arnaz would have envied, but salt and pepper, like Fernando Lamas. At some point after he became a permanent resident, the outfit changed to Levis and  Garth Brooks-style snap-buttoned shirt, cowboy boots and black cowboy hat. And the hair grew long, ultimately to shoulder length, and over the ensuing years, to snow white. Frank was not a tall man—-the white mane plus the outfit plus his short stature made him unmistakable even from a distance! 

     Frank could be persistent to a fault, but his passion about things that bothered him, and about how things could be, or should be, ultimately helped make Pine Mountain Club a better place, even though a few POA Board directors and several General Managers didn’t always see it that way! The term “PITA” comes to mind…

     Frank left his mark in other ways in PMC, too. Along with then-wife Kathy, he oversaw the construction of the large two-story commercial building on Pine Valley Lane that became the new larger home of Country Hardware, and several other businesses, and the triplex on Askin Drive across the street from Lampkin Park.

     Frank was a veteran, serving during the Korean War, and as such was very active in veterans affairs. His work truck and his golf cart always had a US flag attached, flapping in the breeze as he drove around. He personally installed a big flag pole in the Village, lighted at night, so the Star Spangled Banner could be seen there night and day. He organized Flag Day and Armed Forces celebrations every year, and almost single-handedly built a Veterans Memorial at the County Park in Frazier Park, and a smaller version in PMC by the Village Gazebo. Both installations included a special memorial dedicated to Staff Sgt. Brian Cody Prosser, of Frazier Park, one of the first casualties of the War on terror, who was killed in Afghanistan in December, 2001. With some irony, Frank was born in 1938, on September 11. Frank lost his battle with cancer on January 7, 2013.

     There was much more to the man than I have the space to detail here. We didn’t always get along. We were often on opposite sides of local issues, but we always remained friends, and loved each other’s families. Many, many people knew him, and I’m sure this story will prompt a lot of them to add to the saga of Frankie Sanchez. 

     

 

 Cast of Characters: Chapter Two

Mike Schmidt

      Were it not for Mike, we may never have found out about Pine Mountain Club, or certainly not as early as we did.  I met him at my work in Brentwood in 1973–he was in the TBA (Tires, Batteries and Accessories) business, and supplied those items to (mostly) Texaco stations throughout Southern California. We became instant friends, and spent a lot of time together, especially on weekends, around the pool at our home in Canoga Park. He told us about PMC, and invited Ro and me to drive up from the San Fernando Valley with him.(Hint of things to come: it was March, and had snowed recently. We had to drive on dirt roads at the “Y” to get around the snow bunnies that blocked all the roads around the Mt. Pinos parking lot!) Mike had bought a lot on upper Lassen in the very early ‘70’s, with the plan of building a house and possibly moving to the mountain full-time. We made many more trips to Pine Mountain after that; for the day, then overnight, then the weekend, then long weekends, until it became obvious that that is where we would like to live, too. Mike abandoned plans to build a house on his lot when a very nice house much like the one he had planned to build came up for sale, on a better lot than the one he owned. We helped him move in on Thanksgiving Day, 1975. We awoke to a foot of snow the next morning. 

      Mike was blessed with a “radio” voice, and mixed with a natural charm and a gift of gab, that made him an obvious choice to MC whatever was happening at various PMC events. A raffle, Christmas Party, New Years Eve, he got stuck with the microphone. When the Lilac Festival Parade began around 1980, he announced the entire lineup, and when the Village Gazebo was built a few years later, he MC’d the entire program all weekend there, too. He generously donated lots of raffle prizes along with his time. All he ever asked in return was a reserved parking space at the Auto Center for his car! Mike showed up every year for at least 25 years or so, (I lost count!) through sun, cold, wind, even snow.

     Mike, wife Janis (Janis’ School of Dance) and sons Rikki and Brett lived at the PMC house for many years. Mike owned and ran the Carquest Auto Parts Plus store in Lebec for some years, and now splits his time between Pismo Beach and Pine Mountain. Among other endeavors, he and Janis own Brucher Golden Bear Winery on the Central Coast where Janis is the winemaker.

       Among all the other things, many many families had their first PMC experience at the Lilac Festival, and Mike, for so many years, was an integral part of that. Thank you, Mr. B! (Inside joke!) 😎

Cast of Characters

      The lovely Dionne (Bolton) has asked (cajoled?, persuaded?, conned?) me to share some thoughts and memories on some of the early denizens of Pine Mountain Club. Some were there from the beginning, before we got to PMC, and some came shortly thereafter. Some endured; some came and went. In all cases, they, in their own unique way, contributed in some part to the community that it was a few decades ago, and to what PMC has become today. These recollections, some apocryphal in all or part, are neither meant to be historically accurate nor biographically accurate. They're just part of a greater picture that illustrates in some way how things came to be in Pine Mountain Club and the surrounding area. Some of these memories are almost 50 years old. I'll try to relate them to you as best I can, with a little levity and/or sarcasm thrown in from time to time. Please understand that all was not just fun and games, so to speak: there was sadness and tragedy along the way. But I'm choosing to keep things on the lighter side for now, at least.  Rest assured that all these people are/were human, with the inherent good and bad that comes with that, and all were good people, through and through.

Chapter One: Fred Westlund

     Fred Westlund built houses, or more properly "homes". Homes built to be lived in -- not architectural showpieces, or flimsy cabins in the forest, but strong, solid, practical homes--perfect for raising a family while keeping them safe from harsh mountain weather, or for spending weekends in an attractive, affordable home-away-from-home. Fred and his crew were all part of Westlund Construction. I'm not sure the total number of homes they built, from the early '70's into the 90's, but it's well over 100 (maybe more) I'm pretty sure. I know they built over 50 homes in one year -- not tract homes that were all alike, but individual custom homes, built to suit the needs of individual buyers. Some large, in some cases on more than one lot, and some small, near the PMC mandated minimum size of 400 square feet. To my knowledge, all are still standing. Fred also designed and built the Apache Saddle Inn, now the Perch, the Jennings Realty building next door, and the Pine Mountain Auto Center (now Pine Mt. Fuel). He also built the 2-story building where the laundromat is, and the Pine Mountain Community Church. 

     Fred, his wife Pat (who taught for many years at El Tejon School), son Brian, and daughter Lynn were among the very first families to move permanently to PMC. When they arrived, the golf course, and the surrounding area: the Clubhouse, park, and streets on the flat part of the valley were almost devoid of trees, except for a few piñon pines. Fred took it upon himself to plant trees there -- mostly cottonwoods and poplars, and a few firs and cedars as well. Almost all the large trees you see there today were planted by Fred or his crew. Fred, with Floyd Bolton's assistance, started the "Sap Race" on labor day weekend, as a fundraiser to buy more trees. The Sap Race over the years became the Oktoberfest, and ultimately the Fall Festival.

     Fred had a unique sense of humor. He loved corny jokes involving either a pun, or a play-on-words, or both. We used to call them "Fred jokes" or "Westlund jokes." Today, you may hear them called 'Dad Jokes".// Example "Sundays are always a little sad, but the day before is a sadder day!" (Groan!) Westlund Construction had a big blue Chevy dump truck, that the crew called "Big Blue". Fred called it the "Lone Ranger" , because, he said "It only goes 'To the Dump, To the Dump, To the Dump, Dump, Dump!'" Knowing we were Jewish, Fred told us about the first time he built a house for a Jewish family. He said that was when he learned the meaning of "Oy vey!" He said it means "Change it!"

      Fred like to innovate, but often with mixed results. I'm sure some of his "experiments" were successful, but I don't recall which ones. I do remember few that were less than successful. When he completed the PM Auto Center, he gave us a banana (!) tree to plant in the front landscape area. He said he always wanted a banana tree. OK.... It was dead in two days. DEAD! When the Apache Saddle Restaurant / Bar was built, it was just the center gambrel-style structure. It was small, so the kitchen was located downstairs, with eating areas downstairs, as well as upstairs in the bar. Everyone liked to eat upstairs because of the great view, but it necessitated carrying trays of food up the steep, narrow stairs from the kitchen. Anticipating this, Fred designed a "dumbwaiter", with motorized cables and pulleys, to transfer the trays up to and down from the upper floor. Fred's design had a few flaws, and after numerous dinners and trays of dirty dishes crashed to the kitchen level, the "experiment" was abandoned. When the Auto Center was built, the original design called for two steel roll-up doors, with pull-chains to raise and lower them. The doors were pricey; so to save money, Fred opted to install flat aluminum garage doors that ran on tracks (kind of like todays home garage doors, but not in sections -- the whole flat door would pivot as it rose up and into the horizontal position. Unfortunately, no one bothered to check to ensure the tracks the door rode upon were parallel, so when the door was lifted, the wheels on the track pulled out of the bracket on the door, and the door came crashing down. No one was hurt, but there WAS a Jeep Wagoneer parked in that stall, and the SUV's roof took the full impact. (Yikes!) The Jeep Wagoneer was Fred's. 

      When we first moved permanently to PMC in May of 1976, Fred, Pat, and a few other friends introduced us to the Mid-western custom of "Shivaree". Basically, it's like a Welcome Wagon, but they show up late at night, when you're dead-tired after moving all day, and ready to collapse in bed. They show up on your front porch with booze and food, and keep you up all night.

     Our first Thanksgiving in our new home in Pine Mountain Club, we were going to spend with just the three of us, because the weather prevented any of our friends and relatives from the San Fernando Valley from driving up. Fred and Pat invited us into their home, to give Thanks with them and their friends and Family, and enjoy a fantastic meal. That day, Ro and I had our first taste of Aquavit, a Scandinavian 90 proof liqueur, served ice-cold, straight, in a shot glass -- like Russian vodka. I really believe they keep it freezer-cold because if it gets above about 10F it spontaneously combusts! We met Fred's mother that day, and meeting her explained a lot about Fred!

     Fred died a few years ago; his wife Pat a few years later. Miss them both!