Cast of Characters, Chapter Seven: In Four Parts

Part One:

The Pine Tree Tavern

     In the Village, on the south side of Pine Valley Lane, is the commercial building now occupied by thr Pine Mountain Pizza Company. That space has always been a restaurant/bar since it was built in the late ‘70’s, but it was not conceived as a Pizza parlor, and it was considerably smaller when it first opened for business.

     Joe and Marsha Sparks, newly retired from the LA area, moved to PMC and decided buy a lot and build a tavern-style restaurant on the street behind the only other restaurant in Pine Mountain Club: The Apache Saddle. Whereas the Saddle was a Bar/restaurant, was open late most nights, and could get rowdy sometimes, especially on weekends, the Tavern was laid back, served just beer and wine, and Marsha made great, un-fancy food. AND, she didn’t put up with any foolishness, either. Bad language would get you a swift invitation to leave the premises!😁

 

          It was a mellow place: family-friendly and unpretentious. Joe loved to talk, and we had many great conversations, only often interrupted by Marsha from the kitchen: “Pick up, Joe!!” Loved that place! 

Part Two:
Dago's Dugout 

          After a few years of long hours, and few (if any) day's off, Marsh and Joe were persuaded by John Fallavollita to sell the business to him. John had a successful cabinet business that he ran with his son, Johnny. John thought the restaurant would be a great fit for his wife, Rachel, to run. The Tavern same came down, to be replaced with "Dago's Dugout." Now, if you're Italian, the word "Dago" may or may not be offensive to you, but, again if you're Italian, the word should not be used by someone who is not of Italian heritage without offense being taken. But, also, different times then.

     Anyway, Rachel's Italian dishes were delicious, and it seemed like most everyone put on a few pounds eating pasta. The same beer/wine format continued. Within a short time, however, controversy began to brew. Roland (Rollie) Furlano, who spent weekends in PMC and had a home there, didn't like the restaurant name one bit, and told John Fallavollita just that. After a time, Rollie came up with a solution: He would buy the restaurant, and he and his new wife Louanne would run it -- after they changed the name to "Furlano's". Done!

John Fallavollita, Jr. (Johnny) 1961-2021

          Johnny left his Dad's business, got married, and had a bunch of kids. He went to work for the Dept. of Corrections in Calipatria, California. We saw him almost every year, when he would come to Kern County with a son or two, to go fishing. He succumbed to ALS in 2021.

Part Three:

Furlano's

        Rollie and Louanne owned their eponymous restaurant for a long time (at least in restaurant years). Rollie enlarged the kitchen, and bought a pizza oven. The food was excellent. He added a large deck to the front of the building that took advantage of the views, that also had a side stairs that weren't as imposing as the many steep stairs to the front door! (Secret: most of us who knew used the back door, off the alley! -- no steps!) Louanne was sweet and soft-spoken, while Rollie had a temper - but, hey! whattaya gonna do! Great garlic pizza and antipasto salad! Miss it!

     Later, the Furlanos turned over the operation of the restaurant to Lana Ramsey and Vicki Weaver, who both were employees, and with backing from Lana's Mom and Dad, Dan and Millie Dutra, bought the business, while retaining the Fulano's name. About this time, the building was enlarged to add a bar area next to the dining room, and the liquor license modified to include hard liquor. Party time!

      Around this time, the Apache Saddle had made its progression through several reincarnations: Iribarren’s, Whisper’s Lounge, The Chalet, and now Madd Bailey’s. Thus was born the PMC equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle. On weekends (sometimes, long weekends): Start at the Clubhouse Lounge, after golf, or whatever, then on to Furlano’s Bar, maybe a pizza or something, and since Furlano’s kept restaurant hours, not bar hours, finish up ‘til close at Madd Bailey’s at 2 AM. It could be exhausting!

                                                            Rollie and Louanne Furlano

 Vicki Weaver (never liked her picture taken!

Kris and Lana (Dutra, Ramsey) Staidle

Part Four:

The Pine Mountain Pizza Company 

     Vicki Weaver ran Furlano’s for several years, until Bob and Suzy Hopp bought the business and the building. The name was changed to Pine Mountain Pizza Company, and the bar room turned into a gift shop, and the room above became a flower shop. The Pine Mountain Pizza Company remains in the family, and has returned to its roots as a family restaurant.

                                                                 

SNOW!

SNOW! The copious amount of snowfall this winter is impressive (and, with a little perspective, welcome!) The snow is still falling, and while this series of storms is already probably top-five, time will tell if it’s a record-setter.

     Dionne Bolton has asked me to reminisce a bit about past snowy winters in PMC. Over the 40+ years we lived there, many memorable snow events come to mind. **Please understand that there is no intent to compare anything from the past with what many are currently dealing with: isolation, damage, power outages, etc.**

     The most impressive snowfall event, in my opinion, took place in January, 1976. It was just six months after we had become full-time residents, and were still commuting to the San Fernando Valley and West LA. On our way down the hill, it was snowing hard in Cuddy Valley, and still snowing when we reached Castaic. Snow fell in many areas in the LA Basin, and accumulated over a foot in Castaic. I-5, and many other highways were closed - the Grapevine for three consecutive days. We stayed with family until the highway opened. Mike Schmidt, with a similar commute as ours, started early, avoided the closure by taking The Old Road to Templin Hwy, and made his way towards PMC, through the deeping snow on the empty freeway.

       Meanwhile, up on the mountain, the blizzard raged: heavy snow, with mostly whiteout conditions. Mike later told us his experience:

     ***Kern Co. plows had attempted to keep Frazier Mt. Pkwy clear for most of the day, but the snow was falling faster than they could clear the road. The snow on the road got deeper through Frazier Park and Lake of the Woods, but the 4x4 pickup was making good headway, until just past Ivins Drive. There, the plows had been unable to deal with the depth of the snow, and turned around, leaving a wall of compacted snow several feet high. Mike left the truck a few yards back, and waded through the snow to Marge and Cecil Chambers’ house, a short distance away. By the time he got there, and was welcomed inside to good food and drink,the conditions worsened to a total whiteout. Sometime later that night, two jacked-up 4x4’s drove past Ivins Drive, and tried to push through the wall of snow. In short order, they became stuck. Unaware that there were homes nearby, they elected to stay in their trucks through the night, and came dangerously close to freezing to death. Luckily, the snow stopped before dawn, and they were found the next morning by the plow crew, VERY cold, but alive.***

       Overnight, Kern County had arranged to borrow a snow blower from the east side of the county. It arrived, and began making its way through Cuddy Valley. It cleared the road to the intersection at Mil Potrero Hwy, and turned around. Through most of Cuddy Valley the snowblower left a vertical wall on both sides as tall as the roof of some cars. (Didn’t have a cell phone then, so no photos!☹️) When we reached the turn on Mil Potrero, it wasn’t plowed, but, as luck would have it, the snowfall was less at the west end of the Valley, and a few vehicles had been up and down the road ahead of us. Our 4x4 struggled mightily (loved that ‘73 K5 Blazer!) , but finally made it down the canyon to Yellowstone Drive, and home.

The accompanying snow photo is from the March 2011 storm, courtesy of Mike DeAngelis.

Cast of Characters, Chapter Six: Rick Young

      For many people, their first experience in Pine Mountain Club was at one of the festivals—- the Lilac Festival, the Wine Festival, or Oktoberfest aka Fall Festival. It would be impossible to tell the full story of the Oktoberfest without a lengthy section about Rick Young.

     Never a permanent resident, Rick and his family  (five beautiful daughters) made the trip from Orange County to PMC on most weekends, and the family (daughters and then-wife Barbara) would also stay for extended periods during the Summer. In the early ‘70’s, they built a cozy second home on Grizzly Drive, about a block from the PMC Stables.

     It was at that house that we met Rick—— early one Fall morning, on our very first visit to PMC. We traveled from the San Fernando Valley with Mike Schmidt in his Jeep CJ-5, struggling to keep warm in the cold wind that leaked around the canvas top. After a brief stop at Pine Mountain General Store where we met Floyd Bolton, and enjoyed a cup of hot coffee, we drove around the Golf Course and Clubhouse to Rick’s house. He couldn’t have been more welcoming to us! He too had coffee, but he asked if we’d rather join him in something a little stronger—— in this case, a Bloody Mary, although actually it was vodka, ice, and just enough mix to give it a pink tinge. That’ll warm you up!

     From that very first encounter, we became good friends. Rick would always stop by the weekends he was in PMC and say “Hello”, and many times he would drop off a garden hose or two. (He was in the wholesale industrial hose business, and if a length of hose had a small defect, they couldn’t sell it, so he would bring it to us. I don’t think I bought a garden or air hose for the service station in almost forty years!) 

     Rick was active on the Recreation Committee from it’s very beginnings, many years as Chairman. The fledgling Oktoberfest, founded by Fred Westlund, had been moved to Labor Day weekend in the late ‘70’s to take advantage of the milder weather. With the large crowds that always came to enjoy the last long

summer weekend, it quickly became a hit with PMC Members, guests, and visitors from all over Central and Southern California. Rick was not only MC of the Festivities, but he, with many others, worked tirelessly to put on a great, fun, show for everyone.. He was easily recognizable in his alpine hat and droopy Bermuda shorts, making sure that the beer truck was properly set up as early as possible, and regularly did taste tests to ensure that it was chilled properly!

     Rick’s stamina at the Oktoberfest was legendary. He was there with the first work crews in the morning, oversaw the set-up, and then worked all day and into the night: running contests and raffles, meeting and greeting, dealing with the inevitable snafu’s, and always managed to join the crowd after the Festival closed at the Apache Saddle (Madd Bailey’s) or Furlano’s  until closing time.  The bartenders at the Apache Saddle loved to tell the story of one night Rick appeared to be in a condition that made it unwise to drive himself, so they left his car and drove him home. By the time they got back to the bar, Rick had walked across the golf course, and was waiting for them to pour him another! That’s what friends are for!

       Pine Mountain Club has enjoyed a collection of nice people over the years. Truly a good guy—- funny, caring, interesting, and hard-working—- Rick is one of the best, and I’m proud to call him my friend.

 

Cast of Characters, Chapter 5: The Kellers

      PMC is listed by the State of California as a CDP — a “Census Designated Place”. Not a city,  or even a township, bur certainly more than just a wide spot in the road. A “Community “ for sure. Begun in the very early ‘70’s, that nascent community began with the arrival of just a handful of people: some single, some couples, and a few with their families. Among this earliest group were a couple in their thirties, hired by the developers to run the new PMC Stables. (Equestrian Center would come much later.)

     They weren’t “horse people “ per se— Jerry Keller had been a driver for specialty hauler Bigge Trucking— those huge, long trucks with a jillion wheels that haul cranes, and bridge girders. Jerry and Judy were “people people”: knowledgeable, patient (sometimes to a fault), and easy going. They complemented each other— Jerry was a good listener, and Judy was a talker.

     The Kellers were among the first people we met when we first visited PMC, about 1973. There weren’t as many choices for activities then: the General Store, Clubhouse, Pool, Golf Course, and the Stables. That was it —- no shops, bars, or restaurants. When we bought a lot for a possible future second home, and became weekenders, we often stayed with Jerry and Judy in their boxcar cabin on Freeman Drive — the three of us, a cowhand or two, and Jerry and Judy. Two small bedrooms, one bathroom— all in about 400 square feet. Some of the best times of our lives!

     We weren’t treated as guests— more like family. You were very welcome, but expected to help out with chores, cooking, etc. We were young, and luckily, we learned a lot: about mountain living, about animals, about PMC’s internal workings. And of couse, Judy was willing to share what she knew about everybody that lived in, or visited, Pine Mountain Club. 

     I couldn’t say how many of us had the privilege of having Jerry and Judy as surrogate “parents” over the years they spent at PMC and Mil Potrero Park west of the Community. It would definitely be in the dozens, or more! No one could ever repay the favors that they did for all of us, especially Jerry. Firewood when you ran low, a can if gas, a jump start, a tow, a pull out of a ditch. He really was indispensable. And he never asked for anything in return— although a bottle of George Dickel went a long way in repaying a favor!

     When PMC management and the Kellers were unable to agree on a contract after several years a as managers of the PMC Stables, a new chapter opened up in their lives. Mil Potrero Park, owned by the Westside Recreation District out of Taft, just west of the boundary of Pine Mountain Club at Cedarwood Drive, had an opening for live-in manager/caretaker/maintenance person, camp host (you name it) and Jerry and Judy moved to the park into the onsite mobile home there. With the able assistance of Assistant Gary Morin, the Park became one of the best campgrounds in the area. Many, many parties: weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, barbecues, etc. took place in the Lodge at the park, with its full kitchen, pool tables, and huge fireplace. And lots of shenanigans! Jerry was a master of shenanigans- he once rode his horse through the General Store- to the chagrin of proprietor Floyd Bolton, and to the delight of the rest of us!

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