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!

Alice's Restaurant

I'm sure many of you have seen this, and wondered. It's just north of the intersection of Hwy 33 and Cerro Noroeste Rd. (Hudson Ranch Rd.) Forty-some years ago, and for many years prior to that, it was a working gas station, with a little food counter and a cold case for beer and soda. It was owned (and run) by Alice Reyes and her sister. Alice's late husband was a truck driver who was killed driving on Hwy 33 (many years before any of us met her). She had a sign behind the counter that said "Pray for Me-- I drive 33".
Alice's was a sort-of halfway stop between PMC and Maricopa, or Taft. It took a while to drive the 37 miles from PMC to Buck's Steak House in Maricopa, or The White Elephant in Taft-- the back road was not as "good" as it is now, and the 3 miles from Cedarwood Dr. to Mt. Abel Road (Cerro Noroeste Rd.) was "unpaved" -- meaning a one-lane, dirt, pot-hole filled, rock-strewn, mountain road, that turned to deep mud in anything wetter than a heavy dew.
We would all pile into one or two (or 3) vehicles (no seatbelts) and head down the hill. Alice's was in an ideal spot: we were usually getting low on beer, and some had to get rid of the beer they had already consumed. Alice sold beer--perfect! If anybody was low on gas, they could tank-up, too. (The nearest gas station to PMC was in Lake of the Woods.)
Alice (and her sister) were "interesting characters." Her last name : "Reyes" was the same family that gave its name to Reyes Peak, and Reyes Creek. They were around a long time. Some people (not any of us) nick-named her "Dirty Alice", mostly due to the fact that the inside of the "store" was less than clean, and she and her sister kept company with who-knows-how-many cats. The place had a certain distinctive "fragrance" -- something like "Eau de Cat Box" that clung to you after you left.
Alice was plain-spoken, and did not take crap from anyone. She loved to take the average smart-ass down a notch or two. One time, noticing a rifle mounted on a rack on the wall, a guy (not me) asked her if she could shoot. She replied "I can shoot the balls off a piss-ant at 50 yards! Tell ya what, sonny, walk across the highway there, drop yer drawers and bend over, and I'll show ya!"

Once Upon a Time...

This photo was taken in February, 1976, from the parking area at the PMC Stables (now Equestrian Center). If you check the photo closely, you'll be surprised how much ISN'T in it.

Your Taxes at Work

     Visitors and newcomer residents of PMC and the surrounding communities are mostly unaware that many of the "amenities" in the National Forest and in Kern County recreational areas are not in very good shape, to say the least. Many would (wrongly) assume that the way things are now is the way they've always been, which couldn't be further from the truth.

     With few exceptions, (Lampkin Park in PMC, the drought effects notwithstanding, McGill Campground on Mt Pinos, and most of Frazier County Park are well-maintained), the majority of parks and campgrounds in this area are in very sad shape. This was not always so.

     Just west of the intersection of Cuddy Valley Road and Mil Potrero Highway is the remnants of what was once commonly referred to as the "Y Camp", for "YMCA". The youth organization leased the property from the USFS (probably on a 99-year lease--common in the latter part of the 19th century, and well into the 20th.) When we first came to Pine Mountain, the Y Camp was thriving: well-kept cabins with fireplaces, and a main lodge with a commercial-quality kitchen and a huge stone fireplace. There was a sparkling swimming pool (now empty, but still there), and throngs of city kids who had a chance to spend a week or two each summer "in the woods." For whatever reasons, undisclosed by the Forest Service or the YMCA to anyone I know, the lease was not renewed when it expired in the 80's. A non-profit organization tried (unsuccessfully) to re-open the camp as a summer retreat for troubled youth, and after a few years, let their lease go unused. The camp, now off limits to anyone, fell more and more into disrepair. Today, most, or all, of the windows are broken, trees have fallen on a couple of the cabins, and the whole facility is oh-so-slowly succumbing to the forces of nature (and vandalism), so that some day soon the only thing recognizable remaining may be the buildings' foundations (and that fireplace).

     Like sad bookends, the campground just to the west of Pine Mountain Club could tell a very similar story of boom and bust. Mil Potrero Park, along with next-door neighbor Camp Condor, and the Mt. Abel Ski Lodge on top of Cerro Noroeste, has seen much better days. Also a long-term USFS lease, Mil Potrero Park was (is?) part of the Westside Recreation District, based in the City of Taft. Also built in the earth 20th century, the Park had a beautiful, well-kept campground, a playground, and a swimming pool. Until the Pine Mountain Club clubhouse was enlarged, the lodge at Mil Potrero Park was the largest gathering place around. It boasted a huge fireplace, a nice kitchen, and good restrooms. (important for those big parties, and wedding receptions.) What was Mil Potrero Park like in its heyday? Imagine any of the nicer campgrounds in the national parks---with well-kept camping spots, picnic tables and clean fire-pits; with large well-lit bathrooms (flush toilets and hot showers) and a well-furnished log-style lodge room with pool tables, ping-pong, and other games, and a roaring fire on cool evenings.
     
     For many of those good years, the Park was maintained with love by Jerry & Judy Keller. They lived in a mobile home on the grounds, with two or three or more Australian Shepherd dogs, at cat or three, and hundreds of humming birds. More about the Kellers when I get to telling stories about "pioneers".

     In the late 80's and early nineties, Taft, largely dependent on oil revenues for a big part of their budget, was going through a difficult time as Kern River crude oil plunged to around $8.00 a barrel (!). Outlying recreation facilities, and their need for full-time upkeep, became an expensive luxury. The Forest Service, at about the same time, required expensive repairs and clean-up of the fuel tanks on the property, as well as upgrades to the water system. Over a few years, the District cut back funds to run the Park, until it abandoned its claim to the property. A few years later, the Boy Scouts tried to utilize the Park for their programs, and (reportedly) spent a lot of time, effort, and money trying to make the Park facilities usable, all the while (again, reportedly) having to jump through a number of USFS hoops. It seems the Boy Scouts have thrown in the towel as well. The rounds of broken windows and other vandalism, as well as weather related damage, have begun.

      From the time they were developed, until the late 90's, virtually all of the campgrounds in the area, both federal and county, had running water, and regular trash pickup. The state water resources control board (SWRCB) decided that ALL water available for drinking, cooking, etc. in any public facility HAD to be treated, even if the source of the water was a pristine mountain spring (as most of the local ones were). Subsequently, ALL of the water supplies for the campgrounds and parks were shut off, unless they were connected to a treated water system (almost none could be). Due to Forest Service cutbacks, trash service in the campground has been significantly reduced as well. (In most cases, trash cans have been replaced with a few "centrally located" dumpsters. ---Progress...

Grandpa, tell me about the rain!

    In the middle of a lingering drought, when it seems it may never rain again, I thought I'd tell a few stories about the times we had more rain and snow than we could handle.
     When we first started coming to PMC 40+ years ago, California (at least the southern half of California) was in the middle of a "dry spell" -- not really a drought, but significantly less rainfall than average. The overall precipitation for the whole region had been below average for a time, but the greater Frazier Park/Pine Mountain Club area got enough snow and rainfall to keep the lakes and ponds near full year-round, and the creeks and streams running all year as well. The small lake in Cuddy Valley always had plenty of water in it; Cuddy Creek ran all year from Lake of the Woods through Frazier Park and Lebec, all the way to Castac (now Tejon) Lake, which rarely ran dry, even in late summer--without supplements from the California Water Project. Bernina and Woodland Creeks ran full enough to make a white-water waterfall at the bottom of Woodland Drive at Mil Potrero Highway. The pinion pines from the top of the S-curves all the way to the "Y' had long strands of Spanish moss on their north-facing sides. Water flowed on the west side of Lampkin Park, and the area where the new Fire Station is was a swamp. The creek flowed under Mil Potrero Highway into the upper pond on the golf course, out to the second pond, and into Fern's Lake. The creek flowed over the dam, and then spread out into the lower pasture, much of which was like a grassy bog. By the time the creek passed the gate at the entrance to the canyon trail, it was usually too big (wide) to jump across without getting wet (except in the latest months of summer.) The area to the north of Mil Potrero Highway at the turnout past Yellowstone that is now a grassy area used to be a swamp, as well.
     But the winters even then were far from "wet". Most of the precipitation came in the form of snow, and usually in one or two big storms. In March, 1974, we got 4-5 feet of snow in 36 hours (at the Clubhouse elevation), and in January 1976, we got 6+ feet in 48 hours. It snowed all the way down to Castaic and Wheeler Ridge on I-5. The Interstate was closed for four days. Cuddy Valley Road was snowed over at Lake of the Woods (by Mike's Pizza), with drifts higher than a jacked-up 4x4. Three guys in their trucks almost froze to death when they ran into the wall of snow and got stuck. It was a white-out, and they tried to keep warm in their stalled trucks, not being able to see the occupied homes just a few yards away.
     County Roads Department was able to make Cuddy Valley Rd. passable after 4 days by requisitioning a snow-blower from eastern Kern County. After that storm, the weather got extremely dry for several months, well into 1977. The climatologists predicted a long-lasting, cold, period of drought, that could last as long as twenty years or more. (!) The "New Ice-Age" they called it. (!)
     This is why so many of us old-timers ☺ scoff at "climate-change" or whatever. After the weather gurus had predicted an extended period of drought, in October, 1977, a new weather phenomenon reared it's infantile head: :EL NIÑO !!!  It rained, and RAINED, and R-A-I-N-E-D. Over 12 inches in two and a half days (at 5500 feet), then a few days with showers, then more storms--for weeks. The creeks flooded, the highways had mud slides and rock slides. San Emigdio Creek flooded the canyon almost wall-to-wall, and the ensuing rush of water washed out Highway 166 west of Interstate 5- miles and miles to the north. By Spring, the water (mostly from the Kern River) had flooded all the fields east of Highway 99 almost to Mettler. At that time, you could have taken a small boat from Sandrini Road north and sailed through to the remains of Tulare Lake, and on to the San Joaquin River out to the San Francisco Bay!
     In the middle of this first El Niño, in December, 1977, a terrible windstorm struck Kern County. A cold, dry East wind blew down off the desert, trying to fill a huge low-pressure cell off the western coast. Gathering speed and tons of dust as it headed west, in places it topped 200 miles-per-hour as it crossed the hills at the base of the Grapevine, stripping the topsoil from the northeast faces of the hills. (If you look at the hillsides near the top of the hills on both sides of the highway just before you get to Grapevine going south, you can still see the lateral streaks on the land where the soil was stripped away). The choking dust trapped many drivers in their vehicles on the Interstate, and on the highways to the west towards Maricopa--some for almost two days. The dust choked the engines and stopped the cars and trucks in their tracks. To my knowledge, no one died, but in the aftermath of the windstorm, more El Niño rain caused the barren hillsides to turn to mudflows, and a woman driving on the freeway was swept to her death as her car was trapped in a huge mudflow and crammed into a huge drainpipe. (The vertical gullies from those flows are also still visible today on those same hillsides, and in the lower parts of Grapevine Canyon.)
      The rainy weather had another effect that winter-- it didn't snow--or at least it didn't stick-- in and around PMC. What snow fell was so wet that it melted right away. There was a small accumulation of snow on the very highest streets, but hardly enough to require a snowplow. On top of the mountain was a different story: more than 26 FEET of snow accumulated on the upper slopes of Mount Pinos, Sawmill Mountain, and Cerro Noroeste.
      El Niño-type weather patterns occurred in the early eighties and again in the early nineties, with similar results--flooding, mud/rock slides, downed trees, etc. Frazier Park and Lake of the Woods had to shore up the banks of Cuddy Creek through those communities with the use of "gabions" --large rocks enclosed in heavy wire cages that held them in place against the flowing water. Otherwise, the rushing water would so undermine the creek banks causing their collapse, and the structures above would end up in the creek. (some did). The remaining gabions can be seen at the edge of the creek, on the north side, just after crossing the most western bridge in Frazier Park. Cuddy Creek has been dry for so long, it's hard to believe that that much water ever flowed there. For a perspective on extreme rainfall and streamflows: Piru Creek, which drains some of the area directly to the south of PMC, on the south side of  Mt. Pinos (primarily Lockwood Valley), has some historical streamflow data available (1938 to 1969). In 1969, which was a wet year, but not near as wet as 1977-78, the peak stream flow of Piru Creek was over 35,000 cubic feet per second. That's about 262 thousand gallons per second.
     When will the next wet period happen? If I knew, I'd say so. The climatologists were predicting an El Niño for this winter-- In May, they gave it better than a 70% chance. The last I looked, the chance was under 50 % (a weak bet at best), so time will tell. Historically, 20- and even 50-year droughts were not unheard-of in this region. (Let's hope not.)
     We could always ask the Chumash to do a traditional rain dance. I've been told it was always 100% effective--- they didn't stop dancing until it rained.☺