Don and I met in college and got married after we graduated. We got our degrees in psychology so naturally we decided to go into retail.

Don worked for a big home center and I worked in retail banking. We both enjoyed helping our customers solve problems and help them in our respective jobs.

Banking was changing and the home center Don worked for was sold so it was time for us to make a change. In 1982 we found this store and took over January, 1983. It has been an adventure ever since but we are still in the business to help our customers solve problems.

I have been on the register lately. I love talking to our customers to find out what their projects are and how they are doing.

Customers often tell me we carry items they cannot find elsewhere. In fact, it isn't unusual for them to say they have looked everywhere for the particular item only to find it here, in their neighborhood True Value store.

We not only sell the items we also use the items we sell. We know what works and can give our customers helpful practical hints. We have been in Tehachapi for 32 years and have tuned our inventory to fit our customers' needs, especially in this unique community.

It is not difficult to determine what to carry – customers tell us. Through the years customers moving in from other areas have requested Special Orders for products they cannot live without. As a result, and through using the product ourselves, these products have become part of our permanent inventory.

Just recently we brought in bulk Walk-On Bark and Pioneer Planter Mix because of customer requests.

We also brought in more Kellogg products such as the Harvest Supreme, which we used when we planted our vegetables and they are thriving.

My potatoes are doing well because I am using perlite to mix with the soil to make it less dense. Our customers purchase their vegetables, fruit trees, grapes, berries, shade trees, etc. here because we carry the plants that survive and thrive.

Years ago we brought in rolls of vinyl tablecloth, clear vinyl and vinyl used for upholstery.

When I was a kid the tablecloth was actually "oilcloth" but now it is made out of vinyl and doesn't crack like it did back then. (Unfortunately, I'm old enough to remember my mom getting mad at us for chipping off the cracks.)

Whatever your project or home repair problem is you can get the right advice and product here. We are here to help you get the project done and get back to the things you like to do.

Start right. Start here. Pioneer True Value, 20901 South St., Old Town.

661-822-6806.