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Teresa Magart and Ryan Young moved to Tehachapi in January with their two-and-a-half year old daughter, Skylar. They came from Wrightwood, an area in the San Bernardino Mountains that is known primarily for snow skiing. They had looked for three years for a place that would fill all their requirements. Ryan is a biological consultant and for the last 15 years has been studying the tortoise in the Mojave Desert. He needed their new home to be near his work and be a place where he could pursue his hobby – flying. They also needed a place with room for the eight chickens they were bringing from Wrightwood and for the possible addition of horses. Their new Tehachapi house filled the bill plus they loved the sense of community here.

Teresa is from the Great Falls area of Montana. She has a sister and three brothers. Two of them are still in Montana. She also worked in biology and met Ryan while they were surveying the desert. While in Wrightwood she began teaching the use of essential oils as a safe, natural way to maintain family health. She hopes to continue that business here in Tehachapi. She and Skylar are also active with a toddler group at Tehachapi Valley Parks and Recreation. She loves to garden, run and do yoga.

Ryan was born in Northern California and got his degree from San Francisco State. Teresa said that the majority of his tortoise work is for the energy sector involving transmissions lines. Ryan has one brother, a physical therapist, who is moving to Central California after spending 15 years in Spain. Ryan’s free time is spent accumulating hours in his 2009 Piper aircraft.

Skylar loves the chickens and several of them don’t seem to mind when she picks them up and carries them around.

Aside from the chickens, there is Maggie May a five year old retriever mix who was rescued from the Victorville pound, two kitties named Watson and Pinkie and assorted guppies, betas and tetras. Teresa said that they plan to have more animals.

Welcome Teresa, Ryan and Skylar. Anyone interested in contacting Teresa for information on essential oils can contact her at mydoterra.com/teresamagart.

Ryan and Renee Souder lived in Glendora, California, for five years. Their children were born there. It was Ryan’s work as a firefighter in Quartz Hill that first prompted the couple to make the move north. They also had friends in this area which was another plus. They discovered the natural beauty of the mountains of Tehachapi and Bear Valley Springs and decided that was where they wanted to live.

Ryan has been a firefighter for ten years. He told me that at Quartz Hill he is on what is called “Kelly Schedule” giving him the opportunity for some quality family time. Kelly Schedule has become very popular with fire department and emergency services and basically uses three teams to insure that a department has 24/7 coverage. Each team works 24 hours on, 24 hours off, 24 hours on, 24 hours off, 24 hours on followed by four days off duty.

Ryan was born in Pasadena and raised in Southern California. He has two sisters and a brother and his family still lives in that area. He said that his hobbies are anything outdoors, especially hunting and fishing.

Renee was born in Los Angeles at Kaiser Hospital on Sunset Boulevard. She told me that she has quite an assortment of siblings - one full, two half and two step – and that they are scattered throughout Southern California. She worked in IT for Kaiser Permanente for ten years before entering the field of real estate. She plans to become involved with that business again in the future here in Tehachapi. In the meantime, she says that she enjoys painting - mostly furniture and cabinets.

Ryan and Renee have their hands full at home with their two children, five year old Ashlyn and three year old Owen. Seth, their rescue Lab, fills out this very active family.

“Welcome to Tehachapi!” to the entire Souder household.

If you have moved to the Greater Tehachapi Area within the last six months and would like to know more about your new community, call 661-822-8188. We will be happy to make an appointment for a hostess to come by and give you lots of helpful information, some valuable coupons, gifts and much more. Many families and individuals who come to the area are pleasantly surprised with the amount of knowledge they gather about their new home. Publishing your welcome article is completely voluntary and is not a requirement of being welcomed.