At the end of last summer, Melody and Jake Daily moved to Tehachapi from Los Angeles. For Melody, it was closer to her family but mostly it was the weather, friendly people and the small-town-feel of Tehachapi that attracted the couple.

Melody is from Bakersfield. Her father, grandparents and aunts are still there. She was lured away to the “big city” in 2006 when she moved to Los Angeles. For some time she managed a spa in West Los Angeles.

Jake spent his early years in Spokane, Wash. and has one older sister. After high school, he attended Dallas Theological Seminary in Texas. However, accounting was also his field and he spent some time as corporate controller at Washington State University. He eventually went on to get his Master’s Degree in Biblical Studies in Los Angeles. That is when he met Melody, on eHarmony.

Now they are here in Tehachapi and Jake is Corporate Controller for Castle and Cook in Bakersfield and Melody is eyeing a bakery business. She says that she grew up in the kitchen and loves to bake. She started Front Porch Bakery last fall and her home kitchen is a permitted bakery. She has displayed some of her delicacies, primarily sweets, at Gallery ‘n’ Gifts First Fridays and I can attest to the fact that they are delicious. She will have a booth at Farmers Market beginning June 2, and also plans to be at the Hot Dog Festival on July 4th , the Springtyme Faire, and the Arts and Crafts Fair on Mountain Festival weekend. Her dream is to someday open a bakery cafe.

Aside from baking, Melody loves to garden and read. Jake rides his motorcycle. For now Melody is content to ride on the back but looks forward to a motorcycle of her own in the future. Although they have no children, they do have plenty of company in their two young dogs- a dachshund named Pippet and a Jack Russell named Fergie.

Welcome Jake and Melody and we’ll be seeing Back Porch Bakery at the Farmers Market.

When I asked Scott and Dawn Fair what brought them to Tehachapi from their seemingly ideal home on Whidbey Island, Wash., they said simply – 12 grandchildren. Of course the natural beauty of the area and the change of seasons also helped. With them came two Labrador Retrievers, Honey and Bear, a blue and gold Macaw named Whidbey, an African grey named Tomi and a cat named Bandito. Shortly after their arrival, Honey added 10 more Retrievers. It was her first litter. I never realized how many colors there could be in one breed. Four of them are chocolate, three are light silver, one is dark silver and two are charcoal. By the way, anyone interested in acquiring any of these little pups, can find them on the website caninestud.com. Their eyes were not even open when I visited but by now they should be just about the right size.

Anyway, back to Dawn and Scott. Dawn was born in Buffalo, New York, but the family moved to California when she was three. She said they lived all over from San Diego to San Francisco and settled in Woodland Hills near Los Angeles. Her mother worked as a PBX operator or business telephone operator to our younger generation. Dawn spent 23 years doing mortgage work for Freddy Mack. She has a son in Ridgecrest who has seven children and a daughter in Thousand Oaks with two.

Scott was born at Doctors Hospital in downtown Los Angeles. His mother worked for Lockheed and his dad for North American Rockwell. The family moved to Granada Hills where there were range trees and then on to Simi Valley. He attended Royal High School and became an Eagle Scout before joining the Navy. Scott was a studio transportation driver for 32 years and he said that over the years, he has driven all the big names including Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. Scott also has a daughter with three sons.

Dawn and Scott have been together for the last 30 years. They moved to Whidbey Island after they visited a friend there. For seven years Scott commuted to Los Angeles for work. Dawn worked as a hair stylist owning her own salon. Now they are back in California and looking forward to doing retirement things once the puppies are gone.

Welcome to the entire Fair menagerie.

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.