The Loop Newspaper - Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide

It was on a road trip, looking for an affordable place to buy a home, that Ma Belle Ammie (Ammie) Graves-Fisher and her husband Anthony Fisher discovered Tehachapi. Long Beach, where they were living, was not affordable so they decided to look towards the desert. They were amazed at the amount of green in Tehachapi, certainly more appealing than the desert, and it was affordable. They moved into their Stallion Springs home in February. Once settled, Ammie could focus on her business, Alligator Rose. She found a location on Mill Street in downtown Tehachapi and also began selling her handmade soaps, balms and oils at the Farmer’s Market on Thursday evenings. In addition, Ammie makes lovely jewelry featuring stones and crystals which is also on display at Farmer’s Market. You can learn more about Alligator Rose in the article at the beginning of this paper.

Ammie was born in Mountain View, CA but said that she lived off and on in San Francisco. She was adopted at the age of 12 but did not have a good relationship with the family. She eventually found her birth mother and they have formed a bond. She also found out that she has three half siblings. Her first marriage failed but it gave her Storme, her beautiful daughter who is now completing a degree in Community Health at Cal State Long Beach. Ammie said that Storme has worked since high school and currently does some modeling for Alligator Rose among others.

It was during what Ammie described as a spiritual awakening in 2000 that sent her on her current path. She learned that she was part Cherokee and Choctaw Indian and that her great grandfather walked the notorious Trail of Tears. Over the last seventeen years she said that she has connected with many Native American Christians. She is now a licensed minister and plans a space at her business where those in need can come in a time of crisis. The spiritual also extends to her singing and song-writing.

It was about seventeen years ago when she began to think about finding a life partner. She said that she asked for a man in her life but how would she know if he was the right one. She made a list, every characteristic she would want in a mate. The list included height (6’1”) and weight (about 180lbs) and he would love water. She rolled the list up, put it in a corked bottle and put it in a fish tank. She prayed that she would someday meet a man that matched her list and the list would remain in the tank until then.

About four years later, while working with teachers at the Christian Educators Association International (CEAI), she got a call from the association head telling her that she needed to accompany her daughter’s school field trip with no other explanation. She agreed. The field trip happened to be a whale watching trip. Anthony Fisher was the captain of that whale watching boat. They began dating. He was, she found out, about 6’1” and 180 pounds and loved water.

Anthony was born in Lancaster, PA, in the middle of Amish country. Although he is not Amish he grew up with Amish influence in his life and he still has friends who live there. He is an only child. When it was found that he had childhood cancer, his family moved to Los Angeles to be near the City of Hope where he was treated. He had cancer twice before becoming cancer free.

He loved being near the water. As a kid he would volunteer to work on the fishing boats. He has been a captain for about 17 years and spent many of those years on sport fishing boats. He and Ammie now own their own sport fishing boat but it is for their own personal use. Anthony now captains a tug boat in San Pedro harbor. He works two weeks on and then can come home to Tehachapi for two weeks where he can go hiking, do a little gardening, and spend time with Ammie. Ammie said that he also likes to pan for gold if he can find the time.

Alligator Rose is named for her Fire Point Siamese Cat Rose who, when in attack mode, reminded Ammie of an alligator. Rose is joined by Bit, a California Spangled Cat and a Siberian Husky named Daisy.

Welcome to Tehachapi, Ammie, Anthony and Alligator Rose.

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.