FRAZIER PARK, Calif. (KERO) — In 1925, Frazier Park and surrounding communities were established as a vacation home community. Celebrating its 100th birthday, locals say the mountain community is so much more and continues to grow.
- A day dedicated to remembering Frazier Park’s history and celebrating its growth.
- Locals gather for the 100th birthday of Frazier Park and surrounding communities.
- The mountains are already planning their next event, with a Movie in the Park on July 12.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
This isn’t your ordinary birthday with candles and cake – or even a birthday person.
On Saturday, locals celebrated 100 years since Frazier Park, Lake of the Woods, and Lockwood Valley were established.
The event started off with a mountain blessing.
Then, they brought in a petting zoo.
Throughout the day, they reflected on the mountain’s history.
Bonnie Ketterl Kane, one of the founders and a curator at the Ridge Route Communities Museum in Frazier Park, shares the upbringing of the mountains.
“The City of Glendale bought this property for second homes for their community… Bakersfield complained, ‘Why aren’t you allowing us in there?’ And that’s how we now have a lot of residents from Bakersfield, too,” said Kane. “These are some of the earliest pictures of our first buildings in this community, at the first pond, and the first roads that were carved.”
While over time, some of the mountain’s landmarks have faced wear and tear, the community has given back to Frazier Park.
Chris Parlier, the Kern County District 2 Supervisor, shares that he’s worked alongside others to start repairing the park – especially ahead of the birthday celebration.
“General services, the parks department with my county, my team, volunteers, we were out here last Saturday painting and sprucing and getting the park ready,” said Parlier. “The bathroom was also completely redone inside and out along with the community building.”
The ceremony brought all ages to the park, including Mary Blanchard.
“It’s pretty exciting but I’m a year older than this park,” said Blanchard.
Blanchard said she’s lived in the mountains since 1948. She recalls when she and her husband first moved in.
“We had just been to a boat race in Bakersfield and a cousin of my husband’s lived across the street. We stopped to see her and my husband said, this is where we wanna live,” said Blanchard. “We came back the next week and bought a house, but it was a livable shell; it wasn’t finished, and my husband finished it, but we moved right in while we were working on it.”
100 years later, the community continues to build on the old and the new.
The mountains are already planning their next event, with a Movie in the Park on July 12.
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