Don and Mary Lahey
Don Lahey
My twin sister and I were born in Brooklyn, New York on September 5, 1941. While barely out of diapers, our young family moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana. My dad worked for the oil refinery business there until the end of WWII. Our next home was in Santa Monica, California.
I attended Santa Monica High, and Santa Monica College. I graduated from Long Beach State, where I studied Architecture and Industrial Design. During my final year in college, I enlisted in the Navy as a Photo Intelligence Specialist. In 1968 after graduating, I went to work for IBM. I worked at IBM for 14 years in upstate New York. I designed System 370 computer mainframes and a variety of other computer products. I was also part of the litigation team in San Francisco defending IBM from being chopped into small pieces like AT&T’s dismantlement.
My next chapter was working for Hewlett Packard in Palo Alto, California primarily at their headquarters location. I was the Director of Design Technology programs in HP’s business groups. The groups were: Test & Measurement, Medical, Analytical, and Computer. They were scattered throughout the US, Europe and Asia. I was also Vice President of the Industrial design Society of America and on the board of the Design Management Institute.
When I retired, I bought a dozen acres in Placerville, California. I rebuilt the old farmhouse, fenced the acreage and planted hundreds of cherry, apple, peach and pear trees. The last task was to plant Petite Sirah, Tempranillo and Sangiovese wine grape varietals. Two the my three varietals won double gold awards at the California State Fair.
For years i had been trying to locate my college girlfriend’s roommate, Mary. We had met one another at Long Beach State in 1962. Sixty years have gone by, and it’s now 2012 on my farm. I received a surprising message on my answering machine from Mary. Mary asked, “Are you the surfer dude from Long Beach State?”. We got married in 2015.
After 38 years of corporate life and 20 years of farming, Mary and I decided it was time to come back home. In 2016 we purchased a real fixer-upper with a great view in Fallbrook. We told those we knew up North, we’re not moving to LA, we’re headed to paradise, Fallbrook.
During our first 6 years in Fallbrook, we had no idea there was historical museum. This all changed when we attended the donation ceremony of William Pittenger’s Civil War sword to the the Fallbrook Historical Society. That day we became members of FHS, and eventually docents and curators of the Pittenger House. I was asked to join the Board of Directors 3 years ago. What a delight contributing to the FHS team, conducting tours and being involved in the many FHS activities.
Mary Lahey
I was born and raised in South Gate, California. Attended East Los Angeles Junior College followed by Long Beach State. Eager for a new lifestyle, I moved to Aspen, Colorado, where I lived for 14 years. I married an Art Collector in Aspen. Together we opened a fine art galley specializing in Eskimo art and artifacts from Alaska and Canada. Just the artifacts included: numerous whalebone items, carved masks (some funny, others scary), large whale vertebra and baleen fronds (8 feet long). A prized artifact, which we still have, is a stunning ceremonial woman’s garment made from Snow Geese breast-skins trimmed in ermine. It fits both me and Aspen socialite, Cher. She bowed out of making the expensive purchase.
The next move was Taos, New Mexico. WE started an art publishing business featuring Taos and Santa Fe artists, producing hand-pulled serigraphs of their work. This placed us in the center of an area alive with art galleries and Taos Pueblo ceremonies and goods. Many of the Pueblo women were fabulous weavers and the men crafted irresistible sterling silver and turquoise jewelry.
Tucson, Arizona was our next destination. We became fascinated with the beautifully created ceramic pots form Mata Ortiz, a village in Chihuahua, Mexico. Mata Ortiz potters were amazing. We were introduced to the potter at a gallery in Sedona. Thew artists produced beautiful fine coil pots which they fired and hand painted. The painting was fastidious. Their brushes were made of children’s hair. No two pots were ever the same, they were all originals. It was quite a drive from Tucson, but we made frequent trips to Mata Ortiz and became well acquainted with top potters. We would call on them at their homes, meeting their families and seeing their lives. The locals invited us to their community barbecues, so much fun. Visiting and purchasing inventory was a wonderful experience. We became importers and brokers, transporting the pots from Mexico to the States.
Retirement brought us back to Colorado. The marriage dissolved after 33 years. I met Don in college (some 63 years ago). During that time he dated and later married my college roommate. I now thought of him. Where was he? I received his phone number from another roommate, and discovered he was living in Placerville, California. In no time at all, we were happily living together. Don and I just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary and Fallbrook residency. As retirees, we truly enjoy volunteering as docents for the FHS Museum and Pittenger House.
