Save Fort Tejon

  • Gunnar Kuepper took this photo of the Fourth of July celebration of 2011 at Fort Tejon State Historic Park, just of the Grapevine in Lebec at the Fort Tejon exit.

    Gunnar Kuepper took this photo of the Fourth of July celebration of 2011 at Fort Tejon State Historic Park, just of the Grapevine in Lebec at the Fort Tejon exit.

July 6, 2011
Dear Editor:

This is a letter to all members of the Mountain Communities.

I recently found out about the closure of Fort Tejon. My father, John Fuess, has volunteered at this community landmark for about 20 years.

I was appalled at the thought of not having the fort operating. Very few parks offer the living history programs at the calibre of Fort Tejon. I am also livid about the closing of 25 percent of our beautiful state parks. It’s horrible to think of so many of our natural and historical treasures shut down and eventually ruined. I am very motivated to do all that I can to keep this amazing historical park open for years to come.

The letter signing at the 4th of July celebration gathered close to 400 letters to submit to our legislators. Thanks to all who attended and showed their support. The wonderful volunteer and visitor turnout was also a small victory.

So many people love this place and don’t want to see it lost, but it will take a lot of hard work to get it out of danger. Please help.

Coca Cola is offering three large grants to the most "popular" American park. Fans vote and send photos or videos to win points. The park with the most points can win $100,000. Second prize is $50,000 and third is $25,000. [Go to www. LIVEPOSITIVELY.com   to the "vote" page,  enter the name: Fort Tejon State Historic Park, click on "map" then click on the location and cick on "vote." You can vote as many times as you want. You can come back every day to vote. Add photos and videos to earn even more vote points to win support for the ‘Save Fort Tejon’ campaign].

Basically, points are accrued by voting or uploading photos. Each person can vote up to 20 times a day. Karina Mooradian and I have done it twice and between votes and photos, we went from being ranked 482 up to 59th place with just 175 votes. I think this fundraiser has not hit the masses yet and could be a great way to raise money for our effort.

Please take a few minutes a day to show your support for this local treasure.

Sara Fuess, Bakersfield
(formerly of Cuddy Valley)

This is part of the July 08, 2011 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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