Tehachapi News

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When some people pass on, as Ben Austin did last week in a highway accident in Idaho, I don't believe it's enough to publish the kind of obituary that lists merely the bare essentials of the deceased's life. Ben deserves more for at least a couple of reasons.

First, he served this community in an unusual number of capacities for many years.

Another reason is that Ben retired and left Tehachapi more than a dozen years ago. Consequently, hundreds of newcomers have never met him and have no idea how much he contributed to this area. I want to make sure they know that Ben served the people of Tehachapi faithfully and well in a succession of important public offices and his positive imprint remains. At various times Ben was a director of Tehachapi Valley Recreation and Parks District, trustee for Tehachapi Unified School District, a Tehachapi City Councilman and lastly, a member of the Kern County Board of Supervisors from which he ultimately retired. Ben never lost an election which is strong evidence of how well he was thought of by so many people, for so long.

In a way, Ben never completely left Tehachapi after he gave up his seat on the board of supervisors. Although he later resided in other states he regularly checked in with his many friends here and maintained a deep interest in local affairs. I could depend on hearing from Ben at least a couple of times a year. The last time he called me was just a few months ago to make sure I was aware that our mutual friend, Lars Oberg, had died in a vehicle accident and to assure himself that

Oberg's many contributions to the community would be properly noted in the paper.
I first met Ben 30 years ago when I became co-publisher and editor of the Tehachapi News. Ben was the sergeant in charge of the Kern County Sheriff's substation at that time. Each week I looked forward to meeting with Ben to collect news on the law enforcement front. Ben and usually one other deputy were responsible for maintaining the peace in a sprawling, unincorporated area stretching from Caliente to Mojave.

Like most people who met Ben, I was initially impressed with his friendly, non-combative attitude. As I got to know him better, I was even more impressed by the respect he showed everybody, in particular the lawbreakers he had to deal with and who are not always shown much kindness.

I got an inkling of why Ben had such a protective feeling toward others who might be thought of as underdogs when I interviewed him for a personal profile in the News. With some emotion, Ben told me of how he and his fellow dust bowl refugees from Oklahoma were often treated like an underclass when they arrived in California in the Depression days of the 1930s. Like so many so-called “Okies”, the Austins were particularly sensitive to this injustice because they had been substantial people back in their home state, who were forced to seek opportunities elsewhere when they were victimized by adverse weather and a near-collapse of the nation's economy.

Ben's mother had been a school teacher in Oklahoma while his father had been a local official. Ben confided to me that the hostile social attitudes he and his family encountered when they first came to California instilled in him a conviction that he would never judge anybody on grounds other than their individual worth.

Over the many years I knew Ben he lived up to that principle. I'll miss him and so will many others who knew him and appreciated his outstanding services to our community.