Longtime Tehachapi resident and dedicated community volunteer Del Troy, a Tehachapi treasure, is turning 99 years old, and she was recently honored with a birthday party and commendation from the city of Tehachapi, presented by Tehachapi Mayor Joan Pogon-Cord.
Del was a founder of the Tehachapi Heritage League, the Tehachapi Mountain Quilters Guild, Tomo Kahni Resource Center, Friends of the Depot, the local historical murals committee, and many more contributions. The archival library at the Tehachapi Museum is named the Del Troy Research Library in her honor. She has been the epitome of an inspired, helpful community leader.
As I have said in the past, when she has been celebrated for her many years of service, “They couldn’t have chosen a better person to honor, since there are no finer people than Del.”
So how do you become the Citizen of the Century, as Del genuinely is? Well, her story started quite unpromisingly, as a little motherless child raised during the Depression years.
Endelva “Del” Reed was born in the small Pennsylvania town of Cressona, near Schuykill Haven on Feb. 27, 1926. Her mother died of pneumonia when Del was only 5 weeks old. Her mother’s sister was then going to raise her, but soon she herself got sick and passed away — Del’s grandparents had five children, all of whom lived to adulthood, yet her grandparents outlived four out of their five children. Del was raised by her maternal grandparents, who were Pennsylvania Dutch.
The term, an inaccurate rendition of “Deutch,” or German, refers to people of German descent who immigrated to that portion of Pennsylvania, and Del grew up understanding both English and the German dialect of her grandparents.
Her ancestors were part of a group of German immigrants who came to the U.S. about the same time, and then moved from New York down the Susquehanna River to the Tuplehocken area of Pennsylvania in 1720 and formed a community.
Del’s name Endelva got shortened to Del when she was in high school. She was an industrious girl who worked at a “five and dime” store after school, then on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. She also made a lot of her own clothes, including her graduation dress and then later, her own wedding dress.
Del’s sewing talent helped get her a job with a company making blankets, shrouds and other covering items for the funeral industry. She worked there both during and after high school.
Del Reed’s life changed when she married Vincent Troy shortly after she graduated from high school. Del came of age during World War II, and like so many other young Americans at the time, her husband was in the military.
The Troys came to California in 1945 when the Navy stationed Vince in Stockton. Del took a civilian job with the Navy Department, both in Stockton and later in Long Beach when her husband was assigned to the USS Iowa, which was anchored there.
The Troys moved to Tehachapi in 1958 when Vince, a recently-graduated physician, took a job with Drs. Harold and Madge Schlotthauer, the husband and wife couple who owned Tehachapi Hospital at the time. Del and Vince raised their children, Steve and Debbie, in Tehachapi.
In addition to the groups I mentioned earlier, Del also used to be one of the leads for the American Heart Association in this area, collecting donations.
Her quilting ability is legendary, and she has made many prize-winning quilts and wall hangings.
Del also worked for many years to help get the Tomo Kahni site in Sand Canyon made into a state park, and she has been a true friend to the Nuwä (Kawaiisu or Southern Paiute) people, and she was given the Indian name Pashaab Aya, “Pretty Turtle,” because she is beautiful and loves turtles and tortoises.
I met Del when I was only 11 years old, and visited the old Tehachapi Museum when it was located in a small building at the Railroad Park. I was a weird little kid who liked history and antiques, and so she offered to give me a ride to Tehachapi Heritage League field trips and meetings. We’ve been dear friends ever since.
She is now 99, and though her mobility is more limited, her intellect remains strong. This classy, ladylike and hard-working woman is truly a blessing for the Tehachapi area.
Del Troy has been one of the most special, inspiring and unselfish people I’ve ever met, and she has helped me and many others and, as Fred Rogers once phrased it, “loved us into being.” I am one of many people in Tehachapi who are grateful for the kindness, beauty and grace with which she has showered her family, friends and the Tehachapi area. Congratulations and thank you Del, for all that you have done, and for the remarkable example you have set.
Have a good week.
Jon Hammond has written for Tehachapi News for more than 40 years. Send email to tehachapimtnlover@gmail.com.