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| We wanted to introduce you to some special friends we hope you will find interesting and inspirational. |
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| Ms Senior California of 2006 |
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 In 2004, at age 67, Patricia Starr participated in a Transcontinental Bicycle Trek that took her across 10 states and 3,622 miles to raise money for a musical scholarship. We share her many accomplishments with you because she is a person who inspires many.
Patricia Eliason was born on June 4, 1937, in the “big town” of Wahoo, Nebraska (population 2,000) and essentially “grew up in a nearby corn field.”
From the standpoint of music, Patricia’s early childhood was uneventful until the day when an automobile broke down in front of the family’s home and Patricia’s Dad fixed the problem with dispatch. When the car’s driver gratefully offered payment to Mr. Eliason, he politely declined, considering it merely a good neighbor act. Whereupon the gentleman offered to provide some free piano lessons to the young, interested bystander. Now it turns out that the “nice man” making this offer was actually a highly competent piano teacher by the name of Thomas Allpress.
To say that Patricia was an apt student of piano would clearly be an understatement. Within 4 years she had actually become a professional musician, giving piano lessons to private students at her home and playing the organ at the local Swedish Lutheran Church.
Bicycle riding was just another normal activity for lively teenagers, but she always had a particular zest for bicycling!
Patricia was definitely a “depression baby!” During Patricia’s high school years, both she and her mother worked as waitresses at a local café and saved their tips to pay for the train ride to Los Angeles one notable Christmastime to visit Patricia’s sister and family. The climatic contrasts between wintry Nebraska and sunny Southern California was so striking that Patricia resolved to come West for good some day. But first came Luther Junior College (Wahoo, Nebraska) where Patricia began studies for Secondary Vocal and Instrumental Education, and college at University of Nebraska (Lincoln) and Nebraska Wesleyan (Lincoln). Following four years of strenuous but productive studies and participation, financed by personal work earnings and various scholarships, Patricia now had her desired academic degrees and headed west to Los Angeles and a teaching career at the tender age of 20, having squeezed 5 years of courses into 4 regular academic years plus summer schools!
In 1973, she funded and operated The Santa Barbara School of Music where 18 different musical instruments were taught via a staff of some 12 part-time teachers.
The SBSOM undoubtedly would have continued for more than its 4 years, save for the disastrous Sycamore Fire of July that wiped out all of Patricia’s earthly possessions, forcing her to close the school and to retrench completely.
Throughout her student and adult years, Patricia has remained grateful for the scholarship aid she benefited from personally. This has culminated in her recent establishment of the Patricia Starr Music Scholarship Endowment Fund at Santa Barbara City College. She is “so appreciative of all who help to make the SBCC Scholarship sail into perpetuity!!! This was Patricia’s stated goal and resolve, even as she was arduously training for the forthcoming transcontinental bicycle trek that would launch her fundraising to establish her SBCC Scholarship!
The 10-state. coast-to-coast bicycle trip was not sponsored or formally regulated, but operated on the “honor system.” It commenced at the shores of the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, Oregon on June 20, 2004 with some 46 cyclists and a single non-cyclist (Gabriel) in the entourage. The youngest cyclist was a 16-year old boy, who rode alongside his Dad, an athletic coach from Maine. The oldest man was 71 years old, only 4 years older than Patricia (age 67), who was the oldest female to pedal the whole distance. (A 69-year old lady cyclist was in the group but needed to spend a lot of time in the “sag wagon.”) The route would pass through some eight interior states before terminating in the Atlantic coastal city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, scheduled for Day Number 50 of bicycling. Route selection had been influenced, in part, by the availability of adequate capacity motels along the way, for the entourage swelled to as many as 56 at times, including cyclists, spouses, friends, and staff, which including watchful doctors who were always ready to step in and prevent potentially harmful cyclist overexertion.
The route distance had been calculated as some 3,622 miles, corresponding to an average of some 72 miles per day! But these numbers for total distance and daily mileage average proved to be overly optimistic, for detours were encountered from time and the cyclists occasionally “got lost.” As a result, most of the days required between 80 and 100 miles of pedaling, and eight days actually involved between 100 and 120 miles of pedaling!!! And this included traversing several major mountain ranges, lots of steep hills, the Great Plains, the Great Lakes, and even the Niagara River, all by pre-selected highways. The weather would be unpredictable and might become difficult at times. It would have to be dealt with by the cyclists as best they could, as would the tough grades, the blazing sun, and all the other adversities that awaited them. And from her youth, Patricia was well aware of the violent weather potentials of “Tornado Alley” and Midwest thunderstorms.. Nevertheless, she was determined to “go the whole way,” and she had already solicited lump sum and distance-related pledges for her scholarship, such as “10 cents donated per mile that Patricia actually rides.”
The transcontinental bicycle trip was a huge personal success both for Patricia and the 13 other cyclists who actually pedaled for the entire distance. It was an enormous success for the 18 other cyclists who succeeded in “going all the way” but found it necessary to dismount and push their bikes up some of the long, steep grades or even to ride and rest a while in the accompanying “sag wagon.” Certainly, it was never easy for Patricia, not even with her 24-speed bike. On many days, it just took guts to keep going. But it was worth it. There was an overriding sense of achievement that added to the great scenery, new friendships, and various side adventures of the transcontinental trip.
One unhappy episode happened to Patricia (and accompanying Gabriel) in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, where the group was staying for that night at the local Holiday Inn. They had recently crossed over into Canada from Michigan, and Patricia’s and Gabriel’s van had been properly parked in the motel parking lot during the night. But very early the next morning their van was stolen by thieves, as they discovered to their great chagrin!! The culprits, who were apparently highly efficient, were never apprehended. Patricia and Gabriel somehow recovered from this emotional setback, made adjustments, “The ashes of their burned van were later discovered by the authorities, who concluded that the thieves had wished to destroy evidence of their crime.
There was one physically painful setback, when a somewhat fatigued Patricia misjudged available clearance between her fast-moving bike and the railing of a bridge she was crossing. She smashed into the railing and sustained multiple painful injuries that should have eliminated her from the cycling schedule. Her left breast was actually impaled on some of the metal railing from the impact. Her bike frame was bent out of line and drove the handlebar into her left thigh. Fortunately, there were no broken bones, despite the swelling, bleeding, and lesser scrapes and bruises. Patricia was determined to keep going, despite the pain. She rejected the advice of the doctors to ride in the “sag wagon,” and resumed the ordeal as soon as she was properly bandaged and her bike put back in order, all without losing a single day of cycling. The extreme pain was with her constantly for the remaining 5 days of cycling of the trip. Despite this untimely accident and painful injury, Patricia simply gritted her teeth, resumed the trek, and just kept going, mile after mile, day after day until reaching Portsmouth. Talk about determination!
At the starting of the trek, the cyclists had all wetted their rear bike wheels in the Pacific Ocean. Thus, there was understandable elation for Patricia and the 31 other finishers as they drove the front wheels of their bikes into the cold Atlantic waters on August 9, 2004...And Patricia was encouraged to learn, via e-mail that her SBCC Scholarship commitments were already beginning to swell. By the time she and Gabriel had returned to Santa Barbara August 30, 2004 and City Mayor Marty Blum had presented her with a special City Proclamation, the Patricia Starr Music Scholarship Fund was at nearly 60 percent of its $22,000 goal. The contributions kept coming in from various sources as time went on, and Patricia had numerous speaking engagements at the local Rotary Club and other service clubs as part of the development program. But it wasn’t until May 8, 2005 that the crowning event occurred whose proceeds put the endowment fund “over the top.” This was a 3-hour musical extravaganza at the local Marjorie Luke Theater, featuring talented musical friends who donated their services for Patricia’s scholarship at SBCC. The total endowment goal had finally been reached and could now support the targeted annual $1,000 scholarship for music majors at SBCC. Of course, the success of the recently completed transcontinental bicycle trek had gained wide publicity and more laurels for Patricia. She was selected by California State Assemblyman Pedro Nava as the recipient of a “Woman of the Year Award” in 2004.
The echoes of the transcontinental bicycle odyssey of Patricia et al still reverberate, potentially worldwide and as featured within a six-page chapter of an “ESL (English as a Second Language) Textbook” published by Thompson/Heinie. This past June (2006), she attended the prestigious Santa Barbara’s Writers Conference and was awarded an Excellence Award – First Place in Autobiography, based on the book “Angel on My Handlebars,” which she is writing about her adventure at the ripe old age of 67.
As if this were not enough, she continues to perform at musical events, compete in various “beauty” pageants, and sometimes meld the two activities. In 2005, she entered the contest for Ms. Sr. California and won Ms. Sr. Orange County title in April. In August, 2005 she was second runner-up in the California pageant held in Marina del Rey. She keeps her concert piano skills sharp, not only with daily practice but also with regular piano performances among “The Sizzling Seniors,” an entertainment group composed of pageant contestants and queens, who have been appearing in venues all over Southern California and Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada. She prefers classical music for her selections, frequently Chopin pieces. On the other hand, in the June 25, 2006 pops concert of Santa Barbara’s 80-piece Prime Time Band, she starred at the keyboard in Richard Addinsell’s arrangement of one of her old favorites, “The Warsaw Concerto.”
This activity brought rewards in 2006. In August, she was crowned Ms. Sr. Long Beach. In September, the expanded competition moved to Westminster, where she won the coveted crown as Ms Sr. California, a feat that “left her walking on clouds.” |
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