Mildred MacDonald

                                 Filed: 03/18/2000

                                 By JOE D. STEVENSON, The Bakersfield Californian

     The tiny, now white-haired woman first came to Kern County before World War II with her husband to run a water company at Randsburg and a sawmill near the top of Piute Mountain. Today is Mildred D. MacDonald's 90th birthday and she recalls those adventures and many more as she walks her daily two miles on the paths around Pinewood Lake, a gated community of homes in Bakersfield.

     Her husband, Charles A. MacDonald, a hydraulic engineer whom she met while teaching school in a small Nevada mining town, brought her to Kern County where they managed a water service at Randsburg and produced lumber on the rugged mountain slopes.

     Her most exciting adventure at Randsburg was being lowered in a harness to prime a water pump in a pit some 400 feet below ground level. The Piute Mountain enterprise was the last stop in a lifelong journey which would culminate in a 50-year real estate career in Bakersfield. Although retired for about 10 years, she still retains her real estate license and holds investment properties she developed.

     Operating the sawmill back in the late 1930s had Mildred getting up at 4a.m. to build a fire to heat up the Caterpillar tractor so it could be started. As part of a small business, she had many jobs, including that of camp cook for the six-man crew. "Those guys could really eat," she recalls.

     After about two years, the sawmill business went broke and the MacDonalds came down off the mountain. Her son, Robert MacDonald  picks up on the family history: "They left with a new Chevy pickup, the tractor, two Scottie dogs and $100. The Piute Mountain roads were primitive and hazardous, even in the best of weather. When they departed, she recalls, there was snow on the ground.

      Charles cleared the way with the tractor and Mildred followed in the pickup. They came to Bakersfield. That was 1941. Charles was hired by Standard Oil. Later he became general manager of Bankline Refinery. Mildred, a University of Nevada, Reno graduate with a teaching credential, began a teaching career with Bakersfield City School         District. She taught for more than six years.

    The MacDonalds also acquired the Rexland Acres Water Co. in southeast Bakersfield. They sold the water company in 1950 when they got into the real estate business. Charles MacDonald started studying for a real estate license, so his wife joined him. They took the state real estate license test together. They both passed, and MacDonald Realty was born. She recalls that was about 1950. The first MacDonald Realty office was on P Street, but was moved to Brundage Lane and H Street in 1957.

    MacDonald said she can't remember her first real estate sales but surmises, "they were a couple of small houses." Later, her emphasis would be principally investment and business properties including business property development. After her husband's death in 1959, she continued the business alone. "Dad died in 1959, but Mom just kept on running the business," their son,  Robert, proudly reports.

     In 1966 she briefly joined a larger real estate firm, but that lasted only about six months. "I guess I just didn't like being bossed," she smiled as she commented on her career. When MacDonald was awarded her license, she was only one of a few women Realtors in Bakersfield. She recalls that the late Opal Hooper was among that group. Today, 48 percent of Bakersfield Association of Realtors are women.

      MacDonald became active in the Bakersfield Association of Realtors, then known as the Board of Realtors, and served as a director for several years. In 1960 and 1961 she chaired the women's division. In 1961 she also was president of the 12th District women's division, covering boards throughout the San Joaquin Valley. She spent two years as a member of the Multiple Listing Service committee.

      Among her properties is the Airport Bus terminal on F Street, which she had built on property that was only a parking lot when she acquired it. She still leases properties at 1800­1820 Brundage Lane, which she built more than 15 years ago.With her real estate license still active, she lists MacDonald Realty in the telephone book, but that is in connection with her investment properties. "Rentals and business property is mostly what I have now," she explains.

     One of her many admirers is Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan, a neighbor at Pinewood Lake and a fellow Realtor. "She is truly an inspiration," Sullivan remarked. "She's always been great to deal with. She's tough but honest."

     Mildred MacDonald has been a resident of Pinewood Lake for about 18 years. She resides with her son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Dottie MacDonald. Robert is a machinist and a former machine shop owner. He said he was adopted by the MacDonalds when he was 12. Mildred MacDonald was born in Sacramento but her family moved to Reno when she was 5. She says she grew up in small Nevada towns and attended some one-room schools.

    She and Charles met in 1933 and were married in 1935. During their honeymoon, they attended the San Diego World Fair. On their return trip, they bought a new Ford and a dog, Robert said. He is proud of his mother's accomplishments and her attitude toward life. While she walks "only" two miles a day now, several years ago she was running four miles daily, he says. She no longer holds a driver's license, but  Robert is her willing chauffeur.

     Every day he takes her to Memorial Hospital, where she serves as assistant chaplain. A member of the First Presbyterian Church, she visits patients and assists them with their devotions, if they wish. She is one of the founders of the Order of St. Luke Fellowship, a healing group at First Presbyterian Church.

     Retirement has given here the opportunity to go on many cruises and trips, she says.Her favorite destination has been Spain, but some of her more exciting adventures have been riding the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and seeing some of the jungles of Borneo. Among the joys of her life, she said, is being visited by her grandchildren. She has two grandchildren, three great grandchildren and three great-great  grandchildren.