New Year’s Day Drive

New Year’s Day, San Gabriel Mountain Drive

Celebrating Memories of a Special Friend

Story by Rick Ditri Photos by Randall Fishwick

On the morning of December 16, I received the tragic news that our friend Ted Lighthizer had unexpectedly passed. I immediately put out the word to my circle of friends who knew and loved Ted. Their response was an overwhelming outpouring of sadness, shock, and love. Several of us felt we needed to do something to honor our lost friend, something car related that would bring us all together to say our final goodbyes.

After much discussion it was decided that we would all gather and do a group drive. One of those contacted was Wayne Bartlett. Wayne was one of Ted’s best friends and he in turn relayed our plans to Ted’s partner Doreen Pankow. Doreen quickly got in touch with me saying she was interested in joining our group along with some of Ted’s PCA/ SBR friends. We chose New Year’s Day for the tribute and to drive some of Ted’s favorite roads. Ironically, the route I’d mapped out was the exact same route Ted had chosen for his own New Year’s drive this year.

We agreed to meet on New Year’s morning at 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot of a small cafe on Foothill Blvd. Twenty people in all, observing COVID protocol, arrived on this brisk morning to show their respects to Ted and be with Doreen. It was bittersweet to see Doreen show up with Ted’s famous black and yellow Mini Cooper S to drive on our group run. After everyone had the chance to pass along their condolences to Doreen, the group headed out in single file to circumnavigate the mountain roads. Our final destination was a one-hour drive to Newcomb’s Ranch roadhouse on Angeles Crest Highway.

We began with a short drive along the 210 freeway to our initial climb up Big Tujunga Canyon. Days before, the weather had been harsh: rain and snow had been dumped along most of the roads on our route. Almost immediately we were finding the road strewn with rain-produced dirt and debris. As we climbed and navigated the twisties of Big Tujunga Canyon Road, one couldn’t help but think that Ted would have been one of us today, probably setting the pace. This was a route that Ted and our group had driven numerous times before.

After several uphill and curvy miles, the route took us onto Angeles Forest Highway. As we continued to gain elevation the conditions got progressively worse—snow and ice had begun accumulating along the road. The higher we climbed the more snow, ice, and debris we encountered. By now it was becoming clear that the group needed to slow its pace before someone got caught out in these unpredictable conditions. After finally reaching the top of the mountain and transitioning onto Angeles Crest Highway, the road conditions became increasingly rough and the pace got even slower.

Our lead car, driven by Tony Punches, made the executive decision to pull off before our final destination at Newcomb’s Ranch. It just so happens he did so onto a beautiful, majestic, snow-covered mountain overlook. As cars pulled in one by one, we couldn’t imagine a more appropriate calm, peaceful, and tranquil location to say goodbye and end our drive. As everyone stepped out of their cars into the fresh air, they shared their thoughts and said their final farewells to Ted in a sendoff that we hope would have made him feel honored.