Meet your new neighbors in an old schoolhouse
When you drive west along Highway 12 do you ever notice the schoolhouse on your right as you get to the Tower Park turnoff ? Have you ever wondered about it? Its history? And who might own it now?
Meet the Biales who bought the schoolhouse two years ago. You also might notice many vintage trailers and other vehicles throughout the property as well as two alpacas. And you won’t be able to miss the large sign painted on the semi truck — Black Lives Matter. All these variables barely describe the Biales — Ron and Tyla and their girls Natalia and Simone.
They noticed the schoolhouse for sale a few years ago and became enchanted with it. The schoolhouse and its property had been for sale for some time. The owner of 20 years had never lived in the house just used it occasionally to get away. Consequently, it was quite run down. All this was a challenge the Biales decided to meet.
The schoolhouse was built in the early 1920s after a fire destroyed the first Terminous School so the building soon will be 100 years old. It sits on pilings because of its existence on Terminous Island. Several generations of Lodians attended the school (Murray, let me know more.)
There is an extensive basement still filled with interesting relics. The main floor has multiple rooms including the original kitchen where a sliding opening indicates where children got their lunches on trays. Several rooms have been redone into living quarters for the family. At the north end is the huge assembly room with a stage at one end.
Tyla has visions of art shows, other types of entertainment, and weddings or receptions in this space.
Tyla was born in Anaheim, spent a portion of her young life in San Diego and then moved with her parents to El Dorado County where she enjoyed an eclectic life.
Most of her time was spent visiting her grandparents who lived in the Strawberry area up Highway 50. She loves the freedom of the Sierras and its artistic expression, and especially is entranced by vintage vehicles and trailers.
Ron was born in Ely, Nev., fondly remembering his grandmother with whom he spent much time. His grandparents came to Ely in the early 1900’s from Italy, hired as masons for both the mines and the town buildings. His father also was a mason but Ron branched into a new field. He had a fascination with vintage automobiles so did body work and repairs. Then he found an old Volkswagen which he enjoyed rebuilding. This led him to totally rebuilding Vintage Volkswagens especially the buses.
With their backgrounds, when they met at a dance in Reno they immediately bonded. They started buying and selling Vintage trailers and other vehicles, refurbishing them from top to bottom with Tyla doing the final painting which often was wild. They would take these trailers (usually four at a time) to a weekend flea market at Treasure Island. They also bought a house in Coloma because of their love of El Dorado county and its history.
Their two daughters, both of whom also are artistic. were home schooled. The Biales love to talk about the girls’ experiences with 4-H and the fact the entire family was involved. They still have two alpacas from that adventure. Natalia, the oldest, is at the San Francisco Academy of Art. Her study is 3-D modeling which creates characters for games, all part of the animation department of the Academy. Younger sister Simone is studying to be a nail technician, although she is interested in art as well.
With their love of Vintage vehicles, the Biales have many vintage trailers and vehicles scattered throughout their property. “In fact some people think this is a campground,” laughed Tyla. Their restoration business is called Vintage Deluxe Trailer Shop. A 1960’s bus once was used to transport people to the Playboy Mansion. Friends of the Biales turned it into living quarters, then left it with them when they moved to Oregon. One of Dolly Parton’s musical backups, Keith Little, used another trailer while living in Tennessee. This intrigued me because I knew Keith’s parents through my second home in Garden Valley.
Tyla thinks big and envisions an art show every two weeks at the property with artists in attendance. She also wants a large festival — Sound of Artists — with all types of art represented including music, dance and food. Last Thursday they had School House Rock featuring graffiti artists.
Never be surprised when you drive by the Terminious School House on Highway 12. Many events may be happening and you are invited to all of them.
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