At 80, Larry Garland outlines his CL loves

By Larry Garland,
Special to The Friday Flyer

In December 2010, my wife Linda and I moved to Canyon Lake from New England near Boston after coming out many times searching everywhere for a place to move. We wanted to head West before winter set in.

My daughter, our oldest granddaughter and our youngest son already lived in So-Cal. My oldest son and our two grandsons are still in the Boston area. Since moving to Canyon Lake, our youngest son married and gave us a beautiful granddaughter who will soon be four. Our oldest grandson also married and gave us our first great-granddaughter who is now three years old.

We searched for several years for somewhere close to our So-Cal family that suited our needs. We have a ski boat and wanted to use it. I found Canyon Lake on Google and once we visited we instantly fell in love with the place. It felt like an oasis in the middle of the desert. A place where you would go on vacation.

We sold our business back East and once we moved here, I formally retired. I couldn’t stand it. So, after three months I received my electrical contractors license and started taking electrical and A/V jobs here. I still work every day all over the area for many customers and friends from electrical to audio and entertainment systems for residential and commercial accounts.

Like most folks, when we first arrived we did not know anyone. Someone suggested joining the chair volleyball club. We did in 2011 and quickly had many friends. We also joined the Yacht Club around the same time where I served as Vice-Commodore for several years.

At 80, Larry Garland makes keeping active a priority in his life, including climbing this rock wall. Photo provided by Larry Garland

Soon after I joined the Canyon Lake Choraleers as I love to sing. Within the following year or so I became president of the group and have served in this position for the past eight years. My vision was to improve the quality of the group and make the concerts more interesting by adding background videos to each song selection.

Additionally, I joined the Canyon Lake Guild as its publicity person. Soon after I took the position of vice president and director of operations. I have served in this position for the past four years and I am in charge of all things technical and of providing for the needs of the visiting bands

In 2019, I along with Daryl Ballou, we Installed the new Holiday Bay Room sound system and at the same time designed and installed the new lighting system now in use for all the concerts given in that room. I now operate the new lighting system for all the Canyon Lake POA and Canyon Lake Fine Arts Guild concerts. Most recently, I installed the sound system for the new Lighthouse lounge and terrace.

I just celebrated my 80th birthday (hard to believe). I feel as long as a person keeps stimulating their mind and keeps their body moving, they can remain active for many years to come.

We truly found our forever home here in Canyon Lake with so many amenities and so many friendly people. We feel that we found our Maybury on steroids.