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28 | OHCC LIVING | AUGUST 2026 | Woodchucks You may associate the Woodchucks Club with various projects around our community. What you may not know about is some of our members. Case in point: Clair Lair and his wife Sharon have been OHCC residents for over 20 years and have been giving back ever since. Clair is an active Woodchuck, and Sharon continues teaching Belly Dancing and performing in the OHCC Dance Troupe. They were high school sweethearts at Vista High School and still are over 70 years later. Clair continued to SDSU and received a degree in Physics. After graduation, he entered the Aerospace industry and designed and built drones. This took him to some exotic/dangerous locations, including Honduras, where his drones tracked Sandinistas during the conf lict with neighboring Nicaragua. He also bought a Cessna 195 in order to 'commute' from his private airport in Arizona to Carlsbad where he worked. He has logged thousands of hours in the seat and f lew for over 50 years with no accidents nor mechanical failures! And his aircraft was a hit at his kids' birthday parties as he took everyone that wanted to for a ride. His 'need for speed' included building a race car; a British sports car with an American V8 engine. This was years before Carrol Shelby built the Cobra! Clair got bitten by the woodworking bug in high school (remember Shop classes?) where he built a desk which is still utilized in their home. He also made a pair of "Morris" style reclining chairs and a matching table which he built in the Woodchucks shop. Additionally, he has modified his Fifth-wheel RV by designing and building an aerodynamic 'nose' in order to decrease drag. Clair's story is a wonderful reminder that the Woodchucks are not just talented woodworkers, they're neighbors who share their skills and creativity to make our community a better place. He has also made much appreciated improvements to our Wood Shop, such as a central dust-collecting vacuum system, and wiring to make it automatic. And, in order to decrease the heat created by the incandescent lighting on the Abravanel Hall stage, he demonstrated that installing LED lights would not only be much cooler but would also reduce electricity costs by thousands of dollars per year. It was at Clair's suggestion that the rotting wooden Bocce and Racquet court pergolas were replaced by vinyl ones. If you've ever thought about learning new skills or tackling fun projects, we invite you to visit Woodchucks to see what we're all about. Written by Larry See Penny and I are off on another shuttle experience, this time on a Tuesday afternoon in order to meet new riders. Turns out Jan, who is a frequent rider, and Wendy, who was new to us, were on the ride and we all had a great chatting session as is usual on the shuttle. Ali, our driver, was not that interested in our conversation as he had caught the well-known "World Cup" bug and was hoping his favorite, Brazil, would end up the winner. I have not caught the bug myself, but I did know that an Argentine player named Messi had set a record for getting the most goals in the World Cup games and therefore I was in Ali's good graces. Jan was off to her beauty shop and returned with a great looking hair style. Wendy was off to Costco and JCPenny, and I had a wonderful lunch at Panini's in Bressi Ranch. Wendy was telling us how she no longer drives and she was most grateful to OHCC for keeping this amenity. She wanted everyone to know that it is a life saver for her, and she encourages others to give it a try. Ali did relate to me that sometimes when he walks into the Clubhouse wearing his chauffeur uniform people would ask him about the shuttle. He said they seemed interested and wanted to know his contact number. I am here to tell everyone that if you would like a ride on Tuesday or Thursday, either in the am or pm contact me (Lynne Williams at ellsiew@yahoo.com) and I can give you information and help you get started. I know there are many people in our community who do not drive, or do not like to drive and would find this service very helpful. Most important, we really do have fun on these rides, and it is a great way to meet new people. Written by Lynn Williams Transportation Wendy in the front seat and Penny in the middle row of our comfortable shuttle