It’s absolutely okay if you don’t recognize Kay’s name. The fact that you might not is true testimony to the scope and reach that the McCulloch name had throughout the United States. In case you were wondering, Kay Lundrigan was Robert McCulloch Jr.’s secretary beginning in 1961, the start of her 30-year career with the McCulloch company.
The amazing stories she has to tell about the early days of Lake Havasu are astonishing given that she never lived in Lake Havasu. Maybe, just maybe, it was that distance from Havasu in the early days that allowed her to see the bigger picture. If you thought Lake Havasu was the only community McCulloch ever developed, or that outboard engines and chain saws were McCulloch’s only passion, then you’re in for a treat. Kay tells a story that covers a wide range of communities, businesses, and businessmen, all that were influenced positively in one way or another by McCulloch.
Kay Lundrigan at a dinner party in 2012.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Kay Lundrigan
Havasu Living Magazine: You had a very interesting life at such an early age, what were you involved in before going to work for McCulloch?
Kay Lundrigan: I guess I had a pretty fascinating life, even before arriving on the doorstep of McCulloch Distributors in El Segundo, California. Growing up in the new community of Westchester very near the old L.A. Airport and McCulloch Motors, I attended Santa Monica City College, became a stewardess for United, a secretary for Pat Boone one summer while he was filming a movie in Hollywood, and spent two go rounds as a temporary secretary at McCulloch in Personnel. I began my 30 year career with McCulloch in 1961 as Bob McCulloch, Jr.’s secretary at McCulloch Distributors in El Segundo. They had started in the outboard boat & motor business and had a retail marine store at the corner of Airport & Century (in the winter they converted part of it to a ski shop) and they called it the McCulloch Marina & Snowden. They were active with the boat racing team of Bob, Jr., his brother Richie, Bud Hall (who later bought McCulloch Distributors), Bob Kies, Jack Oxley, Danny Snead, and Bill and Ken Padgett.
HLM: Were there other communities that McCulloch was involved with?
KL: When C.V. Wood joined his Marco Engineering business with McCulloch, they started planning a marina at Lake Mead (managed by Bill Padgett) complete with floating lodge and restaurant. There were a lot of trips to Vegas and planning with restaurateurs, advertising, and other interested parties. All leading up to a big opening party. I was able to go on many trips with our staff to Havasu and Phoenix and later to our other new communities such as Fountain Hills, AZ; Pueblo West, CO; Spring Creek, NV; Holiday Island, AR; Hailey, ID; Silver Lakes, California; Westcliff, Texas, and others. It was a lot of hard work, but we also had fun. We were able to take our kids to Lake Mead and Havasu and stay in the apartments and use the boats for fishing and water skiing.
HLM: What was it like to work for McCulloch?
KL: McCulloch built a new factory complex on Century Blvd. in Westchester by the Los Angeles airport. The factory included a print shop and provided the employees with a bowling alley, cafeteria, auditorium; and he was very generous with employee benefits and family-oriented activities. The McCulloch family were very interested in all facets of boating, cars, golf, and some into tennis and skiing, and gadgets – mechanical and electrical at the time. If only they could see what has evolved even in the last 20 years in the way of communication, cameras, phones and computerization. Much has been written in earlier years of the McCulloch home on Thunderbird Golf Course in Palm Desert with unique amenities invented by Robert P. McCulloch and his team.
While McCulloch introduced a number of innovative products to the marketplace, none was as recognizable as the McCulloch chain saw. The chain saw was innovative for its light weight and eases of use by one person.
I also met my husband of nearly 53 years, JJ, while we were both working for McCulloch. My husband was a service department rep working for McCulloch’s small engine plant in Los Angeles where they worked on a variety of products ranging from chain saws, lawnmowers, go-karts, engines used in military target drones, to the supercharger for race cars. He also worked for the helicopter company that Robert McCulloch bought in the 50s.
There was a period of time when JJ sold lots in Lake Havasu and one of the biggest mistakes we ever made was not buying any property in Havasu.
HLM: You mentioned that even though you never actually lived in Havasu, you spent a lot of time there and made a lot of trips back and forth. How involved were you in the early days of Havasu?
KL: When the Havasu planning started, it was so exciting to be involved with professionals in all the facets of this creation; it was a lot more fun than taking shorthand and typing about pistons and flywheels. I learned so much in my early 20s about finance, legal, governments at all levels, sales, advertising, public relations, design, architecture and engineering; plus I got to put my stewardess school training back to work in helping to run an airline. We had our own TWA corporate account and I made all our staff members’ reservations, typed the (multi-copy) tickets, and completed the monthly sales reports. I was also involved with the scheduling of our crews and our smaller corporate aircraft headed by Jim Dyerly (later Bill McAfee, Ray Williams, Joe Catlett).
Kay’s experience working for United Airlines came in handy as McCulloch purchased his own airline and offered free flights to Lake Havasu City as an incentive to sell lots and grow the community. Based on sales and the rapid growth of the city during that time period, the flights were obviously a success.
I remember our office gang would dream up ideas for street names in Havasu and other ideas for the architectural committee—all the while dreaming about what this was going to become. I remember the first businesses going in besides our Nautical Inn and the Hotel for fly-in guests, the MPI offices, Sanitation & Irrigation Districts, Citizens Utilities, Edie McDougal Insurance, Arnold Plaza with Claypool’s Market; Crazy Ed’s BBQ, Lori K Fashions among many others. I also remember the first homes and apartments being built, pools installed, desert landscaping in place.
W. O’Brien’s secretary Linda Grisham’s family built the Crazy Horse Campground near the airport area and old Site Six boat landing and apartment complex. Later Bob Jr. and partner Ken Komick built the London Bridge Racquet Club and apartment complex and RV Park. McCulloch even re-entered the helicopter world with a partnership with Gish Jovanovich and Larry Mattera to build a gyrocopter at Lake Havasu City as an addition to the growing industrial base. Now millions enjoy the beautiful lake and city for all kinds of enjoyment. The Outboard World Championships were held there while the McCulloch team was still in place, bringing worldwide notoriety and participants and commercial sponsorships.
HLM: What were some of the other ventures McCulloch was involved with?
I also had further thoughts about the writeup and the section about RPM Ind and Allen Bell, etc. That location was Sr.’s small, private lair and those people had been with him for years at McC on Century, but when he sold it to BDK, the McCulloch Oil Corporation and McCulloch Properties, Inc. moved into the Westwood headquarters where all the meetings, etc. went on during the 70’s. So think about how to pare that down and concentrate on the Westwood office that was the center for all the corporate business of MCO and MPI going forward.
KL: It was interesting to see all of the different ventures that McCulloch was involved in. When Mr. McCulloch and his staff moved into their new offices near Sepulveda & Centinela he and his dream team of Allen Bell, Ollie Heck, and Jack Bullock, and secretary, Dottie Farley, continued to invent things of interest. The McCulloch Oil Corporation and McCulloch Properties, Inc. (MPI) all moved into the Westwood headquarters. It was MPI that was mostly involved with the development of Lake Havasu City and many of the meetings held in those headquarters were some of the most interesting meetings I’ve ever attended—they were never boring! One of McCulloch’s companies, McOil, was headed by Mike Witte. They went on to be involved in gas transmission, coal mining, geothermal energy, even had a silver mine in Aspen, Colorado managed by Carl Baker of Trico. An interesting side note: C.V. Wood, Jim House, an important PR guy for Lake Havasu City, and Rolf Roth later joined Warner Bros. where they were involved in developing theme parks around the world. Wood was also closely associated with the famous Carroll Shelby of car racing/building fame and the Chili Cook-off Championships around the Southwest.
HLM: What was it like being involved in bringing the London Bridge across the pond to Lake Havasu City?
KL: The people I had the privilege of knowing and working with, and learning so much about so many things new to me was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life to this day. To be able to help organize then attend the various dedication ceremonies was an extraordinary honor to be a part of. One special man no longer with us but many of you might remember was the greatest character and dedicated friend to many–Roland Jack Pitt “Cheekie” Barber. Born in New Zealand, Jack was a Royal Air Force jet pilot out of England in WWII. He was our “liaison” in dealing across the pond with the government, construction companies dismantling and shipping the bridge, and all things London Bridge.
Jack “Cheekie’ Barber, a native of New Zealand and World War II jet pilot for England served as the liaison between the entities in the United States and the United Kingdom that were involved in the massive undertaking to bring the London Bridge to Lake Havasu.
HLM: What would C.V. Wood and Robert McCulloch say about Lake Havasu City if they could see it today?
KL: Even though McCulloch and Wood knew what they were doing, I don’t think they really could imagine what the present LHC has become. So full of life with all ages of full time residents besides snowbirds and recreational visitors from everywhere; thriving modern businesses of every sort so that everything is accessible within a few miles; unlimited recreational and healthy living facilities. I’m certainly amazed at all I have just witnessed after these many years. Remember, at the start we had no Xerox, fax machines, modern phones/answering machines/speed dial, some IBM electric but not “memory” typewriters, no computers or small calculators, etc. Most people who were not associated with McCulloch at some time don’t recall the name until you add “Lake Havasu City – London Bridge.” I’ve certainly had a fascinating career and enjoyed every day of working for the McCulloch family.
HLM: Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with our readers. Any closing thoughts?
KL: If there any folks or family or friends reading this who would like to say hello or remind me of what I may have forgotten in this long-overdue attempt at organizing my memories, you can reach me through this magazine.