WOMAN HELPED DRESS THE BEST.

Byline: BETTIE RENCORET

LANCASTER - Little did Frances Schafer realize when she first went to work in the retail clothing business that she would continue in that vocation for more than three decades.

Things did not bode well for her prospects when she told the Lancaster Boulevard Scott's store owner, Mr. Heilborn, that her only prior experience was at rummage sales.

``He was flabbergasted,'' she said. ``He couldn't believe his ears, and of course, he didn't hire me.''

She was not too surprised, but she was disappointed. She knew that she could do the job if given a chance, so she persevered.

There was a little store opening up in Palmdale and she decided to apply there in the hope of getting hired so she could get enough experience to reapply at Scott's.

She stood in line for five hours behind all the other applicants, waiting her turn to be interviewed by the store owner.

``When I told this man I had only worked at rummage sales, he cracked up laughing,'' she said. ``He couldn't believe I had stood in line all those hours to tell him that was my only qualification. But it intrigued him, too, and he said I would hear from him.''

Sure enough, he called her to come to work and three weeks later he wanted to make her the store manager. She turned that job down because she still had her heart set on working for Scott's.

There was another clerk in the Palmdale store who had worked for Mr. Heilborn at Scott's and knew what he expected from his staff, so Fran watched her every move and listened to her sales technique and they became good friends.

One day Mr. Heilborn asked his former employee to come back to work for him. By this time her friend, who lived in Palmdale, didn't want to drive back and forth between the two towns every day so she turned him down.

``Do you know anyone else who could meet the Scott's sales clerk standards?'' he asked.

``I know the perfect girl for you,'' she answered. ``Her name is Fran Schafer.'' He called Fran that evening and hired her sight unseen.

``You can imagine the look on his face when I showed up and he saw it was me

'' she laughed. ``I stayed there through the transition of the store from Scott's to Nonda's and then until Nonda's closed in 1990.'' When she retired, after 32 years with those two stores, she could claim most of the best dressed women in the valley as her patrons.

Schafer was born Frances Lawler May 10, 1916, in New Providence, Iowa, a farming community. She received her elementary and high school education there before enrolling in the Cedar Falls, Iowa, Teacher's College.

In 1937 she married a young farmer named Carroll Schafer, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Eldora, Iowa, and they settled down to make their home.

``I was a farmer's daughter and then a farmer's wife,'' she said. ``After a few years we bought 255 acres just west of Union, Iowa, where we could grow the proverbial tall corn and we loved it.''

Carroll was a good farmer and a good cattle and hog feeder, she said, but after 15 years of working their farmland, it became necessary for them to make a move.

By that time, in 1958, they had one son and four daughters and their oldest girl had suffered rheumatic fever that was affecting her heart. Doctors prescribed a desert climate.

They toyed with the idea of going to Arizona but before they made a final decision, Fran's uncle by marriage, recently widowed, went to visit them in Iowa from his home in Lancaster.

``Lancaster is a desert,'' he said. ``Why don't you come out to California where you can be closer to me?''

When he returned home, Fran's uncle arranged for Carroll to apply for a job with Douglas Aircraft, where he worked, and that was the deciding factor.

Carroll was hired in and stayed with Douglas until the company moved its operation from the Antelope Valley.

Their son, Allyn, already in college, didn't come with them. He still lives in Eldora.

Daughter Patricia Amundson, the reason for the move here, now lives in Union, Iowa. The second daughter, Sheila Lovio, lives in Ames, Iowa. Two of the girls live closer. Connie York resides in Lancaster, while Colleen Meister is in Bakersfield.

Schafer will turn 81 next month and for several years, especially since her husband's death in 1989, she has donated numerous hours as a volunteer. On Mondays she is at Sacred Heart Church; Tuesdays, the Antelope Valley Senior Center and Wednesdays, at St. Vincent de Paul's.

On other days of the week she pays welcoming visits to new residents at the Silver Winds apartment complex where she lives.

``I love people,'' she said. ``I think they need to know that they are very important and that God loves them.''

Twice she has been chosen to receive the Silver Winds ``Ms. Sweetheart'' award as the ``outstanding lady'' resident.

A devout Roman Catholic, she is an oblate at St. Andrews Abbey in Valyermo. December will mark her 25th year of service there in various capacities.

She has served in all offices of Chapter 1629, Catholic Daughters of America, and has worked for a multitude of causes, including the Right to Life movement.

For more than 30 years she has walked daily to Mass at Sacred Heart Church, just far enough from her home to afford an exercise constitutional.

``I thank God every day for my good health,'' she said. ``I've been blessed with it.''

LANCASTER - The long wait for county affordable housing for low-income senior citizens has now been decreased to less than one year, according to Sam Luchese of the Los Angeles County Community Development Commission.

``In some cases,'' he said, ``an applicant can be housed immediately.''

In Lancaster, units are available in the Lancaster Homes complex, 743 West Ivesbrook St. In Valencia, they are in the Orchard Arms, 23520 Wiley Canyon Road. Applications are being taken for both.

Income requirements are $17,500 per year for one applicant. Rents average $169 per month but, in any case, is no more than 30 percent of total household income. For information, call the Los Angeles County Housing Authority or Maria Badrakhan at [phone] during business hours.

LANCASTER - Menus for the week at the senior life nutrition sites in Lancaster, Palmdale and Pearblossom have been announced. All meals include bread, margarine and coffee, tea or milk.

Monday: Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, pineapple, cottage cheese and pears.

Tuesday: Chicken Dijon, rice pilaf, peas and carrots, coleslaw and Jell-O with peaches.

Wednesday: Baked ham, sweet potatoes, cabbage, tossed salad and pudding.

Thursday: Spaghetti with meatballs, Italian squash, tossed salad, cheesecake and juice.

Friday: Baked fish, baked potato, mixed vegetables, marinated beets and apple.

This column is devoted to activities and news of interest to all senior citizens. Those with any information pertaining to that age group are invited to contact Bettie Rencoret, [phone], or leave messages at the Antelope Valley Bureau Daily News offices, [phone].

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Photo

Photo: Fran Schafer has been active in Lancaster life for nearly 40 years.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News