Ruth, Grace and John Farrimond, from left, are our October Newcomers of the Month.Our Newcomers of the Month for October are the Farrimond family, who recently moved into the Windtree subdivision.
“We looked all over the Greater Chattanooga area and Signal Mountain stood out as a uniquely wonderful place to raise a family,” said John Farrimond, who moved his family from the Los Angeles area to Signal Mountain when he became president and CEO of Siskin Children’s Institute. “We were enamored with the schools. It’s just a wonderful community.”
John Farrimond is originally from Illinois and his wife Ruth is from a small town in Arkansas. The two met in college. They lived in Chicago for 11 years before moving to LA, where they stayed for 10 years before moving to Signal Mountain.
Ruth Farrimond is currently a stay-at-home mom but has previously worked as a teacher and as an office manager for a large corporation.
She said her favorite part about living on Signal Mountain is the friendliness and openness of the people. John Farrimond agreed, adding that he also likes the area’s natural beauty.
The family enjoys hiking at popular mountain trails such as Rainbow Falls and Signal Point. Their favorite restaurant is El Metate.
“It’s good California-Mexican, and it has a nice atmosphere,” said Ruth Farrimond, who also loves Wild Hare Books, Pruett’s, Cutting Corners and Accents.
She said one of the things that has been surprising to her since moving to the mountain is that the community lacks a restaurant that serves breakfast.
Ruth Farrimond is a member of the Signal Mountain Newcomers/Community Guild and has become involved with the Girl Scouts along with their daughter Grace, 9, a fourth-grader at Nolan Elementary.
“We’ve been able to become involved very easily because our neighbors are so great,” said Ruth Farrimond. “The guild has been wonderful.”
Others who have been very helpful in assisting the family in adjusting to their new home include Ross and Hillary Schram, Children’s Hospital at Erlanger CEO Dr. Alan Kohrt and his wife Lois, Scottie Summerlin, “Purple Lady” Sonia Young and MaryStewart Lewis, who organized a get-together for the family to meet people in the community when they first arrived, Ruth Farrimond added.
Moving to Signal Mountain is one of the best things they have ever done for Grace, who is adjusting well and making lots of new friends, she said.
Her husband advises other newcomers not to be afraid to engage people.
“People are very generous with their advice,” he said.
And with their time as well – when Ruth Farrimond arrived in Signal Mountain alone with a load of furniture, she went into the Ace Hardware and a complete stranger offered to call a friend to help her unload all her belongings. And he would not take a cent for his efforts, she said.