The Inspiration for Pepper Tree Farm
David’s Story
In 1974, a beautiful baby boy was born to a young couple living in Los Angeles. He was named “David” after his paternal great-grandfather and he was the first grandchild on both sides of the family. His maternal grandpa called him “King David.”
David was bright, cheerful and musical. He knew his letters before he could walk and could play chess at eighteen months old. When he was two and a half, he became tired and bruised and then stopped walking. Within days he was diagnosed with childhood leukemia and given a 50% chance of survival.
Because treatment was new and worked only half the time, doctors were unsure about which drugs were essential and which were not. In addition to three kinds of standard chemotherapy, David was given twenty-two days of brain radiation plus methotrexate to the spine. The latter therapy destroyed David’s brain, rendering him epileptic and retarded. David, still cheerful and musical, remained a five-year old all of his life.
David Abrams represented every child with a disability who missed out on the ordinary joys of childhood. His plight resonated with people, well-known and otherwise, who gladly stepped up for the kids.
In 1982, no camp would accept David, who was then eight years old and still on chemotherapy. Knowing what a struggle David’s life was – he had seizures daily, sometimes lasting for half an hour each – David’s mom, Pepper, believed she could create a camp for her son and other children like him. That August, sixty-five very ill boys and girls, thrilled but scared, took a bus to Malibu to attend the first session of Camp Good Times.
David thrived at Camp. Even when it became Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, it retained its original warm, nurturing character. However, by 1992, it was apparent the corporate culture of McDonalds didn’t align with Pepper’s vision. The mother and the hamburger chain went separate ways.
With the help of her parents, Janet and Max Salter, and actress Sally Struthers, in 1993, Pepper founded Happy Trails for Children with Disabilities. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, who wrote “Happy Trails,” were delighted to give their support to such a noble effort! The program suited David perfectly, whose own infirmities matched those of many of his fellow campers.
For fifteen years, Happy Trails brought children with disabilities and their families to the gorgeous Alisal Ranch in Solvang. The families were treated respectfully, like treasured guests, and they still marvel about the unique experience of being welcomed, imperfections and all.
In 2009, on a beautiful, bright Sunday morning in Pacific Palisades, David Abrams took his last breath. Still with the mentality of a five-year old, he was a few weeks shy of his thirty-fifth birthday. His party was to have a “Wizard of Oz” theme because he loved Dorothy so much. Within an hour, his six siblings appeared, each sobbing over their favorite brother as they covered his face with kisses and tears.
People unfamiliar with living with a family member with disabilities don’t quite understand the amount of time and devotion given to a child with challenges. Everyone in the family is rooting for better health and maximum happiness for that person. The loss of such a loved one is profound and the pain is endless.
2009 was the last year that Happy Trails welcomed boys and girls with disabilities. After that, David’s sister, Susan, transformed Happy Trails into a wonderful and life-changing sleep-over camp for children in foster care. However, whether it is Camp Good Times, Happy Trails for Kids or Pepper Tree Farm, the heart and soul of David Abrams will always be at Camp.
Camp Good Times was the first program in the United States offering year-round fun for children with cancer. It became a model for the world when patients and doctors came to Camp from around the globe.
Happy Trails for Kids with Disabilities ran from 1993 to 2009, the year David passed away. During sixteen years of idyllic programs, hundreds of children went to the Alisal Ranch in Winter and went to a Malibu Ranch during the school year. It was a rare opportunity for these boys and girls to be center stage!
Pepper Tree Farm, with its twenty-seven acres, will be able to host many thousands of boys and girls in the years ahead. While this will be the one camp started by his mom that David won’t attend, his spirit will be everywhere!
In 1982, the first session of Camp Good Times was held at Calamigos Star “C" Ranch in Malibu. Pictured is the cabin of seven and eight year-olds, wearing t-shirts with the original logo. David is standing in front of the counselor on the right. The next year, artist Sue Caplan, drew the rainbow logo. In 1982, the survival rate for children with cancer was less than 50%.
DAVID’S GRANDPARENTS, JANET AND MAXWELL HILLARY SALTER
Janet Lipsky often forgot the year of her birth, so the family was never certain of her age. But, in the end, she lived nearly ninety-eight years, filling them with pleasure, politics and philanthropy. She never ran out of energy, friends or a sense of humor. With similar Depression-era backgrounds, she and Max – future Mayor of Beverly Hills – were the perfect couple. They wanted to be financially successful so they could live it up, but also so they could share the wealth.
The charities they supported are too numerous to name, but it is fair to say the altruism of the Salters had an impact on the entire State of California. The Salters were Blue Dog Democrats – if the party ran a Blue Dog, they’d vote for it and give a fundraiser, too. They underwrote whatever David needed to help ease his life and sent the rest of their twelve grandchildren to college and graduate school.
When David got sick, the first thing his grandpa said was, “Why couldn’t this have been me? I’ve lived my life.” David’s grandma was crushed beyond words. For all of David’s life, Janet and Max formed a triangle of love with their daughter, Pepper, helping her care for a sick child while treating all of her children as if they were their own.
The Salters were instrumental in the creation of both Camp Good Times and Happy Trails. They left this earth before Pepper Tree Farm was founded, but, like David, their life force will oversee everything. Pepper claims to hear both praise and criticism from her parents on a daily basis. Janet and Sonny Salter will be remembered in the sound of the children’s laughter, the braying of the miniature donkeys and the wind whistling through the Pepper Trees.