UPDATE: According to Sgt. Roy Mason of the Big Bear Sheriff's Station, Fred Ransom died of injuries related to a motorcycle accident earlier today.

Ransom was driving a motorcycle when he collided with a pickup truck at the intersection of Big Bear Boulevard and Fox Farm Road in Big Bear Lake. The truck was making a left turn onto Fox Farm Road from the boulevard. Ransom was headed west on the boulevard.

The Major Accident Investigation Team from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is investigating the fatal accident.

Ransom was an iconic figure in Big Bear Valley. He owned several acres of property on North Shore Drive and was the subject of numerous stories that have become folk tales in Valley history.

This is an update to an earlier story. See the original below.

A Big Bear Lake Firefighter inspects the wreckage of a motorcycle that was involved in a collision. The driver was seriously injured. (KATHY PORTIE/Big Bear Grizzly)

This motorcycle came to rest near the intersection of Big Bear Boulevard and Fox Farm Road. The driver collided with a pickup truck and was seriously injured. (KATHY PORTIE/Big Bear Grizzly)

BIG BEAR LAKE, Sept. 7: An early afternoon collision between a pickup truck and a motorcycle left the motorcyclist seriously injured.

The collision happened at the intersection of Fox Farm Road and Big Bear Boulevard. Early reports are that the motorcylist collided with the truck as it turned left off of the boulevard onto Fox Farm Road. According to a friend of the family, the motorcyclist was Fred Ransom, but that has not been confirmed.

The story will be updated as details become available.

By JUDI BOWERS
Reporter
Published: Wednesday, September 9, 2009 7:57 AM PDT

He was larger than life and an icon of Big Bear Valley. Fred Ransom died Sept. 7 from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident. He was 78.

Ransom had nine lives, or more so the legends go. The stories about Fred Ransom are legendary. No one knows which ones are true, which ones are tall tales and which ones may have had a grain of truth at first telling but have morphed into Ransom whoppers. Only Fred knew for sure.

Ransom was riding his Suzuki motorcycle south on Big Bear Boulevard just before noon Sept. 7 approaching the intersection of Fox Farm Road. Jeremiah Lapham, 18, of Big Bear City, was traveling north on the boulevard in a 1987 Ford F150 pickup and was in the left turn lane to turn onto Fox Farm Road. Lapham began making his turn when Ransom collided with the pickup truck on the passenger side.

Ransom was airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center where he died shortly after arrival. Lapham wasn't injured. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Major Accident Investigation Team is investigating the cause of the accident.

Ransom died tragically, but it's been said he cheated death many times. Stories about an explosion in his shop and plane crashes fill pages of legends about Ransom. Not too long ago, he survived a stabbing outside a local pub.

He had a reputation of being a rough and tumble guy, someone who did things his way, and Ransom didn't worry about the consequences. Shane Lee, a Big Bear High School alumnus, was in his 20s when he spent Sunday afternoons getting to know the other side of Fred Ransom. Ransom's gruff exterior wasn't the true man, Lee says.

"As ornery as he was, he loved people," Lee says about Ransom. "If he was your friend, he was your friend."

Lee lives in Colorado now, but got to know Ransom at Teddy Bear's Restaurant in the Village, where Ransom spent a lot of time. Lee's mother was a waitress and Lee was curious. Ransom had a reputation, and the young man wanted to know more.

According to Lee, Ransom had a softer side that not many people knew. He loved animals, Lee says. "He had the ugliest dog imaginable," Lee says of Ransom. "And a dirty old pig out back, and pet raccoons." Lee says he viewed pictures of Ransom with raccoons sitting on his shoulder.

Ransom Engineering is on several acres on North Shore Drive. That's where Ransom lived most of his life. Lee says Ransom was left to fend for himself as a youngster when his siblings were ill and his parents left the mountain to care for them. "He started cowboyin' and digging holes," Lee says. He was a self-made millionaire, and did it the old-fashioned way, Lee says.

Ransom stories are the stuff legends are made of. He's been known to use Moonridge Road as a personal landing strip, flying from one side of the Valley to the other. Some say he didn't even have a pilot's license. Records show Ransom owned a 1946 Piper PA-12 single engine airplane that was registered through the FAA.

His battles with San Bernardino County code enforcement, the fire department and the Big Bear City Community Services District about his property could fill volumes. Authorities wanted Ransom to clean up his property. They said he violated numerous codes. Ransom made his own rules, and for the most part, the property remained as it was.

An outhouse sitting on the highway in front of his property has been the subject of controversy and letters to the editor. The building never moved.

There are stories of Ransom getting the former Judge Drake to throw out a traffic ticket for Ransom driving a vehicle on three wheels. There are stories of Ransom sneaking up on law enforcement agents at the airport.

Ransom was involved in erecting and dismantling towers at the Valley's ski resorts, and he had a reputation for being a genius. Lee says he's not sure if Ransom was a genius, but he spoke "in a language that was technical."

"He had a strong bent toward anything mechanical," Lee says of Ransom. But his knowledge went well beyond engineering. Lee says Ransom's knowledge was widespread. He remembers having a conversation with Ransom about 1,000-year-old eggs from China.

Ransom had more common sense than most people, Lee says. Lee asked Ransom if he had any advice for a young man about life. "I never did do anything I didn't want to," Lee says Ransom told him. "That cut out the BS, and he did it his way," Lee says.

In his later years, Ransom was in a lot of pain, but he still rode his motorcycle. Lee says as tragic as Ransom's death was, the icon went out doing something he loved.

Contact reporter Judi Bowers at 909-866-3456, ext. 137 or by e-mail at jbowers.grizzly@gmail.com.

Fred Ransom - 1931-2009

If the greatness of a man is measured by the impact he has on his community, environment and everyone he meets, Fred Ransom was truly a great man.

The man locals like to talk about, in coffee shops, pubs, and even an occasional run in at the grocery store. Fred Ransom had already achieved legendary status by the time I met him at the Teddy Bear Restaurant in 1983.

Fred spent most of his life in our Valley having a crane operating business. He had a hand in building a great deal of our town as well.

What we talked about most was what some called his many lives. Airplane crashes, motorcycle wrecks, and an explosion that left him with burn scars and bits of metal buried in his skin. He was stabbed twice in a bar fight when he was in his late 60s. (Fred loved to play pool). He was even bitten by a rattlesnake when he was 5 years old in Landers just north of Giant Rock in 1936.

How many of us, remember seeing Fred on his motorcycle with a great big cast on his leg, and crutches strapped to the side of his bike still driving like the devil was nipping at his heels, after breaking his foot in a prior accident? Or popping wheelies over on North Shore in his Tater Bug?

Fred took me flying in his Piper Cub once. I didn't know that planes could fly that close to the ground. When I got home and my mother and all of the neighbors were all talking about the crazy man in an airplane that was flying under the telephone wires. I realized maybe it wasn't quite ordinary for planes to fly like that.

Just to set the record straight, Fred wasn't landing his plane on Moonridge Road, in that infamous legend we have all heard about. He was taking off!

There wasn't anything ordinary about Fred Ransom. I think after knowing the man for 25 years, it was the shear force of his personality that really grabbed us. Fred always said exactly what he thought, which some found offensive or politically incorrect. But, like a big old mean, junkyard dog, he usually wasn't challenged. When he was challenged Fred wasn't a man that backed down from a fight. You've heard of the term going postal? Well, that's nothing, next to having Fred go Ransom on ya.

I got into arguments with Fred many times at the Teddy Bear, where I work and where Fred ate every day for 30 years or more. I'm not one to back down from a fight ether. I told him once I thought that it was rattlesnake venom that made him so dang mean. Lucky for me I was a girl, and all he did was get that big lopsided smile on his face.

The thing about Fred was he only liked people he respected, and he only respected people who stood up to him. (Cowards need not apply).

He had a sense of selfworth that was forged in steel. He didn't care what anyone thought. He seemed to think rules and laws didn't apply to him, and he lived his life accordingly. He got away with whatever he could. He was larger than life in every way, even in size. Fred was a big man!

It was rumored Fred had a sweet side reserved for the people he cared about and his animals. Last winter, he told me he tied a tarp around old Pepper. (his horse)''cause Pepper wouldn't go into the barn and Fred was worried about him getting wet.

If he liked you, he had a gleam in his eyes and a big ole grin that could kick the wind right out of your sails. I know, I couldn't stay mad at him. And a compliment from Fred Ransom went a long way.

Every moment spent with Fred was some kind of adventure. Just sitting at the counter and listening to him tell stories about Big Bear in old days was fascinating. He was intelligent, witty and had a memory like a steel trap.

A man of legendary qualities? Not too long ago, he had a lung infection and had to be on oxygen. Who else in the world, at the age of 78, would strap an oxygen tank to a GXSR-1000 Suzuki, (a crotch rocket) and drive to town to have cup of coffee and a buckwheat pancake?

For those of you that never knew him, I'm sorry. Men of courage, formidable will and individuality, are rare these days. Greatness is seldom touched or even seen.

For those of us who did. On Oct. 18, we have the opportunity to celebrate Fred's life and memories at Snow Summit. We will gather in the parking lot, and at noon, we will set off for a drive around the valley. All street-legal vehicles welcome. Don't forget to put gas in your tank.

When we get back to Snow Summit, approximately 1 or 1:30, we will have a memorial service to remember the man, we will never forget.

By Shirley Martin

A tribute on the corner of Big Bear Boulevard and Fox Farm reads, "Fred, thanks for the memories."

Ransom's voting booth and Ransom Engineering truck remain on his North Shore property;

Art Poland says, "Of course, he had his big yard out there with equipment, and he had the things that people needed."

It was on Labor Day, likely en route to the Teddy Bear Cafe for his breakfast, that 78-year-old Fred Ransom passed away due to a collision on his Suzuki motorcycle, a birthday gift he'd received in 2008. Big Bear has since been abuzz with stories of the legendary longtime local -- Ransom had been a fixture in the Valley for so long, in fact, that Historical Museum Curator Kim Sweet told KBHR, "Fred has been the longest Big Bear pioneer -- even Tom Core and Mac McAlister came after Fred. He absolutely adored Big Bear." KBHR has received many calls, inquiring as to specifics for a memorial to honor Ransom. At this time, a date has not yet been set, however, son Ray has posted a memorial website and says that plans are coming together. In the meantime, Ray writes, "Thanks to all for your kind words, thoughts and condolences."

Fred Ransom (in a family photo) on his motorcycle
For more on Fred Ransom, see our September 9 story.

Next Sunday, October 18, friends of Fred Ransom, a legendary community member for much of his 78 years, will honor his memory with a Valley-wide drive and a memorial at Snow Summit. Referred to as "the longest Big Bear pioneer," Ransom was also a regular fixture at the Teddy Bear Cafe, and the restaurant's manager Shirley Martin is inviting those who wish to honor Ransom to meet at Snow Summit parking lot at 11:30am on the 18th, for a ride around Big Bear starting at noon. Following the caravan, open to "all street-legal vehicles," Ransom will be celebrated with a memorial back at Snow Summit, scheduled to begin between 1 and 1:30pm. Local businesses, including Big Bear Disposal, NAPA Auto Parts, Direct Signs and Big Bear Mountain Resorts, have made contributions to this special event to honor Ransom, a much-storied and iconic member of our community. For more information, please contact Shirley Martin at 744-4020. And, for what it's worth, the Teddy Bear Cafe plans to bequeath his favorite coffee mug to the Big Bear Valley Historical Museum and, we're told, a friend will be bringing Ransom's special barstool from Chad's to the memorial. For more on Ransom, including some special tales, see our September 9 story; you can also visit his memorial website, created by son Ray.

Fred Ransom was honored to have been painted by renowned local artist Ed Runci; the portrait now hangs in the Teddy Bear Cafe in the Village.

By Michael P. Neufeld
Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Big Bear Lake, CA - A Big Bear City resident died yesterday afternoon following a traffic accident at 11:46 a.m. in Big Bear Lake involving his 2005 Kawasaki motorcycle and a pick-up truck.

The San Bernardino County Coroner reports 76-year-old Fred Ransom succumbed to his injuries at Loma Linda University Medical Center at 3:34 p.m.

San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies are investigating the accident that occurred at the intersection of Big Bear Boulevard and Fox Farm Road.

Investigators believe Ransom entered the intersection and collided with a pick-up truck. The driver of that vehicle was not identified.

Following the accident, Ransom was transported to Loma Linda, according to the media advisory posted by the Coroner.

A motorcycle rider who died in a traffic collision Monday has been identified as Fred Ransom, 78, of Big Bear.

Ransom was traveling on his 2005 Kawasaki Motorcycle about 11:46 a.m. when he collided with a pick-up truck in the intersection of Big Bear Blvd. and Fox Farm Rd., according to the San Bernardino County sheriff-coroner's Web site. He was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 3:34 p.m.