He and a bunch of other people. Friant's history runs off Simonian like Sierra snow melts into rivulets in late spring. How it has all changed. Come round the bend into Friant today, with that giant, gray slab of a dam starring you in the face, and you cannot imagine the town Simonian fetches from her memory. Today, Friant has one market, a post office, an antique store, several bars and The Dam Diner, a restaurant with classic 45-rpm records decorating its inside walls.
Work continues on a new gas station, which replaces the one and only station that closed last fall.
Dan Pearce works inside the one office in the strip mall. He runs a produce transportation company by phone and fax. He also hustles to make Friant better. President of the water district board. President of the Millerton Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.