McTevia was raised in Southern California, in the San Fernando Valley town of Sylmar, until the age of 9. His family first moved to the high desert town of Palmdale, finally locating in Independence in 1967 where his father began work for the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. McTevia attended Owens Valley High School, graduating with the class of 1973. His enchantment with electronics and sound systems began when he was very young, and he built many Healthkits, including a weather station, while he was in high school. After graduation, he gained immediate experience with automotive audio installations, and in 1976 he was asked to provide sound for the Independence Volunteer Fire Department Fireworks show, a job he has performed almost continuously since.

Independence resident Lindsay McTevia has been selected as this year’s Independence Day parade grand marshal. McTevia is a longtime supporter of many Independence activities, where he contributes expertise in the area of sound equipment and electronics. Photo submitted

Soon after that first fireworks show, McTevia began assisting with the Independence Fourth of July Parade by providing sound up and down the street after a Department of Water and Power employee donated trumpet speakers for the street light poles.
McTevia is instrumental to the success of the Fourth of July celebration in Independence. This year, he is training a backup so he can ride in honor in the parade as the grand marshal.
He began working for the Department of Water and Power in 1981 in construction and maintenance. He describes his work with DWP as “pretty diverse,” including replacing the concrete covers on the southern stretch of the aqueduct and remodeling houses.
How many small towns can boast that they have had their own radio station? For several years, Independence tuned in to KMAC, whose motto is “From the Fort to the Dump,” giving low power radio a new image.
Of course, it was McTevia who created and hosted KMAC, giving airtime to 4-H members for a Radio Project and spinning tunes the enitre community enjoyed. Though the station is off the air for now, there are rumors that a low-power radio license application could be in the works for the future.
McTevia is a man of precise language and excellent diction, a natural for radio, and many in the community hope that he will be on the airwaves again soon.
The bells tolling the hours from the Independence Courthouse carillon are another of McTevia’s gifts to the community; Independence doesn’t need Greenwich Mean Time because the community is on Independence time, and the town knows when it is running late. Inside the carillon are small bells, which are amplified electronically to sound like Big Ben. During holidays, the carillon is programmed by McTevia to play music, and when Santa lands on the Courthouse roof on Christmas Eve, the tune is “Here comes Santa Claus.”
McTevia donated the carillon in 1994, and he said that he feels a sense of reward in the carillon project.
McTevia is the consummate soundman. Every detail is perfect, and he is proud that he has never had a glitch in a system he has set up for an event. Because he likes to see families and people have a good time, he melts into the background saying, “Don’t think about the soundman.”
McTevia is there for the town during its most joyous events and the saddest of times, doing what he does best, helping people participate and giving them a voice through the generosity of his time and equipment. This year, all of Independence raises its voice in saying, “Thank you, Lindsay.”