A Mong the States, California ranks third in area, second in population, first in Playmate production--and it's still developing its physical and human resources. Looming large in the latter category is our Christmas Playmate, Lynn Winchell, a 20-year-old San Fernando Valleyite who calls Northridge her home. Lynn combines public-relations activity with salesmanship and secretarial work for the Noram Development Company, which is profitably engaged in creating a residential oasis on the shores of the Salton Sea. A three-hour drive through the desert from Sherman Oaks, where the company's main office is located, the Salton Sea is really a huge, saline lake--"You can't see across, let alone swim the distance, but there is another side." Miss Winchell, a finely developed five-footer, does paperwork during the week and on weekends shows prospective buyers their prospects, accompanying them on a daylong charter-bus tour that includes lunch at a yacht club overlooking the sea. "Sales are going smoothly," says Lynn, "but there's still land available."
Home base for the sizable Winchell family (Lynn has three sisters and a brother) is in Sepulveda; Lynn's father, an auto mechanic, works only a few blocks from the Noram office, and they frequently meet for lunch. Lynn naturally has a better-than-average understanding of how cars are put together, and her savvy stood her in good stead when she was bitten by California's rampant dune-buggy bug: "It's very kicky to be able to drive right over sand dunes, so it's easy to understand why so many people have flipped out over dune buggies. They're also easy to build, if you know what you're doing--you just take an old auto and replace the frame and wheels."
Perhaps because she comes from a largish family (though she says there's no intersibling rivalry), Lynn goes in for easygoing brands of entertainment, such as circulating through Northridge's sprawling shopping centers and bowladromes ("We don't have to mention my bowling scores, do we?"), partying with friends and occasionally driving into Hollywood for a show. She's also at home in the open air, whether speeding along on water skis or leisurely driving out to explore California's snowcapped mountain ranges. At odd moments, though, Miss December finds herself yearning for a return trip to Hawaii, where she spent a soul-satisfying vacation two years ago. "The Hawaiians were unbelievably friendly--they weren't in a big hurry all the time, as Californians usually are. Every place we went, people waved to us--even though we were total strangers."
For the future, Lynn has several ambitions, one of which is rather lofty--to fly a plane. "My brother-in-law is a licensed pilot who works for an airport, and he takes me up sometimes. Thanks to him, I was able to photograph our land development from the air--just for fun. I'd like to have my own plane someday--but that's strictly blue-sky planning on my part." Lynn also has a more practical and career-centered wish: to return to school and study business management; and with expectations both aerial and earthbound, she's wisely banking her Playmate fee.
The manner in which Lynn became our Holiday Playmate lends some credence to the old saw about history repeating itself; like our reigning Playmate of the Year, Lisa Baker, Lynn was picked as a potential Playmate, at a wedding, by photographer Bill Figge. "I posed with the bride after the ceremony," Lynn recalls, "and later, Mr. Figge asked if I were a model--which, of course, I wasn't. Then he invited me to try it, at his studio--and when he said he was a Playboy contributor, I thought he had to be kidding. In fact, being a Playmate still seems like a beautiful dream--and if it is, I'm not anxious to wake up." We're sure our readers will agree, however, that Lynn is a very real Playmate of the Month, indeed.
