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Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 13, 2016
Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side
by Deanne Davis
“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the
meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it
with another.” Thomas Merton
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now
and then doesn’t hurt.” Charles M. Schulz
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and I’m sure you’re
ready: nice card for your sweetie, maybe a flower
or two, like those miniature roses in a cute pot
at Trader Joe’s, about $5 and they last for weeks
inside and then you can plant ‘em outside where
they’ll grow and bloom and remind you of a
lovely moment. Speaking of lovely moments, a
whole bunch of them came my way when I met
long-time Sierra
Madre resident,
Bill Hobiack. Bill
will be 100 years
old on February
17th and his
family, friends
and neighbors are
throwing an open
house for him to
commemorate
this achievement.
Seriously, living
to be a hundred is
an achievement!
Bill’s dentist said
that he’ll have
to live to be 110
because his teeth are going to last that long! Bill
is still in his own house, with dear neighbors all
around who keep an eye out for him.
Bill loves to dance and has stories galore about
dancing all around the world with his Valentine,
Dorothy, who was Sierra Madre’s Citizen of
the Year in 1992 and one of the Community
Participants in Sierra Madre’s 1996 General
Plan. Bill and Dorothy traveled as much as
they possibly could, to Hawaii, Tokyo, Taiwan,
Hong Kong, Bangkok, Greece, Turkey, Russia,
a Caribbean cruise which included the island
of Curacao and a stop on the northern coast of
South America where they took a bus to Caracas,
Venezuela. Bill and Dorothy’s travels and cruises
made memories that most of us will never have
and everywhere they went, what did they do?
They went dancing!
Bill was born on February 17, 1916 in old Forge,
Pennsylvania, an anthracite mining town outside
of Scranton. His parents, Andrew and Anna, were
both born in the Ukraine, in towns about seven
miles apart but never met until Andrew migrated
to Old Forge in 1902 and worked as a coal miner
with Anna’s two brothers, Max and Joe. They
brought their sister over to the States in 1904
and Andrew and Anna married in November
of 1906. Andrew continued working as a coal
miner until Bill was six months old. Andrew and
Anna bought a 54 acre farm three miles south
of Dushore, Pennsylvania. Around1930 they
bought another 54 acre farm which adjoined
their original property. And this is amazing: they
paid $800 for it on a strictly handshake deal! Bill
was the 4th child in his family. Oldest brother,
Michael, died of influenza at 18 months. Then
came Alek, Mary, Bill, Helen, and lastly, Rose.
Bill was not happy when Rose arrived as he
wanted a little brother. “When they named her
Rose, I said we already had a cow with that name
and she never forgave me for that.”
Like many folks in that era, school for Bill was
one room at the Cherry Township Elementary
School with 23 students spanning 8 grades. In
May 1928, Bill graduated from 7th grade, took a
State of Pennsylvania 8th grade examination and
moved on to high school in September of 1928,
graduating in June of 1932 with a GPA of 97, but
afraid he would end up being Valedictorian of his
class, he dropped it down to 94.
Bill wasn’t wild about farm work but as the
country was deep in the Depression, there just
wasn’t anything else available. Bill would sit
on his front porch at night and if the wind was
coming from the right direction, he could hear
the dance music from town. He learned to dance,
ballroom and swing, when he was about 15 and a
lifelong love began. Some years there would be a
block dance in the center of Dushore. A 10-piece
orchestra on a flat-bed truck, corn meal sprinkled
on the concrete
street and the
dance was on!
Bill loaded
field stone,
worked as a
shipping clerk,
made popsicles
at the creamery
for 35 cents an
hour, worked
as a coal miner,
hitched to
Detroit, arriving
after a 103-
day GM strike
settlement
with the UAW.
“Working 48 hours per week was like a vacation
compared to 84 hours per week on the farm.”
When he turned 21, his mother gave him a new
suit and her blessing and he left the farm.
Bill hitchhiked to New York and has a great
story about being the only white guy in a club
in Harlem for a battle of the bands; 9 bands that
played from 9 p.m. till 6 a.m. He said he would
never forget that and everybody there couldn’t
have been nicer to him. Being young, broke and
wanting to dance, he would sneak in to dance
places by having a girl open the door for him
from inside.
Bill hitched and traveled and got himself pretty
much all over the United States then on December
1, 1946, got a job with Dun & Bradstreet and
stayed with them till his retirement in 1978, most
of the time working from his home, which was,
incidentally, an avocado packing station at one
time.
Dorothy entered Bill’s life on a Saturday night in
December 1964 at the El Dorado Inn, a beautiful
restaurant which used to be on New York Drive.
They were married on March 6, 1965, and Bill
became a stepdad to Dorothy’s three sons; Bill,
Jeff and John. They moved into their home here
in town, traveled, danced, and traveled some
more. Dorothy sold real estate here in Sierra
Madre and they enjoyed their life together here,
dancing sometimes three times a week down at
Frankie’s Place on Walnut, which, sadly, is now
closed. They loved Sierra Madre’s tranquil peace.
Dorothy is gone but Bill’s eyes gleam when he
talks about all the times they danced all over the
world. Asking Bill his secret for such a long life, he
laughs and says, “Happiness, and always looking
for the good wherever you are, not complaining!”
Pretty good advice! Happy Birthday, Bill!
“Deathtrap” is only going to be at the Playhouse
till February 20th! Get your tickets!
Check out my book page on Amazon.com:
DeanneDavis@Amazon.com
You might like my blog, too: www.authordeanne.
com
SIERRA MADRE POLICE DEPT.
During the week of Sunday, January 31st, to Sunday,
February 7th, the Sierra Madre Police Department
responded to approximately 266 calls for service.
Friday, February 5th At 8:40 pm, Sierra Madre
Police responded to the front lobby regarding a
court order violation. The reporting individual
stated that he had received a court order from a
courthouse stating that he shall have his daughter
for her birthday for an hour and that pick up and
drop off would be at the Sierra Madre station. When
the man’s ex-wife failed to appear at 5pm, he waited
in front of the station for several hours. Several
attempts by the father to contact the mother went
unanswered. The father then reported the situation
to Officers and provided them the legal document
that stated the arrangements. The father chose to
file a report for documentation purposes and filed
charges against the mother for disobedience to
court order.
Saturday, February 6th At 12:10 am, Sierra Madre
Police were patrolling the area in front of a local bar
when they noticed a woman passed out on a bench.
Officers approached the woman to ensure she
wasn’t in need of any medical attention, and soon
recognized the woman as one they had previously
advised to go home after a night of drinking.
Earlier that night the woman was with man who
stated he was her boyfriend and that he would see
to that she got home safely. When Officers were
speaking to the woman now, the man was nowhere
to be seen. The woman had difficulty waking up
as Officers shook her shoulder, and once she was
awake Officers could see she had watery eyes,
disheveled clothes and a strong odor of alcohol
emitting from her breath. Officers called Sierra
Madre Fire Department to treat the woman and
while being treated the woman’s boyfriend arrived
on scene. When the woman saw the man, she
became combative while paramedics were treating
her and was ultimately placed in handcuffs for her
safety and the
safety of others. The woman was transported to a
local hospital for further treatment and was cited
for public intoxication.
Sunday, February 7th At 2:22 am, Sierra Madre
Police were patrolling the area of East Sierra Madre
Blvd when they came across a pick-up truck that
kept braking multiple times as it traveled down
the street. Officers thought it appeared odd due to
the fact the vehicle was not approaching any stop
signs nor were there other vehicles on the road.
Officers followed the truck for several blocks as it
swerved from left to right, passing through stops
signs, and making right turns from the left lane.
Officers conducted a traffic stop and when they
approached the vehicle they could smell a strong
odor of burning brakes. Officers made contact with
the driver, who had watery eyes and a strong odor
of alcohol. The man consented to a field sobriety
test to determine if he was capable of safely driving,
which he ultimately did not pass. Officers arrested
the man and cited him for driving while under
the influence and failing to stop at a stop sign. The
man’s vehicle was towed and he was transported to
Pasadena Jail.
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com
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