Mountain Views News     Logo: MVNews     Saturday, February 13, 2016

MVNews this week:  Page 3

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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