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FAVORITE AUTOMOBILE Bob said he always wanted a Ford Roadster and in 1933 he got his wish when a customer brought one into him to be fixed and then sold it to him for a fair price. He said he was so excited, he decided to drive it from California back to Ohio to show his Dad who always told him he'd never have his own Roadster. The Roadster's top speed was 45 miles per hour, he said, and the trip took nearly two weeks. "The car had wide wings on it and man did it kick up a lot of dirt," he said. "We kept moving the curtain in the car to one side, and then the other. We were sure tired of that curtain by the end of the trip." CHICKEN MURDER Bob's first job around age 18 was working for a bakery. He said he was in charge of cleaning the machine that mixed the bread. After the bread cooled, he was tasked with wrapping it and putting it through another machine that sealed the ends of the bags. Bob said at some point they decided he should also deliver the bread, and gave him an old truck to make deliveries. "It all went well until one day I was speeding down a dirt road and there were a flock of chickens at the end of the hill. I knew with the two hand breaks I wouldn't be able to stop in time and I'd wreck, so I just plowed right through those chickens," recalled Bob. "I killed so many of them. They were all stuck to the truck all over the place. That was a bad day, I killed the chickens and I got fired at the same time." REGRETS Bob said he has only one regret from his long life. "I really feel ashamed about killing those chickens," he said. FIRST TRAIN RIDE Bob recalls riding the Pennsylvania Railroad from Los Angeles back to his home state of Ohio in the 1930s. "Pennsy," was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was the largest railroad by traffic and revenue in the U.S. for the first half of the twentieth century. Bob said he got special permission from Pennzoil to see the engine room. "It was amazing to see how it all worked," Bob said. ENTERTAINMENT Bob enjoyed listening to the Lone Ranger radio program growing up. He doesn't recall the name of the first movie he ever saw, but says it was a western, in black and white of course, and it was quite a treat. He remembers when color television was invented and everyone would stand out on the street watching it through the windows of the stores. "It was quite a big deal," he said. POLITICS Bob has voted in every election, even the primaries, he said. His favorite president was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. A lifelong democrat, he switched to Republican in the last election at the insistence of his son Bill. "I can't see the democrats doing any good. "I don't really like Trump but I guess he's the best we've got," he said. OLD YUCAIPA Bob said he remembers when there was nothing in Yucaipa except Hal's Liquor store which was located as you came into town from Redlands "on old highway 99." Bob's son Bill said Hal's was like Walmart back then, with everything you needed in one stop and you'd see everyone getting his or her nightly supplies. Bob said they passed time hunting rabbits and squirrels and fishing. Yucaipa Boulevard was a dirt road and there were orchards and cattle ranches, Bill said. Bob said he takes growth in stride though, and that Yucaipa is doing it right. THE FUTURE Bob said he's worried about America's future because there is too much violence. "It seems like someone's always getting shot," he said. "We should love one another. Always love your neighbor as yourself." WEEKLY RIDES Bob (on the left of the inset photo) and his best friend Hank Fast meet weekly at the Sun Park Clubhouse for coffee and then go for a thrill ride on their mobility scooters. Bob and Hank have been taking the rides for years and usually ride around the Yucaipa police station and the city hall building. Sometimes they stop in to say hello to Assistant City Manager Greg Franklin. "Bob's a one of a kind guy and it's just amazing that he is 108 years old," said Franklin. 108 YEARS OF MEMORIES OUR YUCAIPA | AUGUST 2016 13 Photo by Stuart Semmens

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