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SOUTH PARIS — The Maine Veterans Home in South Paris has selected Herbert “Skip” Hobson as Veteran of the Month for March.
Hobson was born in Portland, and his mother died when he was young. He was raised by his step-mother and father, Marge and Herbert Hobson Sr. He has two brothers, Daniel and David, in addition to a sister, Sherry. Some of his childhood was spent in Dover, N.H., before moving to Kittery and eventually residing in York.
Hobson enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Dec. 30, 1954, at the age of 17. He did 11 weeks of basic training at Sampson Air Force Base in Finger Lakes, N.Y. He was sent to school at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colo., for training as a “K” system mechanic. Hobson received additional training for bomb navigation system repair at March Field Air Force Base in Riverside, Calif. Skip says “We were referred to as ‘K’ men.” He was honorably discharged from the Air Force Aug. 20, 1956, receiving the National Defense Service Medal.
Upon his discharge from the military, Hobson returned home to York. His first job was working at Welch’s Texaco Station in Portland. He later worked for Toledo Scales, calibrating the scales from lab scales to commercial scales. Hobson drove dump trucks and worked for various trucking companies throughout the New England States, including American Steel out of South Portland. “I must have driven over a million miles,” he said, retiring from driving dump trucks in 2000 from Grondin & Sons in Gorham.
Hobson and his wife Carolyn, who died in 2000, had five children together — four boys and a girl. He has 10 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
His hobbies include watching NASCAR, word searches and playing bingo. He always enjoyed paint-by-number art.
Hobson came to the Maine Veterans’ Home in January 2017 and resides in the Residential Care Unit.
PHOTO: Herbert Hobson. (Submitted photo)
