Hollister
– Tres Pinos resident Delbert Doty always had a keen interest in
history and a knack for fixing things.
Hollister – Tres Pinos resident Delbert Doty always had a keen interest in history and a knack for fixing things.
That combination of talent and intrigue drew Doty, 70, to the San Benito County Historical Society four years ago, when he was asked to help with the restoration of an old gas engine belonging to the society.
Doty has become a historical society staple ever since, regularly volunteering his time to restore historical artifacts and machinery, and help wherever else he’s needed.
“I’ve always been interested in history,” he said. “If we don’t save what we’ve done in the past, we won’t know which way to go or which way we’re headed.”
While Doty always has been interested in helping with the historical society, the volunteering has become a full-time focus for him since retiring from his job as an engineering technician.
Doty said he craves the work to help keep him busy on a day-to-day basis.
“When you get to be my age, after working 10 to 12 hours a day for 50 years, you need something to fill the time,” Doty said.
Doty volunteers 20 hours a week at the San Benito County Historical and Recreation Park past Tres Pinos – restoring buildings and machinery, and working on the general upkeep of the facilities.
“He does everything out there,” said society president Peter Sonne, adding that he wouldn’t know what to do without him.
The historical society, led by Doty, just completed the rebuilding of a 100-year-old outhouse at the park.
Through his volunteering services, Doty has rebuilt wagons and worked on old tractors. Doty said he really enjoys working on the old artifacts, imagining the history behind them.
“Just to restore an old tractor and to know that someone used this 50 or 100 years ago, it’s very interesting,” he said.
Doty is not a San Benito County native, moving from the Midwest in 1957, but the agricultural history of the county is still of great interest to him.
The old farming and ranching equipment piques his interest much more than San Benito County’s historical records, he said.
“I was a transplant, so I don’t really care who got married in 1922,” he said.
While Doty enjoys the restoration process and learning about the history of the machinery on which he works, he also enjoys being a part of that history.
“It’s good just to know that I’m doing something that might be remembered 100 years from now,” he said. “I’m keeping the memory alive.”
