This photo isn’t as Caliber-worthy as I would like it to be, but this man is. And I wanted to share something special with you if you’re around in my neck of the woods in the next few days.
Some of you might have heard of John Dobson. He was a semi-regular fixture in my neighborhood, the Inner Sunset. He made a wonderful impression on me a couple of years ago, situated on the corner at 9th and Irving with his hand-made telescope and his red Radio Flyer wagon that he used to tote his telescope around in. I wrote about the encounter (which I hope you’ll read because it’s one of my favorite posts ever) and since then have always looked forward to his mini-lectures on astronomy and the night sky in my very own neighborhood. John is one of the people that made San Francisco even more special for me and every time I saw him, I felt very lucky.
John has not been in San Francisco for quite some time due to a stroke he suffered last year. When I received an email update from the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers group saying that he would be in the city again to give a class and celebrate his 94th birthday (aka his 94th trip around the Sun), I emailed the contact listed and got invited to his birthday party.
I sat next to John for a few moments until his birthday cake was brought out. I introduced myself although I didn’t expect him to remember me (he didn’t) and he told me never to have a stroke (I’ll try my best). I told him about how much I enjoyed seeing him and his telescope when he lived in the neighborhood, and how when I was a kid, my dad had a big Cassegrain reflector telescope that he would pull out once in a while but I never saw anything as clear and as beautiful as looking through John’s little telescope on the corner of 9th and Irving. He seemed very pleased to hear that. And it was true.
When I asked John how long he’ll be with us in San Francisco, he said only until Sunday, and then “he’ll never be back here again.” Not because he doesn’t want to, but because he’s a realist. He said “the life expectancies on these bodies (pointing to himself) is only 70 years or so, and I’m in uncharted territory now.” I was sad realizing that he’ll not be out on the corner again, giving astronomy lessons to the passersby.
But he will be out with his Dobsonian telescope (the one he invented) on Thursday around 5:30pm, just like old times. He’ll be offering peeks at the moon, if we can catch it before it sets below the rooflines, and Jupiter. I will be there to see the moon and the planet, of course, but mostly to see the man that made looking at them so enjoyable. If you can make it out to the corner of 9th and Irving, perhaps I’ll see you there too.
That’s a great story. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks Jeremy. I know you’ll be downtown but if you can get out to the Avenues before dark, you could meet him tonight. He’s a very cool guy.
Thanks for sharing this story and the link to your earlier post about Mr. Dobson. Combined, they are a wonderful tribute.
Thank you, Cheryl. I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to meet him and this seemed like the least I could do. I hope people find him tonight and give him a lovely SF sendoff.
I had the pleasure of meeting John Dobson in CT several years ago. He is an amazing person. How wonderful that you were there to celebrate his birthday. I think of him often and was wondering where he is now. I have a Dobsonian telescope–his invention that he never profited from. Thanks so much for this wonderful post!
Helen, that’s wonderful! So you understand exactly. I will tell him tonight about you. Thanks for coming over here from my other blog… this is where I spend a lot of my time now.
That is SO cool…
Got a kick reading in the Wikipedia article how he couldn’t afford expensive Pyrex glass, so he used surplus port-hole covers instead… And Sonotubes instead of more expensive materials… A guy who has really accomplished something — and you know him… Life has it’s moments, doesn’t it…
Donald, I think he might be doing a star party this weekend. I’ll find out in case you want to come out.
A wonderful and inspiring story! thank you for sharing. I used to live in that neighborhood and remember him on the corner…i had no idea he was the man behind the very telescope I have sitting in my living room and use regularly! SF should honor him by naming 9th and Irving Dobson’s Corner
Scot! That’s an awesome idea. I’m going to share that with the SFAA and the Inner Sunset Neighborhood Group… maybe you’re on to something. I think that’s a wonderful tribute. If you can get out here today… I think he’s giving a talk or a class tomorrow and maybe something on Saturday. I can find out for you.
…in fact, i suspect that the curved muni tracks are some sort of stonehenge-eqe design that, perhaps only at the equinoxes, the moon’s glow lights up a reflection of Dobson himself in the pavement
I didn’t make it out for his thursday event…is there something still going on Saturday? …and did you ever run across big bones? he used to play on that corner from time to time: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shamptonian/3241897837/in/set-72157613204693318/
I’ve run into John a few times in my work at RFO …. an amazing guy … an opinion about everything….. Come to think of it I have not seen him recently .. I hadn’t heard about the stroke… I wish I had a nickle for every young kid turned on to the night sky by John Dobson
Yes, and a great sense of humor to boot. What is RFO? (I guess I can look it up but I’m assuming the O is an observatory.) So glad you had the chance to meet him too.
RFO.org ….. my home away from home…..
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by tangobabyinSF: Meet John Dobson. “The Star Monk.” http://bit.ly/2edEFh [via @calibersf]…
Never understood the fuss about John Dobson. I first met him in the early 1970s at a bay area star party. He was ingratiating in a greasy sort of way. We looked politely through his telescope, the kind that has come to be called a “Dobsonian” — in reality, just a crude, poorly-built version of the Newtonian reflectors that many of us had been building for years. John seemed to us then, and still seems to many of us now, as a sort of con man. Alas, his appearance on the scene marked the beginning of the end for amateur telescope making, which once was a respectable hobby for people who took pride in their workmanship and their ability to make precision optics.