Dottie Hyde was very excited in the mid-1950’s when word went out that a symphony orchestra was being formed in Santa Cruz. “I have loved music since I was a child,” says Dottie. “I don’t play any instruments like others in my family, but I can listen endlessly.”
She made sure to get tickets to the first concerts held at the E.A. Hall Middle School in Watsonville and has been a regular subscriber to the Santa Cruz Symphony ever since. Besides attending concerts, Hal and Dottie Hyde have been committed to the community around the Santa Cruz Symphony.
After the 1989 earthquake wrecked the Watsonville High School, Hal and Dottie were involved in the rebuilding effort. “We wanted to make sure there was a good performance venue for the community,” says Hal, who helped develop the funding for The Mello Center for the Performing Arts, including money donated by the Santa Cruz Symphony.
Today, the Hydes are active in the Mello Music Makers and have been season subscribers for the life of the Santa Cruz Symphony. “I just love the way Danny Stewart has brought music to a wider range of people,” says Dottie. “His programming always has something for everyone regardless of their age or interest.”
She also likes the way Danny interacts with the community around him and brings music to everyone. “I’d like to see the symphony continue to grow and thrive,” says Dottie, “and, of course, a new performance hall in Santa Cruz County would be good to have!”
Hal and Dottie each have roots in the East Bay and came to Watsonville by separate but similar paths. Following service under General Patton in World War II and a Harvard MBA, Hal became merchandising manager for the Ford’s Department store chain that had stores from San Luis Obispo to Half Moon Bay. He later became involved in the creation of the UC Santa Cruz campus and became the first Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance.
Dottie’s first husband became responsible for PG&E’s Moss Landing generating station at about the time Hal was working for Ford’s. Each couple found Watsonville to be a convenient location, and later built homes on the same hill in Corralitos. That was especially convenient for Dottie’s husband because, she said, “On a clear day you can see the plant from here, and he could tell right away if something wasn’t right from looking at the stacks.”
Hal and Dottie and their first spouses were already acquainted when they were surprised to meet up at a high school reunion. “It turned out that Hal and I had gone to the same high school in Oakland,” says Dottie, “although he was three years ahead of me.”
Their homes on that hill were just a few miles apart and, following their meeting at the reunion, the couples became close friends. Hal and Dottie stayed close after their respective spouses passed and ultimately married 18 years ago. Today they live in the house with a view of the Moss Landing power plant.