Hubie Hinkel was born in Cleveland, Ohio on Christmas Eve, 1919. He was born on Birchdale Avenue (91st and Wade Park). He even remembers the phone number. At that time they didn't have seven digits, in fact they didn't even have exchanges. They used only 1 letter of the alphabet. In his case the number was 6042J.

Hubie is fifth in line of seven children. His mother was born in Germany, his father here in the U.S. He married Irene Keiley (7-22-1944) during the war and they have three children (JoAnn, Patricia and Edward) and seven grandchildren.

He graduated from East High in 1938 after attending grammar school at St. Agnes and the 9th Grade at Addison. He met friends at East High that he still communicates with (mainly via email) to this day.

He worked in the factory at Lincoln Electric until February 1942 when he was drafted into the Army Infantry. He preferred the idea of the Air Corps so he volunteered for flight duty. He graduated from flight school and "got his wings" as a 2nd Lieutenant and Pilot.

Hubie spent the next three years flying bombardier-training missions and was fortunate enough to spend all of his time in the States. He was predominantly stationed in Carlsbad, New Mexico. He graduated from flight school just in time for the U.S.'s first invasion of France. Many of his fellow pilots were sent overseas, but the Army felt Hubie's talents were better used in training and he remained here.

He was also stationed in Denver for a while and it was at Kirtland Field in Denver that he was discharged as a 1st Lieutenant, Pilot.

While in Carlsbad, he and his wife were the only ones there with a house, rather than living on base. It was small, but it was home. They were able to have a lot of social gatherings for the other airman. "It's hard to say you had fun during a war" muses Hubie "but we did. We made a lot of wonderful friends."

Among the people he met was Captain Ford. It was after the war was over that Captain Ford became the famous Ernie Ford. He is still in email contact with a Colonel from his Air Corps days. They recently held a reunion at Disney World in Florida with people who hadn't seen each other in fifty-plus years!

After the war Hubie and Irene came back to Cleveland and Hubie went back to work for Lincoln Electric, this time as a salesman. He then went to work for General Electric Welding Division. Eventually he went to what is now called Penton Media and worked as an Editor of a number of trade publications.

It took a little getting used to for Hubie; he was used to the free time and outdoor work of a salesman and now he was behind a desk. But he took to it rapidly and became very good at the work he did.

Hubie and his family moved to New York when the job of District Sales Manager took him there. He was editor of Welding Design and Fabrication Magazine, a highly acclaimed and much used trade source magazine.

He and his family moved back to Cleveland and another promotion followed, as he became National Sales Manager. He now became the Publisher of Welding Design and Fabrication, The Welding Distributor and Welding Data Book. He was responsible for editorial content, promotion and, circulation. It was a task Hubie took to well; he is an organized, highly intelligent man with no fear of taking control and doing the job that needs to be done.

This position awarded him the opportunity to travel around the United States and Europe. He was invited to give a talk in England to a convention of Welding Manufacturers, a very high honor. He's spoken in almost all fifty states at meetings and conventions.

Hubie chose not to retire at 65 - he waited another 3 years just because he enjoyed his work so much. But retirement hasn't kept him from staying active. He and his wife enjoy having a good time and entertaining guests. Growing up he didn't always appreciate sharing his birthday with Christmas Day. Later in life Irene surprised him with a big birthday party aboard a River Boat Cruise with all of his friends and family. The biggest surprise of all was that it was in August so he didn't have to share the day with anyone or any other holiday!

He works as a Starter/Ranger at Pine Ridge Golf Course and golf is still one of his favorite activities. He plays for the fun and the camaraderie more than anything else.

He also has his woodworking to keep him busy. He makes beautiful items such as mailboxes and picture frames. There is a big demand among family members and friends for his handcrafted treasures.

Hubie also loves spending time on his computer. He keeps financial records in Lotus 123 and is in email contact with many friends. Two of his children live out of town so email keeps them in constant contact.

Hubie has recently organized a group of "Penton Alumni", past executives, who meet once a month for lunch. They started out as two and are now about fourteen. They do some reminiscing and some catching up, but mainly they just enjoy getting together and sharing good times with good friends.

The most important thing in Hubie's life is, understandably, his family. "Without family, the rest doesn't really matter", says Hubie. But he quickly adds that golf comes in second!

He believes you can do anything and be anything you want if you are willing to pay the price. Hard work is often the price - but the reward is up to you. "If you're going to do something, make it something worthwhile and something you can be proud of".

This is the philosophy Hubie Hinkel believes in and tried to instill in his children. It has worked for him; he can certainly be proud of the life he's lived and the things he's accomplished.