By Matt Mackinder
Clarkston News Editor

INDEPENDENCE TWP. — Dale Bond still drives, still uses his cell phone, and will talk your ear off about the history of local communities, especially Clarkston.
Not too shabby for the Independence Township resident who turned 94 in April.
“I’ve lived here for 60 years, and I came out here before the highway,” said Bond. “I worked in Detroit and you had to go Dixie Highway to Woodward to get there, so I was happy when they put (I-75) in. Clarkston was a different town then. It was very quiet. I could go from Seymour Lake Road to Dixie without a light. Later on, there was one blinker at Church Street and Main Street.”
Bond, who has seven children (Larry, Jim, Bob, Beth, Donna, Diana, Jen), 11 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren, said what originally attracted him to Clarkston was “the country.”
“I lived in Troy, and I had an acre of land,” Bond said. “Turned out, it was an old gravel pit and I couldn’t even plant a tree, so I said, ‘I have to get out of here.’” I wanted a garden, so that’s what I came out here.”
When looking at how the Clarkston community has changed during his time here, Bond, who worked as a draftsman and a die designer, said there have been numerous changes that he has seen.
“When you used to go into town, there was one restaurant, what is now the Woodshop,” Bond said. “That was an old bar, called the Clarkston Cafe. Before people would go to Pine Knob, people would go to that cafe because they had good meals. Now, you’ve got all kinds of restaurants there.
“The problem now is the traffic. To tell you the truth, I don’t go downtown all that often because of the traffic.”
Over 60 years’ time, Bond says he has created many memories in Clarkston.
“When I moved here, the assessor was Bill Cobb,” remembered Bond. “Gerald McNally, the old judge, told me a story one time about Bill Cobb. He came out here looking for some land. Bill Cobb said he knew of a place up on the hill and that McNally had to buy it. It turned out to be a nice place overlooking the lake, so he did buy it and was very happy that he did. Bill Cobb, by the way, is a descendant of the Clarks (founders of Clarkston). Most people don’t know the full family of the Clarks, who had a big family.”
Prior to moving to Independence Township, Bond grew up in Detroit and said he didn’t realize what the Great Depression was during the 1930s. He also graduated from Cooley High School in 1947, saying, “my classmate was Mike Ilitch, by the way.”
“No one knew what was going on because we were all poor,” said Bond. “We didn’t know we were poor. I do remember eating rice and raisins and bread and milk. That was our favorite. No meat, but we did have chicken once in a while. We never went out to eat, but you didn’t know what was going on.”
In 1950, Bond was drafted to the United States Air Force and served in the 82nd Airborne.
“Truman put me in and Eisenhower got me out in 1953,” Bond said. “I was in charge of planes, had about eight planes to take care of. I had to maintain them. I would check the radios, call the tower and make sure they worked, and did the same with the radar. If something was wrong, I had to ground the airplane and fix it. My log either said ‘OK’ or ‘Grounded.’”
Fast forward to 1969, and the moon landing was another historical moment Bond will never forget.
“I loved it,” said Bond. “It was all new stuff. Now, it is so simple, but back then, it was ‘maybe’ and ‘iffy.’”
Smiling with a genuine grin, Bond said he has one simple secret to a long, enjoyable life.
“Don’t smoke,” he said. “Listen to your doctor and don’t smoke.”
Looking ahead, Bond said he is apprehensive about the future of the local community going forward.
“I hate to see it grow,” Bond said. “It’s not like the small town that we used to know.”
And even in his 90s, Bond has big plans for the rest of the summer.
“Gardening, getting on the tractor,” said Bond. “I’ll always be working around the house, but I’d rather be outside.”
Overall, staying in town through the past several decades has been an easy decision for Bond.
“I love it here,” said Bond. “It’s a great place to live.”

PHOTO: Dale Bond discusses what he enjoys most about living in Clarkston. Photo: Matt Mackinder