The Crowd -- B.W. Cook

The 2002 Winter Formal at Newport Harbor High School brought together

three generations of one Newport Beach family along with 22 teenagers in

black tie for a pre-event dinner under a white tent.

Robin Hobson grew up on the Back Bay of Newport Beach in much simpler

times. Hobson, a retired dentist with a USC diploma, now manages the

financial portfolios of real estate lender Franklin Financial in Corona

del Mar. The man who favors Ryen Spooner luau shirts to pinstriped

business attire is one of the most successful loan brokers in the

business.

Hobson and his wife, Aida, are known for their attention to detail in

both business and personal matters. So, it is no wonder that when their

daughter Michelle McKelvey, a sophomore at Newport Harbor High School,

came to them to ask if she could host dinner for her friends prior to the

Winter Formal dance and party at Knott’s Berry Farm last Saturday

evening, the Hobson’s responded with a generous and enthusiastic, “Let’s

do something special.”

Up went a white pavilion on the lawn in the backyard of the Hobson’s

mission-style Spanish home in the Newport Heights. A baronial dining

table was set up lengthwise in the tent, draped in white satin and

sprinkled with pink rose petals. Crystal vases held floating white

candles in the shape of roses that flickered and danced in the waters.

Twinkling white lights lined the ceiling of the tent, intertwined with

garlands of pale pink roses on green vines. Pink toile draped the back of

the white painted folding chairs, as well as the sides of the banquet

table. Elegant enamel miniature picture frames, as table favors, were

placed at each setting. Silver ice buckets chilled nonalcoholic sparkling

cider ready to serve the arriving young guests out on the town for one

very special night.

As Aida and Robin Hobson prepared the final touches for their special

formal dinner, parents of some of the other young guests joined in the

detail. Instructions were delivered to all volunteers to dress in black

and white, and all parents obliged reporting to the Hobson home to work

as waiters, servers and cooks. Now you are probably thinking this all

sounds very extravagant and very expensive. However, the evening was

lovingly prepared by the Hobsons and the other parents who, with the

exception of erecting the tent, did everything on a simple volunteer

basis to create some magic for a group of young people who hopefully will

never forget that their parents bent over backward to show them just how

lucky they are to live in this community.

Aida Hobson, who is by all rights one of most outstanding gourmet

chefs in Newport Beach, organized her volunteer kitchen crew to prepare a

dinner that began with a Chinese chicken salad, followed by a main course

of sliced teriyaki steak and chicken over rice with tempura vegetables

tied in a bouquet. For dessert, each couple was served an individual

heart-shaped cake decorated in pink and white roses with their names

etched in icing. Parents prepared the dinner, served the dinner and

cleaned up following the departure of the elegant young diners headed for

Knott’s Berry Farm in a rented coach.

Robin Hobson recalled his days as a youth in Newport Beach. “My

generation did not do this sort of thing. Instead, I remember the parties

we used to have where 400 kids would show up at my parent’s house for a

4th of July barbecue, and my mom and dad would actually grill 400

hamburgers for everyone there.”

Hobson’s parents, Helen and Al, were on hand for Michelle’s gala

dinner. They too recalled simpler times past, yet were proud and pleased

to see the handsome gathering of the young Newport generation celebrating

a unique right of passage.

In the crowd were Andrew Belden with Barbara Julien, Diana Carr with

Chris Smith, Tyler Deck with Carolyn Conway, John Dobrott with Alexis

Kerns and Jessica Ball with Andy Newsom.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.