WEALTH OF OLD-FASHIONED VALUES
Opting to give up golf a few years ago because of physical limitations brought on by advancing age, the Zephyrhills resident spends much of his leisure time at work in the shop behind his home, upholstering items of found furniture for friends, neighbors and Northern visitors.
At age 91, Tobey says he has no plans to slow down.
"I always like to work, and I get a lot of pleasure knowing I'm helping somebody as well as I'm helping myself. I save people a lot of money, and it's good therapy for me. If I had to just sit here all the time I'd go nuts."
Tobey takes shelter from the afternoon heat in the shade of a large oak, speaking in slow and deliberate terms as he attempts to explain the secret of his venture's longevity.
"I used to make and refinish furniture for antique people. Now I buy up old frames and get material they can't sell over the counter. I get it pretty cheap and then I make up these chairs like new," he says.
Prior to moving to Zephyrhills in 1958, the Massachusetts native spent his early years in a number of occupations before deciding to try his hand at upholstering.
"I bounced around quite a bit, trying to find myself. I went to Chicago to work for a few years around 1918 and stayed out there until the crash [of the stock market in 1929]. Started out in architectural and design work and got connected with Lincoln Park as chief draftsman. I laid out the golf course and all the new stuff, but I never did get to see it finished."
A hard economy stalled contruction efforts, and Tobey found himself temporarily out of work.
"I started building models for Sears Roebuck for their advertising. There were eight or 10 house models that they sold and you'd buy the whole thing in pieces. I built the models and they had them on display in the main store down there."
"I went up for a vacation for two weeks and just never went back. I rigged up a bench, a few tools in a barn and just taught myself how to do it. There's nothing to it, you just have to use a little common sense, and a little artistic sense, too, you know. There was nobody up there doing it, and that was what made me stay."
After succesfully pursuing his new-found calling in New England for some 20 years, his grown daughter and her husband were invited to present a series of puppet shows in the Bay area in the early 1950s.
While visiting Florida, Tobey would occasionally help with set construction. It was not long before he, his wife and workbbench were on their way to permanent residence.
"I loaded my tools in the car and just set up shop. It wasn't a week before I had a piece of work."
A widower for 10 years, Tobey is content to spend his time between the company of a few good friends and his favorite pastime, and sees little chance of his business continuing if he ever sees fit to give it up.
"Oh, he does wonderful work," volunteers Dorothy Roberts, Tobey's neighbor for some 30 years. "For a man of his age, he's just terrific."
"He is very meticulous with all of his work," customer Annice Ardo of Dade City agrees. "The quality is perfection itself."
"I always enjoyed it, and I still do," Tobey says. "I had thoughts that I might get my grandson to get into it, but it never developed."
"There's really nothing to pass on, I guess."