Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2015 - (Page 47)

Portrait of a Professional Dr. Robert J. Bendzak (Kenmore, WA) Dr. Bruce P. Hawley PCSO Bulletin Northern Region Editor Dr. Bob Bendzak has been part of the Puget Sound orthodontic community for over 50 years. PCSO Bulletin Northern Region Editor Bruce Hawley met with him to compile an overview of his life and career. Bruce Hawley (BH): Bob, tell us about your childhood and growing up. Dr. Bob Bendzak Robert Bendzak (RB): I was born and raised in Tacoma, WA, and grew up in a blue-collar family. My father was first a coal miner in Roslyn, WA, and then a machinist in Tacoma. My mother was a homemaker as well as a conservative taskmaster regarding schoolwork, Sunday mass, music lessons, and family chores. Her major concern was that we maintain a responsible attitude towards any job. Being children of the Depression meant we all worked together to support our "middle class" lifestyle. I learned from my father to improvise and to repair just about anything. Dad worked hard and was one to make a job fun if possible. Our weekend jobs sometimes amounted to hikes along the railroad tracks, picking up coal that had dropped off the trains that passed daily. Wood and coal burning stoves were common in the 1930s; full gunny sacks were worth a lot, and it was a fun time spent walking and chatting. One of my first experiences as an entrepreneur was as a kindling salesman. I worked during summer vacation, delivering wagon loads of cedar shingles to neighbors at 10 to 20 cents per load. (The shingle mill was glad to have the rejects hauled away.) Other jobs I had during the early years included being a paperboy for the Tacoma News Tribune, a pin setter at a bowling alley, working in the Hunts Packing factory, in a hardwood veneer factory, and in the Heidelburg Brewery, jazz band gigs, and (at Christmastime) for the U.S. Postal Service. Bob Bendzak in his youth. Summer 2015  PCSO Bulletin Winter walks along the lower stretches of the Puyallup River were enjoyable steelhead fishing adventures. Together, we filled our larder with fresh and smoked fish. In junior high and high school, baseball came to me naturally from both sides of our family. Dad pitched fast-pitch softball, and my mother's brother pitched for a semipro team. He taught me to throw a nasty knuckle ball and was chosen to pitch against Satchel Paige when the traveling black team came to town. Guitar lessons took over much of my life outside of school and sports. I was involved in jazz band entertainment gigs and promotional shows for the Honolulu Conservatory of Music, a Midwest-based music chain with a local franchise that featured Hawaiian music. Baseball was a big part of Bob's teen years, and his uncle taught him to throw a nasty knuckle ball. All of my formal education occurred within the city of Tacoma - from grade school through college. I was a pre-med student at the College of Puget Sound (CPS). Workshop band and sculpturing classes fulfilled the needed liberal arts requirements when I decided that dentistry was a good future goal for me. 47

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2015

Staying Connected in a Large, Diverse Orgainziation
Palm Springs: A PCSO Favorite
Trustee Report
PCSO at a Glance
PCSO Member News
AAOF Report
Special Section on CBCT
CBCT Imaging Protocols Within PCSO Residency Programs
Cone-Beam Computed Tomography in Orthodontics - Benefits of Comprehensive Visualization
Case Report Pre-Treatment
CBCT in Today's Orthodontic Practice
Case Report Post-Treatment
Differentiating Posterior Crossbites with CBCT Volumetric Images
Apps for the Orthodontist
Dr. Ib Leth Nielsen, San Francisco, CA
Dr. Robert J. Bendzak
Dr. Arthur A. Dugoni's 90th Birthday Makes for a Special Alumni Meeting in San Francisco
Preparing for the Unexpected: Your Emotional SOS Plan, Part II
Resident Spotlight
Hygiene: A New Battle for an Old War
Dr. Peter Picard, 1919-2013

Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Summer 2015