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Hille home in Quincy
Rebecca Young/Post-Register
Dale Hille enjoys his new position with the fire department.
Dale Hille said he has lived in Quincy longer than anywhere else he has lived and it feels like home.
He was born in Porterville, Calif., since there was no hospital in Terra Bella, the little town he lived in until he was 3 years old. His father was a parochial school administrator, so the family moved around quite a bit, said Hille. They moved to San Francisco when he was 3, where they lived until he was 8, when they went to Sheboygan, Wis., where his dad was a youth pastor for four years. When his dad went into seminary, the family moved to Springfield, Ill. His father’s first church was in Streator, Ill., 90 miles southwest of Chicago. They moved there just before Hille’s freshman year and he attended high school and graduated from Streator High School.
After graduation, Hille attended Concordia College in River Forest, Ill. for three years. The summer between his junior and senior year, his parents moved to Spokane. Hille had a chance to come out west to do an internship in social work at Camp Lutherhaven in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
“I never went back,” he said. “I did my senior year at Pacific Lutheran University.”
He graduated in social work with a concentration in psychology. After graduation, he worked for two years for the Boy Scouts of America as a district executive for North Snohomish County. After those two years, he had the opportunity to pick up a dryland wheat farm in Quincy.
“I was at the point were I would have to move back to the city with the Boy Scouts or move on. I had my fill of big cities, so I started farming,” he said.
He farmed from 1983 to 1999, and said it was a good learning experience.
“It was a good place to live and raise kids,” said Hille, adding that he loved the lifestyle. Things didn’t pan out, however, so he left farming. He was hired on a provisional basis at the Crescent Bar golf course, starting out as a mechanic. After the previous manager passed away, Hille became the general manager, a position he held until this year.
Hille now works for Grant County Fire District No. 3 as a lieutenant and training coordinator.
“It is something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said, adding that he had tested previously with other departments, but that fire jobs are very competitive.
“I love it. I enjoy working with the volunteers and training is a real passion with me,” he said.
The ultimate goal is to help people out there, said Hille, which makes the job really rewarding. He was a volunteer with the department for 24 years before it became his career. The fire department is always looking for more volunteers, said Hille, encouraging anyone who is interested to give the station a call.
“We’ve been short staffed for a few years, but now we hope to pick the pace back up, re-energize the volunteers and get back up to 100 percent,” he said.
Hille met his wife, Pam, online on a Christian dating service. She is originally from Pendleton, Ore. She is a dental hygienist at Dr. Magnuson’s office.
“She loves her job tremendously and enjoys making people happy,” said Hille.
Hille has three children. Jayleen, 25, works for LeMaster Daniels in Wenatchee. Shane, 22, is in the Air Force, just back from Iraq, and is now serving in Washington D.C. Kevin, 18, is a senior at Quincy High School.
The fire department used to be his biggest hobby before it became his career, said Hille.
He has always enjoyed music and remembers his first public performance around age 5. In high school, he won a national school choral award and was in an international touring choir while in college,
“I have sung at more weddings and funerals around here than I can count,” said Hille.
Singing led to Hille’s involvement with Quincy Valley Allied Arts productions. He said with his new job, he doesn’t feel like he can devote the amount of time it takes to be involved in a production, but may get involved again in the future.
Hille also enjoys a variety of outdoor activities.
“I love riding Harley’s,” he said.
Other hobbies include scuba diving, although not in cold waters like the Puget Sound, and skiing.
“I try to get up to Mission Ridge at least once a week during ski season,” said Hille.
Hille said he and his wife are also involved in the Quincy Free Methodist Church, where he leads worship one weekend a month.
