An Obituary by Marek Zebrowski
Hy Blythe, an iconic figure in Paso Robles for many decades and a great champion of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, died at home on 31 March 2023. He was 95 years old. He left his wife, Hellie (pictured together above, at their home in 2007), daughter Leslie and son William, as well as four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Born in California but raised in Ohio, Hy obtained two engineering degrees from Purdue University and Mount Union College before earning his MBA at the Harvard Business School. Afterwards he ran several manufacturing businesses in Ohio before moving to the Los Angeles area and eventually permanently relocating to the family property on the west side of Paso Robles.
Hy’s connection to and his keen interest in Paderewski—a world-famous piano virtuoso, composer, statesman and benefactor of countless charitable causes around the world—began in earnest when Hy discovered the extent of Paderewski’s land holdings in Paso. It turned out that Hy’s Chimney Rock Ranch was in the same area where Paderewski had once planted almond orchards and vineyards. The range of rolling hills with oak groves and hidden hot springs provided the ideal site of Paderewski’s picnics where he, his wife and friends could relax during breaks in Paderewski’s concert tours of North America.
When the Paderewski Festival began in the early 1990s, Hy Blythe befriended Anne Strakacz-Appleton, Paderewski’s goddaughter, who lived near Sacramento and visited the Festival several times during its early years. Anne became a great source of information on Paderewski and much of Hy’s unprecedented collection of Paderewski-related memorabilia can be connected to his warm friendship with Anne.
As the years passed and Hy’s esteem for the great man continued to grow, he decided to commission a Paderewski monument from the Monterey-based sculptor, Jesse Corsaut. Modelled on a 1915 photograph of Paderewski from Hy’s collection, the first copy of the full-size bronze figure occupied the pride of place in front of the main house at the Chimney Rock Ranch (pictured below). Next, with much encouragement and support from Hy, identical copies of the statue were placed in front of the USC Thornton School of Music in 2007 and in front of the Paderewski Institute of Musicology in Kraków a few years later.
Hy’s enthusiasm for reminding the world of Paderewski’s amazing legacy then refocused on the artist’s adopted American home on Central Coast. In due course, one more monument commemorating Paderewski was placed in front of the Carnegie Library in Paso’s City Park in 2012. The festive unveiling took place on November 10, 2012, during the annual Paderewski Festival. This landmark was erected with the support of city officials and the inauguration ceremony was attended by several representatives of the governments of Poland and the United States. That sunny and warm afternoon must have been a very happy moment for Hy—the community assembled at the City Park heard the High School marching band serenading the crowds at the unveiling, and with it yet another important mission in his life was successfully accomplished.
Thanks to Hy’s incredible generosity, in 2008 USC Polish Music Center became the recipient of a treasure trove of photographs, negatives, documents and museum-quality memorabilia from Hy’s Paderewski collection. Known thereafter as the Paderewski Archive—the Paso Robles Collection, this amazing resource has been carefully preserved, catalogued and is currently being digitized with a goal of making it available to the public in the coming months.
Welcoming to all kinds of guests from former presidents, government ministers, ambassadors and other diplomats to various musicians and academicians, Hy’s elegant home was always open and fun to visit, especially if among the many attractions, a personally chauffeured and engagingly narrated ride along the countless miles of roads and trails on Hy’s ranch was also added to the offer. A thoughtful steward of his extensive landholdings, Hy was one of the key figures in passing of the California Land Conservation Act in 1965, which enabled local governments to contract with private landowners for the purpose of restricting specific parcels of land to agricultural or open space use in return for tax abatements. Hy’s excitement and enthusiasm when he talked about the pristine natural world that surrounded his home was just as contagious as it was heartfelt. His good—and sometimes mischievous—humor was in evidence every time Hy had a chance to show off some newly-acquired mechanical toy, invite a guest for a selfie with his favorite dinosaur guarding the garage, or present a visitor with a bottle of champagne ready to pop off and aimed at one of the duck decoys positioned high up in the living room beams.
Hy’s infectious smile, a hearty pat on the back and his trademark phrase, “He’s a good guy,” signified the highest degree of praise and seal of unconditional approval for the individual concerned. This was especially true if some obscure fact from Paderewski’s life was correctly identified by Hy’s partner in a seemingly casual conversation. World history and politics, airships of all kinds as well as real and toy trains, Charolais cattle, Andrew Carnegie and castles in Scotland’s Highlands were among Hy’s favorite discussion topics as well as areas of his considerable professional expertise.
The USC Polish Music Center and the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles deeply mourn the loss of a great friend and an enthusiastic supporter of our mission. Likewise, the Central Coast town of Paso Robles will not be the same without Hy. But, for all who knew him well, his spirit will continue to soar above the vineyards and speak gently through the rustling oak groves covering the hillsides. It will also continue to strengthen us with much hope and optimism, just like the benevolent sunshine that bathes California’s Central Coast region with its ever-present luminous glow.
[Photo source: PMC Archives]