Bio of Hill, Robert (h400) - McIntosh County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Ron & Elaine Long 21 Oct 2001 Return to McIntosh County Archives: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ok/mcintosh/mcintosh.html ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm ========================================================================== ROBERT HILL, LOCAL BUSINESSMAN, PIONEERS TELEVISION IN THE EUFAULA AREA Mr. Hill was the 5th of 13 children, 6 of whom are still living, born to Mr. and Mrs. Bart Hill of Stidham, Okla. Mr. Bart Hill worked his way from Jamestown, Kentucky to Indian Territory to join his brother, Mr. V.E. Hill in 1901. The only things Bart brought with him were the clothes on his back and a banjo. He had to go down along the banks of the North Canadian River to find timber to build a one-room log cabin because Indian Territory consisted mostly of plains and very few trees at the time. Mrs. Tiny Hill joined her husband, Bart, making the trip from Jamestown, with her three babies in 1902 by train. Eufaula didn’t have a train service at the time so Bart picked up his wife and children in McAlester, Okla. And made the long journey back to the one room log cabin he had built near what is now Fame, Oklahoma, by horse and wagon. Indian Territory was very wild at the time, but the family finally settled at what is now Stidham, Oklahoma and made many contributions to the growth of that area. Mr. V.E. Hill established a business at Stidham and taught Indians to speak English for $7.50 per month. Mr. Bart Hill established a large saw mill operation and was also Justice of the Peace and performed many marriage ceremonies. Mr. Robert Hill went to work helping his father in the lumber business. One of Mr. Hill’s brother, Mr. Gilbert Hill remembers delivering orders by Model T. Ford Truck as far away as Henryetta and Okmulgee, Oklahoma. IN 1928, at the age of 20, Mr. Hill was married to Ruth McCain of Stidham by Preacher Storey. The young couple paid $125.00 for their home in Stidham and raised cotton operated a grist mill and the first silent moving picture show in the county. The moving picture show was shown in a building owned by Mr. Hill’s father. The building seated 400 people and was usually full every time there was a show. The picture machine was operated from a gasoline engine powered generator which made electricity. Mrs. Hill sold tickets to the show for $ .10 each at night and chopped cotton for $. 50 a day. The picture show had no sound and someone who was smart enough to read had to read aloud the words flashed on the screen because most people didn’t know how to read. Mr. Hill also drove the Stidham School Bus and supplied the gasoline to operate the bus with from the “Bootleg gasoline” made on his father’s land which had oil. At that time there were 3 oil wells which produced 15 barrels of oil per week. The oil was pumped from a tank into a big steam boiler which held 10 barrels of oil and was heated by natural gas. After the process, the oil because diesel fuel and then coal oil. The whole operation ws the exact duplicate of whiskey still only larger, and that’s why the gasoline became known as “bootleg gasoline”. It was while living at Stidham Mrs. Hill gave birth to two daughters, Mrs. Justenna Venable of Eufaula and Mrs Wanda Dobbs of Sand Srings, Oklahoma. Both girls were delivered by a mid-wife. With a desire to succeed on his own, Mr. Hill packed up his wife, two daughters and a few possessions and moved two miles west of Canadian, Oklahoma in 1935. He operated a grist mill and saw mill and the family lived in a two room house and felt fortunate to be able to buy 50 pounds of ice on Sunday from the ice cream truck which ran by their house between Canadian and Indianola. The ice was used for Sunday diner ice tea and sometime, if there were eggs and milk, they made homemade ice cream.. It was during this period Mr. Hill saw a National Radio Institute advertisement in a paper, advertising a Radio Repair Correspondence course. He answered the ad and enrolled in the course, studying long hours at night after work by a coal oil lamp. The course was difficult because of his very limited amount of education but he did finish the course and received a diploma from the school. In 1938 Mr. Hill purchased a house in Canadian for the $125.00 he had received from the sale of his house in Stidham. He moved his family and milk cow into town and ever9one was thrilled that the house had electricity. It was here that a son, Johnny, was born. Mr. Hill built a grist mill on one end of his lot out of cotton wood lumber. He operated the grist mill and drove to Eufaula daily to work for Mr. J.O. Bates who had a radio service business. Mr. Hill worked without pay for the experience he felt he needed. In 1939 he purchased the radio business from Mr. Bates and put up the first business neon sign in Eufaula on Main Street. He also made the first florescent light fixture in Eufaula and hung it over his work bench. The family moved from Canadian to Eufaula in 1940 and Mrs. Hill started helping in the business. She was in charge of the picture making machine, charging ten cents for three snapshots. She also sold ice cream cones for a short period, but this endeavor proved unprofitable because she was giving away more ice cream than she sold. The year 1943 found Mr. Hill moving his family to Wichita, Kansas, operating a radio repair service from his home and working for the Boeing Aircraft Company installing radio communication systems in B29 airplanes for use in World War II. While in Wichita, Mr. Hill employed Mr. Otto Eckelkamp to manage the radio business in Eufaula until 1948 at which time the family returned to Eufaula. The coming of television inn 1947 was the highlight of Mr. Hill’s career. He purchased the first television set in McIntosh County before there was even a broadcasting station in the State of Oklahoma. His friends and relatives didn’t hesitate to ask him if he was in his right mind when he did this. Mrs. Hill remembers the television set, which was a Spartan, setting in her living room showing nothing but a test pattern. Channel 9 in Oklahoma City finally started broadcasting a few hours per week, but the reception faded in and out and the picture was very dim. Mr. Hill remembers her husband inviting many people to their home at night to watch television and being absolutely thrilled if he could bring in just a glimpse of what looked like people. But, his friends and relatives didn’t show his enthusiasm and fascination for “a picture show on a screen in a box” in his home. This did not discourage him in the least; he’d just go out and raise the antenna a little higher. It was long though before television was accepted and Mr. Hill couldn’t have been happier than on the day he sold his first Bendix black and white television set to Mr. Tom Brotton in 1949. With the first sale, Mr. Hill was off and running in a profession he dearly loved. He was very happy when color television arrived and he added a very successful line of home appliances, that is, they were successful after he convinced his customers that automatic washing machines, machines that dried clothe, and air conditioners were needed items, not luxuries. Mrs. Hill is still using the clothes dryer her husband installed for her 20 years ago. She also recalls Mr. Hill had a major heart attack in 1955 and was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in McAlester. There was no air conditioning in the hospital and he had an air conditioner brought from his store in Eufaula and installed in his room. His family feels this was contributing factor in his recovery. The first air conditioner in Eufaula was in his home. The business grew rapidly and was moved from the very small space between the Cowling Café and Homan’s Dry Goods into the vacated Cowling Café building located next to the Palace Theater in 1953. Hill’s Radio and TV remained in that building, owned by Mrs. Gussie Creason, until the big fire in 1970 which burned the building and contents and all building south to the end of the street where the State National Bank is located now. Mr. Hill immediately reopened his business in the Janeway Lauhon Building on Main Street, but his health was beginning to fail. He stayed in the location until 1974 at which time he purchased the old Lloyd Huls’ Feed Store building which is a landmark on Front Street. Mr. Hill moved into this location in June of 1974 and passed away in December, 1974. His daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Lacy Venable have owned and operated the business since Mr. Hill’s death. So much could be said about the very kind and gentle man who smiled and whistled his way into more homes in this area than anyone, but there are two characteristics which stand out above all others to his family, his complete love and devotion to them, and the deep sense of honesty and integrity the good Lord blessed him with. (From the centenial edition of the INDIAN JOURNAL 1976) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to McIntosh County Archives: http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ok/mcintosh/mcintosh.html