Ron Hill Family: Hill Marine and Signature Propellers

[Ron Hill]

This picture is in Detroit. Charles SLough owned beauty shops in San Diego. After he left the Stock Nationals in Maryland, he attended a "Beautican's Nationals in New York, which he won...

Here he's looking at the Unlimites...with my dad and me...

Also pictured is Charles's D Runabout floater...

[Ron Hill]

Not sure you can read what my brother's flyer said...

[Ron Hill]

When Ted May and I headed for Paris, in September 1968....I saved the ticket, becasue at the time, the ticket was almost the same as a month's pay from teaching....Of course, OMC paid for the ticket...BUT, I took a month off work to go race....When I retired I'd lost a half year of service....Five Octobers....no pay, not retirement...But I'd do it again in a heartbeat....

Hell, if they still ran the Six Hours of Paris, I'd go to watch....Something about walking from the Paris Hilton, under that big tower to ther ace course, always brought chills.....racing in "DONW TOWN" Paris, France....

[Steveracer]

A local bank sponored a "Kart Race".... Well with the help of Steve Wilson, Jeff Wilson....maybe Brian Wilson... Ben Ellerman, and myself....we kind of took all the trophies...

Here is Chad hill getting ready to win the FINAL in the Irvine Bank's Kart Race....(Grandpa Hill made us a special oil of graphite and karosene)... We were fast...

I remember that day... If I remember right, there was a rule that you HAD to use an old orange crate as part of the cart. Ross may have been part of the pit crew also.

Also, did your dad ever find the tape measure that was "lost" during the remodel of your office? I remember how mad he was about it. The general opinion was that it was closed up in the wall and I remember he did blame Ross and myself for that. I think that was also the same year that Barb fired both of us, but we don't need to go into the reason why.

[rossdbos]

Now, as I remember it, Ron, aka Dr. Savapenny, was paying Steve and I less than Minimum wage, which at the time was around $4.00/hour to sit in his sweatshop (usually over 110 degrees inside that hot box) that was Hill Marine to bead blast props, put on nosecones, and do misc. light construction with the Elder Hill. Yes, both Steve and I took the blame, mainly me as I was working with him around the time of the disappearance of the beloved $2.00 tape measure, for which I never heard the end of from Russ.
As for Steve getting fired, the way I remember it, and Steve correct me if I am wrong, but on a typical day at the sweatshop, Ron or Barb brought Chad over and Chad being a very 'hyper' and excitable youth (of maybe 4 or 5) found it funny to go around the shop and turn every piece of equipment on, that is until Jeff, and this is my favorite part, got a hold of Chad, picked him up and gave him his very first "swirly" head first in that putrid toilet of that sweatshop! Well, Barb got a little peeved and once again Steve had had about enough of it and basically, in only the way Steve can do it, referred to her as a female dog and that was the end of Steve's tenure ship at famed Hill Marine. I soon followed suit now that Steve was no longer there.
I haven't thought of that story for close to 20 years.
Too funny!
Ross

[Steveracer]

Ross, the real funny thing is that's pretty much exactly how I remember it. Those were the days....

[Ron Hill]

I do remember you kids carrying the cart up the hill, with the drivers still behind the wheel...Those Irvine people had never seen people who REALLY got into racing.....

I do remember, that some kid had stolen some Hill Marine stickers from Racersteve, and Steve beat him up....I was sure we'd get into some big trouble from that....but maybe the kid didn't tell his parents he'd been caught stealing stickers....


I'm sure some of those OLD guys in Wisconsin will start talking about the night they tried to throw me in the pool....(Dayton, Ohio, 1974)...

[champhotrod]

Ron,
The way I remember the pool party at Dayton in 1974:
A lot of the Wisconsin bunch stayed at the Sheridan Motel (spelling??, not the chain, a local place) My family along with the Andy Hansen's, Ron Thomas' and many others were their. All the winners needed to get thrown in the pool
but when it came to Ron Hill's turn us A & B drivers couldn't get Ron in the water, he got on the table with the umbrella so we threw the table, umbrella and Ron into the pool as a unit.

Cooper Jess

[tthibodaux]

Jimbo McConnell, Ted May, Ron Hill, Cesare Scotti, Mike Wallace and Barry Woods.

[Ron Hill]

Top picture is 1978, Crazyhorse, Parker winner, Fred Hauenstein and I

Second picture, 1968 Milwaukke to Chicago to Milwaukee Marathon...

Third picture is Morgan City, Lousiana, OMC fueling my Evinrude Powered Scotti... This is the tunnel, that Jay Root turned into an Inboard Outboard and raced in the 150 class, until he was too fast...

This J Runabout is Chad Hill's JSR...

Last picture, framed is from Powerboat magazine...Ted and Scott March are in this picture. Ted sent Pat Bowman, Chad and I all framed pictures...

Ted and I go back into the 1960's...