Ron Hill Family: Hill Marine and Signature Propellers

[Ron Hill]

Seems after the 1966 Marathon Nationals, Vic Brinkman, Chris White, Max McPeek and Tom Schwartz (AKA Wild Ones) came to my parent's house for two weeks. (The four racers lived in Michigan and the Marathon Nationals were in Needles, California.)

My parents were planning a two week vacation after the Nationals, so I invited the "WILD ONES" to come and stay at my parent's house.

While "THE WILD ONES" were in California they did see Disneyland and hit the beaches. But every night we had a "KEG" party at my parent's. The neighbors were pretty cool about parties as they also had "Young Adult" children. A keg a day ain't a bad party!

So, after picking up the keg the first day, I just had the liquor store deliver a keg everyday, and they'd take the empty.

My dad sold this house in 1989, but every year from 1967 to 1989 he'd get a new calendar from a local liquor store. One time as he was opening the calendar he said, "Funny, I've never been in this liquor store and they send me a new calendar every year and have for more than twenty years..."

This is me with keg number one, in the back of Dennis Hoag's Ford Falcon truck. Dennis's dad was head of the Orange County draft board, and he tried like crazy to draft me....Every year I'd get a deferment for teaching school, but he'd try to get me in the summer....but I'd be off racing and not answer my mail...until school started....Later they had the lottery and I never "WON"...

ADD: SkyHarborCowboy...Welcome to BRF....I'm a Flagstaff, Arizona (NAU) grad......Thanks for telling me I could write a book...I have a book, it is called "Ron Hill Here!' on Amazon.

LAST ADD:

When my parents came home, they said, "Man this carpet looks a lot worse than we remembered it, think we'll buy new carpet..." Oh, to be young and think you fooled the OLD MAN!!!!!!

[Ron Hill]

Thanks, I was like that...

----- Original Message -----
From: william mackay
To: Ronnie Hill
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 7:59 PM
Subject: Pic


Trying again to email a poster picture.
This has been hanging on my shop wall for at least 35 years.
This is how I remember Ron Hill.

FYI:

Bill MacKay is Jean MacKay-Schwartz's brother. Jean is and has been quite an A Stock Hydro driver. Their late brother Jim was as good of a tunnel driver to ever live. He drove small boats like Jimbo. He drove tunnels better than anyone I can recall. Jim was plagued by mental illness. Before I knew of his illness, I called to find out if I could hire him to teach Chad Hill how to drive a race boat....

Brother Bill built some amazing boats and was quite a racer himself.

Thanks Bill for the poster. I like Jim McKean with his DePue plaque....(Jim had never seen the picture that we made the plaque from)..I have never seen this picture of me driving my 13'6" DeSilva with my VC Konig D, at 90 plus MPH...

I would like this as a plaque..

ADD: My brother has a saying that "You were what you were when..." Well, this picture of me, July 1969, Folsom Prison (Folsom Lake), is me, Ron Hill....I was what I was when....

[Ron Hill]

Mary Zapf gave me these photos at Havasu landing, 2009.


19-C is Chad Hill, Puddle Jumper is Steven Dawe...

Eric Von Zapf was racing that day, too, in J....

[Ron Hill]

My dad inspected this race in 1953, 54 and 55. I started racing and he backed away from inspecting for a few years. My dad disqualified many people over the years, the majority of which never blamed my dad. My dad was a pretty much black and white guy. He never looked for things to DQ you that didn't help your speed. If he felt it didn't give you an advantage, like a handle being taken off, he never bothers.

I feel me dad set the standard of what a CLASS ONE inspection should be, inside a controlled environment, quiet, with the inspector, driver and one crew member.....not every jack *** and their brother able to watch.

My dad was over ruled twice in his almost fifty years of inspecting. Once, an "A" block was over ruled at the DePere, Wisconsin Nationals. It was a blue Printed block, when blue printing wasn't legal, one port didn't measure, but that didn't matter, the Stock VP had an old score to settle with my dad, as my dad had disqualified his son at eh 1952 Nationals...

They other was also an "A" Block...Edgar Rose ruled the block was legal. Later, when I confronted Edgar, Edgar admitted measuring it with anew gasket....I pointed out to Edgar that the block had had a paper thin, no Mercury gasket, as Mercury gaskets were not required anymore...

I don't think my dad would inspect today, too many things that aren't clear enough cut for him, I suspect...

[Ron Hill]

Early in the race, I blew a hole in the bottom of this Glastron, on the right side. I pulled in to quit, Ted May's Switzer had already sank, and he was there in the water when I stopped, Ted felt under the boat and looked inside the boat. Ted said, "Try to keep her on the left, and you'll be OK."...Well, it seemed OK to me, but we did have a right hander turn. The boat didn't break up anymore, but on the right hander she'd take on about 40 gallons of water, but on the other three left handers she'd drain dry. I drove for four hours that way, not really thinking of anything but making another lap before I sank. At the end of the first day I was leading the 128 boat field.


That night Wilbur "MAC" McDonald, maybe Bruce Summers and the OMC crew glassed the transom and bottom...They ran heaters all night. I was 23 years old, but I was beat to hell and went to bed early, not really caring if they fixed the boat or not.

Jack Leek met me the next morning and explained that Jimbo was leading singles and I was leading over all and the boat would be OK, they thought.

He wanted to know if I could go four hours again without relief....I ask who he could get to drive with me? He said, "No one..."

It is history now, the Governor's son won overall , I had the most laps....Bill Cooper and Rudy Ramos drove with Mike Reagan.

ADD: You can see where the bottom and side were patched...

[Ron Hill]

When I was 10 I got an A Runabout. I never really wanted a hydro. I only raced one A Stock hydro race in my life. I ran my brother's Big Bee Swift with an A on it, and won the qualifier but a pin came out of a piston and wrecked the block in the finals....August 1958...I really only had a n "A" for four years and only raced three...As I went from 90 pounds to 170 or so very fast...

Four Au pictures:

1. Carlsbad: Ronnie Hill leading, Bobby Parish, Charlie Harter, inside back, Roy Woodruff, outside Peter Osborn, and last Dan West.

2. Brawley March 17, 1957 Pete Osborn in the lead, me on the outside, Jack Corner next to me, Danny West on the outside, Charlie Harter, Roy Woodruff under Bob Parish's splash Ralph Bell behind Parish, and Jack Woodruff in 9-C...

3. 19-C Ronnie Hill and 5-C Ronnie Loomis at Hansen Dam, L.A. California

4. Speedboat Rodeo, Lake Los Angeles, AKA the Puddle...39 weeks of TV racing...226 C is John Clute, he was killed a plane crash. His son, Steven is a state senator living in Indio area...Ward Rogers is 4th. this was a trophy dash..I had broken a rod after qualifying and borrow a motor...I think Ronnie Loomis won the trophy dash!

[Marlee Hill]

Great pics Ron!

Thought that I should have this on The Hill Family thread:

[Ron Hill]

5-C is Ron Loomis, this is Puddingstone Spring 1957...Pete Osborne is in 400-C

Wynn "red" Brown is dumping his DSH at Brawley....C-6 is Russ Hill, Jr....(Marlee's grandpa)...

The other picture is Lake Mead, 1955...52-C is Jack Corner, AU record holder, inside him is Bobby Willard from Oildale, then Charlie Harter, inventor of the Kneel Down boat cart..and me in 19-C

[Bunker Hill]

My first race was at Needles, February 12-13, 1977! I had a boat built by a woodshop teacher from Needles, Edgar Peters, Garr, as Ron called him. Raced ASR against Dick Davidson and Keith Yunger, they both jumped the gun in heat 1, so I won! I also had to get stiches in my knee that night from a fender washer that was holding down the pad in my boat, I raced on Sunday, stitches and all!!
It was a great weekend!
Bunker

[Ron Hill]

I threw the trophy away, but kept the plaque off it...April 27-28, 1968...Co-Sponored by Playboy Magazine and Schlitz beer...