Bio;
John Francis Hilley was born on June 17, 1871, in Olmsteadville, New York. Uncle John was the adventurous brother and was very sports minded. His favorite sports were baseball and boxing, he never had much interest in going to school. He had a collection of old Irish ballads he was fond of singing whether anyone wanted to listen of not. One of my earliest recollections is of him combing the snarls out of my hair; he was very patient and gentle. With four young nieces with various degrees of snarls I'm sure we kept him busy. He smoked the same old pipe for many years, smoking Prince Albert tobacco from a red can. He had very strong teeth and liked to show off by cracking nuts with them. He had two regular sets of teeth and part of a third.
He was a strong swimmer; he once fastened a air float to each foot and tried to walk across the Des Moines River, He almost drowned. If he had lived a few decades earlier he would probably have joined the James Gang for the adventure. On one of his escapades he hurt his hip and walked with a limp for the rest of his life. He always called it his "Jig spoke".
Uncle John did all the wood chopping for the two households for cooking and winter heat. He liked to take the hound dogs and go hunting, often bringing home rabbits, pheasant, or quail. The ranch was large with abundance of wildlife; he would leave in mid-morning and not return until late afternoon. One outing the dogs chased and killed a bobcat, on another day one of the young hounds was bitten in the face by a rattlesnake and although his head puffed up almost doubles, the dog recovered.
Another chore Uncle John took upon himself was seeing to it that the water tanks were always full. Our two windmills did all the pumping when there was any kind of wind, but sometimes there were days at a time when there was not enough wind to turn the blades so Uncle John would pump by hand. The pump handles were high and long so it was not hard on his back. The wells were deep and the water was icy cold and delicious. One day when Uncle Speck returned from the fields, tired and overheated, he stopped by the old windmill for a drink. The icy water caused him to pass and fall backwards to the ground hitting his head. As he was coming out of a faint he said, "Which of the girls slipped up behind me and hit me on the head?"
No matter what any of us girls cooked Uncle John would say, "It's good", before he even tasted it. One day Catherine made some pudding and put it in a bowl on the table, Uncle John thought it was gravy, put it on his potatoes and said "It's good". Catherine had her own way of announcing that dinner was ready. She would say, "Let us have some lettuce". His last years of his life were spent at the Chadron Rest Home on 237 Chadron Ave. He enjoyed sitting in the yard and feeding the squirrels and probably singing to them. He died on November 16, 1961. Burial was November 20, 1961, Calvary Cemetery. He never married.
John Francis Hilley was born on June 17, 1871, in Olmsteadville, New York. Uncle John was the adventurous brother and was very sports minded. His favorite sports were baseball and boxing, he never had much interest in going to school. He had a collection of old Irish ballads he was fond of singing whether anyone wanted to listen of not. One of my earliest recollections is of him combing the snarls out of my hair; he was very patient and gentle. With four young nieces with various degrees of snarls I'm sure we kept him busy. He smoked the same old pipe for many years, smoking Prince Albert tobacco from a red can. He had very strong teeth and liked to show off by cracking nuts with them. He had two regular sets of teeth and part of a third.
He was a strong swimmer; he once fastened a air float to each foot and tried to walk across the Des Moines River, He almost drowned. If he had lived a few decades earlier he would probably have joined the James Gang for the adventure. On one of his escapades he hurt his hip and walked with a limp for the rest of his life. He always called it his "Jig spoke".
Uncle John did all the wood chopping for the two households for cooking and winter heat. He liked to take the hound dogs and go hunting, often bringing home rabbits, pheasant, or quail. The ranch was large with abundance of wildlife; he would leave in mid-morning and not return until late afternoon. One outing the dogs chased and killed a bobcat, on another day one of the young hounds was bitten in the face by a rattlesnake and although his head puffed up almost doubles, the dog recovered.
Another chore Uncle John took upon himself was seeing to it that the water tanks were always full. Our two windmills did all the pumping when there was any kind of wind, but sometimes there were days at a time when there was not enough wind to turn the blades so Uncle John would pump by hand. The pump handles were high and long so it was not hard on his back. The wells were deep and the water was icy cold and delicious. One day when Uncle Speck returned from the fields, tired and overheated, he stopped by the old windmill for a drink. The icy water caused him to pass and fall backwards to the ground hitting his head. As he was coming out of a faint he said, "Which of the girls slipped up behind me and hit me on the head?"
No matter what any of us girls cooked Uncle John would say, "It's good", before he even tasted it. One day Catherine made some pudding and put it in a bowl on the table, Uncle John thought it was gravy, put it on his potatoes and said "It's good". Catherine had her own way of announcing that dinner was ready. She would say, "Let us have some lettuce". His last years of his life were spent at the Chadron Rest Home on 237 Chadron Ave. He enjoyed sitting in the yard and feeding the squirrels and probably singing to them. He died on November 16, 1961. Burial was November 20, 1961, Calvary Cemetery. He never married.
Bio;
John Francis Hilley was born on June 17, 1871, in Olmsteadville, New York. Uncle John was the adventurous brother and was very sports minded. His favorite sports were baseball and boxing, he never had much interest in going to school. He had a collection of old Irish ballads he was fond of singing whether anyone wanted to listen of not. One of my earliest recollections is of him combing the snarls out of my hair; he was very patient and gentle. With four young nieces with various degrees of snarls I'm sure we kept him busy. He smoked the same old pipe for many years, smoking Prince Albert tobacco from a red can. He had very strong teeth and liked to show off by cracking nuts with them. He had two regular sets of teeth and part of a third.
He was a strong swimmer; he once fastened a air float to each foot and tried to walk across the Des Moines River, He almost drowned. If he had lived a few decades earlier he would probably have joined the James Gang for the adventure. On one of his escapades he hurt his hip and walked with a limp for the rest of his life. He always called it his "Jig spoke".
Uncle John did all the wood chopping for the two households for cooking and winter heat. He liked to take the hound dogs and go hunting, often bringing home rabbits, pheasant, or quail. The ranch was large with abundance of wildlife; he would leave in mid-morning and not return until late afternoon. One outing the dogs chased and killed a bobcat, on another day one of the young hounds was bitten in the face by a rattlesnake and although his head puffed up almost doubles, the dog recovered.
Another chore Uncle John took upon himself was seeing to it that the water tanks were always full. Our two windmills did all the pumping when there was any kind of wind, but sometimes there were days at a time when there was not enough wind to turn the blades so Uncle John would pump by hand. The pump handles were high and long so it was not hard on his back. The wells were deep and the water was icy cold and delicious. One day when Uncle Speck returned from the fields, tired and overheated, he stopped by the old windmill for a drink. The icy water caused him to pass and fall backwards to the ground hitting his head. As he was coming out of a faint he said, "Which of the girls slipped up behind me and hit me on the head?"
No matter what any of us girls cooked Uncle John would say, "It's good", before he even tasted it. One day Catherine made some pudding and put it in a bowl on the table, Uncle John thought it was gravy, put it on his potatoes and said "It's good". Catherine had her own way of announcing that dinner was ready. She would say, "Let us have some lettuce". His last years of his life were spent at the Chadron Rest Home on 237 Chadron Ave. He enjoyed sitting in the yard and feeding the squirrels and probably singing to them. He died on November 16, 1961. Burial was November 20, 1961, Calvary Cemetery. He never married.
John Francis Hilley was born on June 17, 1871, in Olmsteadville, New York. Uncle John was the adventurous brother and was very sports minded. His favorite sports were baseball and boxing, he never had much interest in going to school. He had a collection of old Irish ballads he was fond of singing whether anyone wanted to listen of not. One of my earliest recollections is of him combing the snarls out of my hair; he was very patient and gentle. With four young nieces with various degrees of snarls I'm sure we kept him busy. He smoked the same old pipe for many years, smoking Prince Albert tobacco from a red can. He had very strong teeth and liked to show off by cracking nuts with them. He had two regular sets of teeth and part of a third.
He was a strong swimmer; he once fastened a air float to each foot and tried to walk across the Des Moines River, He almost drowned. If he had lived a few decades earlier he would probably have joined the James Gang for the adventure. On one of his escapades he hurt his hip and walked with a limp for the rest of his life. He always called it his "Jig spoke".
Uncle John did all the wood chopping for the two households for cooking and winter heat. He liked to take the hound dogs and go hunting, often bringing home rabbits, pheasant, or quail. The ranch was large with abundance of wildlife; he would leave in mid-morning and not return until late afternoon. One outing the dogs chased and killed a bobcat, on another day one of the young hounds was bitten in the face by a rattlesnake and although his head puffed up almost doubles, the dog recovered.
Another chore Uncle John took upon himself was seeing to it that the water tanks were always full. Our two windmills did all the pumping when there was any kind of wind, but sometimes there were days at a time when there was not enough wind to turn the blades so Uncle John would pump by hand. The pump handles were high and long so it was not hard on his back. The wells were deep and the water was icy cold and delicious. One day when Uncle Speck returned from the fields, tired and overheated, he stopped by the old windmill for a drink. The icy water caused him to pass and fall backwards to the ground hitting his head. As he was coming out of a faint he said, "Which of the girls slipped up behind me and hit me on the head?"
No matter what any of us girls cooked Uncle John would say, "It's good", before he even tasted it. One day Catherine made some pudding and put it in a bowl on the table, Uncle John thought it was gravy, put it on his potatoes and said "It's good". Catherine had her own way of announcing that dinner was ready. She would say, "Let us have some lettuce". His last years of his life were spent at the Chadron Rest Home on 237 Chadron Ave. He enjoyed sitting in the yard and feeding the squirrels and probably singing to them. He died on November 16, 1961. Burial was November 20, 1961, Calvary Cemetery. He never married.
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