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History of George Francis Hill

George Francis Hill was born September 22, 1894 at Tilden Idaho. He was the second son born to David Earl Hill and Emma Flora Wheeler Hill. His brother Earl was 19 months old at the time. A baby sister Laura was born June 24, 1897. His mother died July 21, 1931. His father died May 31, 1941.

In late November 1898, when George was four years old, the family traveled by covered wagon to the Logan Utah Temple where they were sealed as a family. It took a month to make the journey as they stopped at a relatives for his father David to work on the threshing machine to get enough money for the trip home.

The three children were stricken with scarlet fever on the trip home in the snow storms. Emma nursed them back to good health as they traveled.

As a child George moved often where ever his father could find work. Brothers Howard, Ray, Elmer, Clarence and Merlin came to bless this home. The boys learned to work in the sugar beet fields thinning then topping beets and loading them into horse drawn wagons which hauled them to the sugar factories or beet dumps. They worked long hard days, from sunrise to sunset.

They farmed for 15 years in Wapello on a forty acre farm. They received their Schooling in the various areas where they lived. George graduated from the eighth grade at Irving school in Blackfoot. They were living in Wapello when a beautiful dark haired, brown eyed girl moved into the area. Georgia Lee Neville had been living with her aunt, Loretta Woodman, her mothers sister in Lewistown, Montana. Her mother and step father, Annie and Ben Muir where owners of the store in Wapello. It was "love at first sight" for George. He persisted until she consented to marry him. She was not yet eighteen years old, and her mother had to stand up with them and give her consent to the marriage on January 3, 1916 at Blackfoot Idaho.

George and Georgia lived in Wapello for a year where Lila was born October 25, 1916. During her pregnancy George started calling Georgia, My "Little Bunchie" which was shortened to "Bunchie" as he so often called her throughout their lives together. They moved to Pocatello, Idaho where Wallace Reed was born February 15, 1919.

George was a hard worker giving his best effort at whatever job he had and always on the alert for a better job. He thinned beets, and topped beets on the farms. At this time beets were dug by machine "diggers and the men would walk behind the diggers carrying their beet knife with which they picked up a beet, transferred it to the other hand and chopped off the top and threw the beet into a pile. These piles were later loaded into a wagon and taken to the factory for processing, George also worked at the sugar factories in Blackfoot, and in Sugar City where he held a responsible position.

He also drove taxi in Pocatello. Lowell Lee Hill was born on May 4, 1925. Bruce Francis Hill was born on February 12, 1927 all at Pocatello, Idaho. George and Georgia always encouraged their children to bring their friends home from work for dinner he said, "This Looks like an orphanage" the yard was full of kids.

He apprenticed the meat cutting trade at Zweigart Packing Plant and retail meat market in Pocatello. Here he learned every thing about the fresh meat business and obtained his Journeyman rating.

As George went to work early six days a week he and Georgia enjoyed sleeping in a little later on Sundays. Not so Lila and Wallace they loved to run out and get the Sunday morning paper with the funnies. They had been told to be less noisy several times, but when the paper hit the front door out they ran to get it and raced back to bed. Lila jumped on the bed and rolled over and off the side against the wall the jiggling changed to crying. That was the last straw. George gave them one of his few spankings and went back to bed. Lila whimpered and complained of her shoulder hurting for a few days. A visit to the doctor revealed a broken collar bone. George felt so badly about the spanking even though that didn't cause the broken collar bone.

In later years George liked to take the family fishing. Early Sunday Morning about four o'clock he would load up in the 1934 Ford and go to Lost River, Warm River or Blackfoot River area. At 30—35 miles an hour this took some time.

In about 1936 George with his wife and her sister Aunt Nana (Elizabeth Gardner) and Lowell and Bruce drove to California to visit Georgia's brother. When they arrived in San Francisco it was a dream to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. On approaching the bridge a loud voice announced "you in the 1934 green ford from Idaho, you're in the wrong lane. Pull over to your right and enter again." George was really upset at the time but later laughed about it.

They moved to Ogden where George worked in a retail meat market. When Lila was in school in Ogden the teacher was giving a lesson on the circulatory system and asked if anyone could bring a beef heart to school for the class to study. Lila volunteered. Of course George got one for her. After the lesson she said she didn't want the heart to take home. So some other child took it home for her mother to bake. Georgia was a bit irked at Lila.

They moved to Salt Lake. George worked for chain stores and was always being transferred from city to city about every two years there was a transfer. He enjoyed his work and the pleasant association with most customers.

George suffered from rheumatism and sometimes he would be flat on his back for long periods of time. One year they bought a brand new aluminum tub Maytag washing machine, which was their pride and joy. Once again George was stricken by rheumatism and was down in bed. Georgia would not miss any payments on that washing machine! So in order to make the payments she washed and ironed white dress shirts for some of the professors at the Idaho State University. She would catch the bus at the corner and go from Alameda through town to the homes of the professors near the University and pick up their shirts, take them home by bus, wash, starch and iron them and then return them. At that time white shirts were not like they are today in 1990, so easy to iron. They were very tedious to iron.

During the years of the great depression jobs were so very scarce. George worked at anything he could get. On occasions he worked for the government sponsored agency of Work Relief or W. P. A., at which he did all kinds of labor for which he received coupon books. With them he could buy certain groceries.

George loved to play ball, Run Sheep Run and many other games. He always had tricycles, wagons, and bikes and scooters to keep in good condition.

George and Georgia loved to dance and they were both beautiful dancers. During their forty years together they often won prizes for their beautiful ballroom dancing.

They danced every week at a "Grange" Hall in Idaho Falls, and they would take Lila with them and George taught her to dance. Very patiently he taught her to Waltz, Fox Trot, Quadrilles, the Schottish, round dances, square dances, and exchange dances. They both loved it.

For the greatest part of their life George and Georgia lived in rented houses, until they bought a lovely home in Alameda. This was their dream come true. It was just a short walk from their home to the "Bargain Barn" where George had his very own market. He and Georgia worked in it together. And together they kept up their lawn and flowers.

World War II with all its worries came to an end and how blessed they were that all three of their sons returned home well and able. Wallace from the 'Sea Bees" where he helped build the island stations for the Navy Bases. Lowell came home from his hazardous term of "Medic" in the Marines. Bruce returned from his duties as cook in the Navy.

Georgia had suffered with high flood pressure for many years. And June 20, 1956 she passed away in the hospital so unexpectedly! The family had planned on taking her home the next day.

This was a terrible ordeal for George and all the family. She was buried at Rest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Pocatello.

George was so devastated. He lived with his children for some years and then lived in a boarding home in Moreland just out of Blackfoot. There were several other men living there also. They had a nice place to stay and good meals with no little children around.

George developed diabetes and had to be hospitalized for some time after which he lived in the Bingham County Nursing Home until his death.

He died December 10.1969 at age 75 at the Blackfoot nursing home 13 years after his beloved Bunchie, leaving a posterity of:

Lila

Wallace

Lowell

Bruce