Pat Kill
My name is Pat Kill, and this is my granddaughter Emma.
Emma Hahn
And I'm in St. George, Utah, with my grandmother and my grandpa.
Bob Kill
Hi, my name is Bob Kill.
Pat Kill
I guess to start with, it's great to be here in the winter because we live in South Bend, Indiana, where the winters are really tough,
Bob Kill
and we have fabulous views.
Emma Hahn
So, Bajee, what was growing up in Delphos like?
Bob Kill
My dad was a milkman. My mother was at home, and the end of World War II, my dad went away to the army just as the war ended for nine months, and that was tough.
My grandmother lived about a mile from us, and every Saturday I'd walk over to her house and help her make oleo, just a big slab of white lard and a butter, and to give you a yellow dye to mix in, and you'd have to knead it with your hands, which really was quite difficult.
I always had jobs, from the fifth grade on. I delivered the local paper. I actually worked at a supermarket.
The back end was like a slaughterhouse. One day I'm back there — the guy's ready to butcher a pig. He gave me the rifle and he told me to point between the pig's eyes. And I missed and got him in the eye. Poor little pig.
Emma Hahn
Yeah. So, then you started playing basketball.
Bob Kill
Our school, Delphos St. John's was the powerhouse in basketball around that area. I had one great moment and one lousy moment.
The bad was the state finals, and I missed two layups and a jump shot in the last 10 seconds. We lost by two points in the final game.
The good thing was when we were in the district finals, we played our arch rival and I made two free throws with six seconds to go. And we won by one point. Probably the most pressure-packed moment in my life.
The only school I applied to was Notre Dame, and being a scientist sounded kind of neat. But I had nobody tell me I was not geared for it. It was not my style.
Did I ever tell you that story about flunking chemistry?
Emma Hahn
I don't think so.
Bob Kill
First time ever flunked a course in my life. I was on the cusp of failing or not failing, and for our semester exam, every desk had the quiz: five questions. There were three of them I had no idea what they were. The guy in front of me was our class valedictorian, and he had all five done. I said, "Oh hell! Now I know!" So I had the quandary of whether to cheat.
So I decided after about 10 minutes to just turn the paper in blank. And it was the best thing I ever did in my life, is not cheating. Because I wound up flunking and switched to liberal arts and I really realized I was probably a natural born salesman.
But at Notre Dame, I met your grandmother.
Emma Hahn
Was it love at first sight?
Bob Kill
No, second or third sight maybe. Then we got engaged the following fall and got married the year after that, I guess.
We rented a small apartment, and we had two kids in two years, and our bassinet had to be stored in the bathroom. So when you went to the bathroom, you had to wheel the bassinet out.
And the insulation was so bad the glasses were frosted from being in the cupboard!
But anyhow, in 1970 I started at Switzer Licorice, first day of a six-week strike. We had fire threats, bomb threats, burning threats, beating threats.
Emma Hahn
Wow!
Bob Kill
So I didn't bring the family down till the strike was over. And since I retired about 10 years ago, we decided to get out of the South Bend in the winter time.
Pat Kill
It's also fun to be in St. George because my sister lives here.
Bob Kill
And we have a chance for people like you to visit us, which is nice.
Pat Kill
And since we have 20 grandchildren, comes to a lot of people.
Bob Kill
It's like I'm running a hotel, but you know it's fun.
Emma Hahn
One of my favorite family memories was your 50th wedding anniversary. I remember we all jumped in the pool with our clothes on one night, and like as an eight-year-old, I was like, "This is the coolest thing ever!"
Pat Kill
Those are the memories that we hope to create.
Bob Kill
Thanks for talking to us.
