Iowa Farmer Spreads Cheer With His Hillbilly Vehicles
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Bob Hill has been a successful Iowa farmer for nearly 7 decades, but you’d never know it when you see him dressed up as Hillbilly Bob on the county fair circuit. He entertains visitors with humor, stories, and the world’s most unusual vehicles, either “Old Ruthie” or “Johnny,” his putt-putting Deere MT tractor. Both are dressed up with more than 200 knick-knacks, signs, and assorted antiques that bring smiles to everyone who lays eyes on them.
“I’ve trailered them more than 350,000 miles in the past 30 years and probably driven them more than 7,000 miles at county fairs, state fairs, and other events around the country,” Hill says. “I’ve cashed checks from 29 states and several provinces of Canada.” Hill started the business by accident when he and his antique 1929 Ford were invited to a local event where his son and other FFA members dressed in tuxedos were milking cows. “They wanted a vehicle to drive through, so I put a few signs on an old car, and people loved it,” Hill says. “A booking agent happened to be there, and I contracted with him for other events.”
He named his first vehicle Old Ruthie. “The name is a tribute to a neighbor of ours growing up. She drove an old car, raised hogs in her backyard, cracked walnuts on the front step, and used a cake pan for an ice cube tray, breaking the ice into pieces with a hammer. When someone needed food, she’d bring a whole chicken over in a roaster. Ruthie was a kind, gentle, and loving person, so my vehicle is named in her honor.”
Like the old car in the 60’s TV show “Beverly Hillbillies,” Old Ruthie is loaded with small treasures. Look closely to see a large snapping turtle shell, wire egg baskets, a food strainer, a motorized bike, several metal clamps, toolboxes, product signs, antlers, mailboxes, old suitcases, fake flowers, ice skates, ram’s horns, a school bell, cowboy boots, stirrups and much more. She pulls a two-wheel trailer that carries antique tools, an array of kitchen utensils, old camping/fishing gear, and what might pass as a coffin. Whenever he locates an item of interest, he finds a place to hang it.
“Over the years, I just kept adding stuff that makes people smile,” Hill says. “Fair boards want something that really attracts attention for kids, so I put in an old goat skull with an air tank to blow up balloons. I idle through the fairgrounds for an hour at a time, stopping often to hand out balloons and dispense happiness. It’s the best job I’ve ever had.”
He later added a small Deere MT tractor that has items wired, bolted, or glued in every possible space. An old Coca-Cooler hangs on a crude hitch, toolboxes with stickers are mounted everywhere, pails hang from hooks, and a Deere umbrella keeps the sun off Hill as he carefully idles around fairs. Like Old Ruthie, Johnny has an air compressor to blow up balloons, and clever signs such as “Plan ahead, it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark” and “Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt.” Hill says, “My whole mission being Hillbilly Bob is to share humor, goodwill, and make people smile, especially kids.”
Hill and his wife made 20 to 26 4 to 10-day appearances annually for 15 years with Old Ruthie, hauling her in an enclosed trailer behind his dually pickup. “About that time, my wife had seen plenty of the country, so she stayed home with grandkids, and I kept going.”
“I’ve been Hillbilly Bob for the last 30 years, so I’ve had an exceptional life,” Hill says. “Farming has always been a great way to make a living, but being an entertainer with my two vehicles has spread goodwill to thousands of people. That’s a blessing to me and them.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bob Hill, 3353 Hwy D-65, Dysart, Iowa 52224 (ph 319-290-5073).
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Iowa Farmer Spreads Cheer With His Hillbilly Vehicles AG WORLD Bob Hill has been a successful Iowa farmer for nearly 7 decades but you’d never know it when you see him dressed up as Hillbilly Bob on the county fair circuit He entertains visitors with humor stories and the world’s most unusual vehicles either “Old Ruthie” or “Johnny ” his putt-putting Deere MT tractor Both are dressed up with more than 200 knick-knacks signs and assorted antiques that bring smiles to everyone who lays eyes on them “I’ve trailered them more than 350 000 miles in the past 30 years and probably driven them more than 7 000 miles at county fairs state fairs and other events around the country ” Hill says “I’ve cashed checks from 29 states and several provinces of Canada ” Hill started the business by accident when he and his antique 1929 Ford were invited to a local event where his son and other FFA members dressed in tuxedos were milking cows “They wanted a vehicle to drive through so I put a few signs on an old car and people loved it ” Hill says “A booking agent happened to be there and I contracted with him for other events ” He named his first vehicle Old Ruthie “The name is a tribute to a neighbor of ours growing up She drove an old car raised hogs in her backyard cracked walnuts on the front step and used a cake pan for an ice cube tray breaking the ice into pieces with a hammer When someone needed food she’d bring a whole chicken over in a roaster Ruthie was a kind gentle and loving person so my vehicle is named in her honor ” Like the old car in the 60’s TV show “Beverly Hillbillies ” Old Ruthie is loaded with small treasures Look closely to see a large snapping turtle shell wire egg baskets a food strainer a motorized bike several metal clamps toolboxes product signs antlers mailboxes old suitcases fake flowers ice skates ram’s horns a school bell cowboy boots stirrups and much more She pulls a two-wheel trailer that carries antique tools an array of kitchen utensils old camping/fishing gear and what might pass as a coffin Whenever he locates an item of interest he finds a place to hang it “Over the years I just kept adding stuff that makes people smile ” Hill says “Fair boards want something that really attracts attention for kids so I put in an old goat skull with an air tank to blow up balloons I idle through the fairgrounds for an hour at a time stopping often to hand out balloons and dispense happiness It’s the best job I’ve ever had ” He later added a small Deere MT tractor that has items wired bolted or glued in every possible space An old Coca-Cooler hangs on a crude hitch toolboxes with stickers are mounted everywhere pails hang from hooks and a Deere umbrella keeps the sun off Hill as he carefully idles around fairs Like Old Ruthie Johnny has an air compressor to blow up balloons and clever signs such as “Plan ahead it wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark” and “Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt ” Hill says “My whole mission being Hillbilly Bob is to share humor goodwill and make people smile especially kids ” Hill and his wife made 20 to 26 4 to 10-day appearances annually for 15 years with Old Ruthie hauling her in an enclosed trailer behind his dually pickup “About that time my wife had seen plenty of the country so she stayed home with grandkids and I kept going ” “I’ve been Hillbilly Bob for the last 30 years so I’ve had an exceptional life ” Hill says “Farming has always been a great way to make a living but being an entertainer with my two vehicles has spread goodwill to thousands of people That’s a blessing to me and them ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bob Hill 3353 Hwy D-65 Dysart Iowa 52224 ph 319-290-5073
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