Memories of the Orestes Hood I about his father, Nicholas Hood I
July 12, 1991
There were two boys and four sisters in the Hood family in Martinsville, Indiana.
The father, Nicholas Hood I, as the foreman of the local brick yard. In this positon,
he was able to hire many migrant laborers coming from the South.
Grandfather, Hood, (Orestes I) was able to hire many migrant laborers coming
from the South. Grandfather Hood was able to use his credit to order a tain-car
load of coal which he was able to sell to residents of the community who otherwise
would not have been able to have coal, which was the chief source of fuel for heating
and cooking.
The oldest female in the family was Ruth, (latter, Ruth Battle). She was
secretary and bookkeeper for the the brick yard where her father was
general manager. There was a younger brother in the family who was
burned to death when a gasoline cooking stove exploded. His mother,
Louise Crawford Hood, was severely burned in attempting to save the
younger child, and she died several months later as a result of her burns.
Orestes Hood, Sr. was always interested in electricity which was a new
form of energy. Mr. Hood read everything he could find on the subject of
electricity. At a very young age, Mr. Hood electrically wired one of the
bank buildings in Martinsville, Indiana. Before that time, there was no
electricity in but a few buildings in the city.
In 1902, Mr.Hood entered Purdue University to study electricity; but he
had to leave two years later because he had no money to pay his tuition.
Forty years later, his youngest son, Nicholas II, became a student at
Purdue.
In 1944, Orestes Hood, Sr., was hired by Purdue University, as the first
Afro-American hired by the University in any capacity. Mr. Hood was
in charge of all audio-visual equipment throughout the campus.
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