The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1912-01-19
A FLORIDA DEVELOPER AND
PHILANTHRoPIST


kind of citizen any town ought to be
proud to have.
No doubt Live Oak appreciates the
benefit of having Mr.. Hillman within
its borders, and it is a certainty that
there is many another town in Flor
ida that will envy the Suwannee coun-
ty metropolis.
Mr. Hillman is greatly interested in
the National Highway plan, and at his
own expense is building one of the
connecting links in the great road
that is to connect New York and the
north and east with Atlanta, Tampa,
Jacksonville and the south
The road runs down from Valdosta,
Ca, across the Florida border and
into Suwannee county at Ellaville.
At this town Mr.. Hillman takes up
the work and has nearly completed a
line of road across SuWannee county
through Live Oak to Wellborn. The
road parallels the Seaboard Air Line
tracks on its way through the county
and is graded and paved according
to the best standards of the road
makers art.
Mr.. Hillman is an ardent AUTOMOBILE
ist, and has plenty of time to indulge
his fad to the utmost. Desiring to
have good roads over which to motor,
and being the kind of citizen who
feels that the surest way to get a
thing is to go out and get it, he has
done that very thing.
Now the line across the county east
and west is nearly done. Mr.. Hillman
is about ready to turn in and start
work on the line north and south
through the county from Live Oak
to Bradford, on the county's southern
line
This will be the start of the line to
Tampa, and will be followed by an ex-
tension of the paved road across
Alachua county to Gainesville.
Thence the line will run south
through Ocala, Dunnellon and Books
vile to Tampa. The cooperation of
the Tampa board of trade with the
Brooksville board Of trade has al
ready been secured, and it, is quite
within the possibilities that much of
the line between Tampa and the Ma
tional Highway will be linked up dur
ing the coming summer.
This will give the automobilists of
Tampa an opportunity to get out on
the highway leading toward the cool
roads of the north and east From
Atlanta to New York the road is
marked out, and for much of the dis
lance from Atlanta to the Florida
border is in good shape. There are a
few scattered poor places, but they
are being rapidly linked together by
the work of county commissioners
and the work of an occasional public
spirited man, like Mr. Hillman of Live
Oak.
The latter are scarce, however, and
there is the more honor for him do
ing as he has. He should be given ev-
cry incentive to go ahead.
Mr.. Hillman is large turpentine
operator at Live Oak, but has reached
the time of life where he should rath-
er devote his time to public service Of
the sort he has undertaken than to
amassing wealth for himself He has
the means with which to go ahead !
when matter of this sort takes his ;
interest, and is doing a great service
for his country and for the balance of
the state as WELL
Another public matter in which
Mr.. Hillman takes a great interest is
that of public education. In order to
encourage greater attention to this
very important matter among the
children Of Live Oak he has arranged
series of prizes, and whenever a
scholar gets on the honor list of the
Live Oak schools he is presented with
dollar from fund supplied by Mr.
Hillman. One who is well qualified to
judge of the matter said recently that
it was probable Mr.. Hillman had