W. J. Hickman-"PaPa"

My daddy worked in Ft Worth for awhile and once he and PaPa Hickman were roomates. Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Mose had a converted garage behind their house which was a cozy apartment for him. He and Daddy would have long conversations about his life, past etc. Or actually they would have long conversations when Daddy would ask questions! In one such conversation PaPa told Daddy that "everything I touched turned to gold". He stated he "never drew a paycheck" except when he as sheriff/constable and he had been elcted to that position. (I am still trying to find him in Sheriff rolls). He "never paid income taxes". He had no social security number until many years after retiring when Aunt Dorothy took him to get it.

In the early days PaPa Hickman and Frenchy (more later on him) would go into a town, check into a boarding house or hotel and check out the town. They would check out the eating establishments and maybe find one where the food was of poor quality, and he wuld strike up a conversation with the owner. When he would ask the owner what he would take to sell it to him, if the owner decided to sell, PaPa Hickman would pull out cash and pay for it outright. He would then hire some day laborers, slap some paint on the place and fix it up. He would also order quality food, like steaks. He would have the steaks shipped direct from Kansas City. Not only did he have quality food but he offered plenty of it. Frenchy would do the cooking. This made his places profitable and busy. Then a guy would come along and see such a profitable business and ask him the same question what would he take to sell..."doubling his money" in the process! One of his most profitable was in Leesville when Ft Polk becasme a major training facility. His last establishment and longest in one place was in Ft. Worth Texas.