The painting of Ansel Hill holding a tray of nut rolls was damaged in an accident at Hill’s Family Foods in November. Dirk Hill and daughter Carissa are pictured, in front of some real nut rolls, with a new painting given to Dirk for Christmas. (Johnson Publications photo)
Repainting of dad’s likeness a special Christmas gift
Dirk Hill received a very special Christmas gift this year.
A November accident took out a section of Hill’s Family Foods store, which he and wife Rhonda own. On the east-facing window, damaged in the accident, was a painting of his dad, Ansel, done for the 2018 Chase County Fair.
Ansel died in June 2018, just two months before Chase County Schools art teacher Chelsea Zuege completed the special-order fair painting, a very life-like depiction of Ansel carrying a tray of his famous nut rolls.
Dirk said, initially, when getting the call that November afternoon about the accident, his first concern was that no one was seriously hurt.
As he drove into town, however, after grabbing tools and supplies, he said it hit him that his dad’s painting was on the window the car had run into when the driver mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake.
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