Adventure: Lessons Learned After Running Away

Marge and Robert Hoge

In 1917, America entered World War I. Robert Hoge was thirteen years old and craved adventure. He was too young to serve in the military but too bored with school to finish his high school education. He contemplated running away from home. As the son of a Baptist Minister, he needed a change from his town of Waycross, GA. His parents were strict but not cruel. All he remembered from this time was his resolve to break for freedom.

As he plotted his escape, an older friend wondered how he would replace the three-square meals he received each day. As a rapidly growing and hungry teenager, he looked to his street-wise friend, Sy Colly, for advice. His friend approved his plans and proposed they escape together to Jacksonville, Florida. As they plotted to run away by hopping on a freight car, Robert contemplated leaving the house without his parents being the wiser. As fate would have it, his father directed him to go to the railyard to get some topsoil for their garden. He surprised his parents with his willingness to help with this chore. Off he went, running to meet his friend to jump on the train to independence.

Once on the train, they came close to being caught by the brakeman. But his street-wise friend instructed him to be quiet as they hunkered down in the darkness of the train car. After eluding the workman, they waited until the train reached close to their destination and slowed down enough for them to jump off safely. They made it 80 miles from home, just outside Jacksonville.  As the train continued down the tracks, they proudly waved to the train workers in defiance. A celebration of their success ensued.

Their first order of business, find food for breakfast. With only five dollars in his pocket, Robert and Sy found a greasy spoon to satisfy their hunger. The second requirement is to find affordable accommodation, a flop house. Flop houses in that era had minimum amenities but were cheap places to sleep. And finally, the task of getting a job. The local newspaper was advertising a dishwasher which Robert felt well trained in, thanks to his mom. However, he and a long line of others waited for this opportunity. Overwhelmed by the number of applicants ahead of him, he became discouraged and disappointed with the unlikelihood of getting hired. With encouragement from his friend to stick with it, to persevere, he was pleasantly surprised to get the job. Robert’s self-confidence soared; he would become a self-made man, free from his parents’ restrictions.

As far as his grandson, Tom Hoge, knew, this is where Robert’s success story began. Robert would attend Virginia Tech and receive his mechanical engineering degree with the highest GPA ever accomplished to that point at Tech. He would start his career with GE, happily married, and eventually become President of Clark Control. He retired early to begin his second half as an artist in Carmel Valley. He was working primarily in bronze but expanding to oils and watercolors. He was considered a Renaissance Man. Later in life, after his wife passed away, he wrote his autobiography. It was then that the real story was revealed.

After that successful journey for independence, Robert’s father came down to Jacksonville. Promptly Beverly Lacy Hoge, his dad, contacted the police. The police found Robert at work and politely asked, “Son, could I have a word with you.” Once the officer explained that his father was waiting for him at the police station, Robert dutifully went in the squad car to meet his prospective punishment from his dad. Instead, he was met with a quiet father who directed him by saying, “Son, let’s go home.”

Once returning home, he thought he would be harshly disciplined.  However, he was received with warm affection. His sympathetic parents heard his complaints about the school. If a job were his preference, he would need to claim he was 17 instead of his actual age of 13. Fortunately, he was taller and physically mature enough to carry this age off realistically.  But by dropping out of school, he held various jobs that didn’t seem to fit. He persisted with different positions but finally got an opportunity to be an apprentice blacksmith. The lessons learned from these experiences Robert carried through his career.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave once we practice deceiving.

- Shakespeare

This quote resonated with Robert, who was operating as a 17-year-old. With the age of 18 now being eligible for the draft, the reality of being sent to war was worrisome to a 14-year-old boy. Does he fess up to his boss or evade the draft was a moral question he contemplated. But then, he realized that he was not upholding the family name. Traditions for generations were made of lawyers, doctors, and ministers, and most definitely would not appreciate a blue-collar blacksmith and a liar to boot. Robert began to realize the advantages of an education. His responsibility to live up to “Das Gloria Vires,” meaning strength in the family name, became apparent.

In 1922, Robert was focused on resuming his education. He had three and a half years of high school to make up. He worked it out to become a special high school student, attending evening classes and the Princeton preparatory school in the summer (not the Ivy League Princeton). Although he accomplished his high school requirements in a monumental, short period, it only allowed him to be admitted to Virginia Tech as a special student. He was only allowed as a regular student after taking special college chemistry and physics.  When he was finally accepted as a full-time student, his euphoria was shared with friends and family, “We did it, we did it, we did it,”   he proclaimed.

Success in college was worthy of celebration. Roberts’s perseverance paid off. Understanding the Hoge legacy kept him going. He was introduced to the discipline of the V.P.I. Corp of Cadets, but also met with the kindness of Dr. Newman’s wife for the cadets. The cadets were not allowed Greek fraternities, but the German Club provided social dances. It was a time of sheer bliss. But his happiness was interrupted.

Robert’s father died after his first year. He was entirely on his own for the last three years of college. He earned money by doing auto repairs for professors. This is where the story, as we understood it, happened. Fast forward, as stated earlier, he would begin his career with GE, happily get married, and eventually become President of Clark Control. He retired early to start his second half as an artist in Carmel Valley. He was working primarily in bronze but expanding to oils and watercolors. He was considered a Renaissance Man.

What started as a defiant teenager wanting adventure became a lifelong lesson in acknowledging and respecting family traditions. “Das Gloria Vires” respects the long history and responsibility of the Hoge family name.

For more stories, see Robert Hoge’s Autobiography