2008 HALL OF FAME WINNER William Stanhope Boal (1856 - 1933) Boal was born in Kentucky and later served under his father as one of the early officers of the Favorite Stove & Range Company of Cincinnati. When the firm moved to Piqua in 1889, Boal became one of the community’s most active citizens. He purchased and remodeled the Plaza Hotel (Favorite Hotel) in 1914. He served as the first Exalted Rule of the Piqua Elks Lodge, was one of the founders of the Piqua Country Club, created the Boal Colonial Inn next to the golf course and one of the founders of the Home Telephone Company .. Boal introduced the first commercial air conditioning system in Piqua in the Bijou Theater on Ash Street in 1907.