William Edward & Marne Annette "Nettie" (JACOBSON) KINGDON

Wedding photo - 1910

In 1910, W.E. Kingdon was hired by Ola Jacobson to run the farm while Ola took his wife & youngest child on a trip to Sweden.

Nettie was the oldest of the Jacobson children still at home, she "worked like a farmhand".

Bill & Nettie were married 31 Aug 1910 by Judge Clark O'Handlon at the county courthouse, in Blair, NE.

Witnesses: Carl & Josephine Hitchcock (Nettie's sister & brother-in-law).

From The Kennard Enterprise, September 9, 1910 - Page 1 Column 3.

"We have been informed that Billy Kingdon, one of Kennard's most popular young men, and Miss Nettie Jacobsen were married Wednesday of last week. We have been unable to obtain any particulars regarding the wedding, but understand he and his bride are spending their honeymoon in Albion. The bride is a young lady possessed of a sweet disposition while the groom is a young man of good moral character and a hustler from the word go. We gladly extend to the young couple our heartiest congrat's."

Bill was a well digger, windmill builder. He could carry the entire top of the windmill up a ladder on his shoulder. His horse was trained to whistled commands - walked forward/backward with line attached to bucket of bricks, etc. On one occasion, a brick fell & split Bill's lip. He couldn't whistle and was stuck in bottom of a well until his helper returned to the job.

As time passed, Bill was called a plumber, but mostly worked on wells and windmills for farmers.

During the Depression the family finances declined ... his customers had no cash to pay for work, often couldn't pay for parts ...

Nettie had to insist that Bill quit buying parts for the neighbors.

They had five children: Mildred, Viola, Alyce Mae, William (Billy) and Jack.

Bill & Nettie Kingdon with sons, Jack & Bill about 1940 at Kennard, NE.

By 1941 - The three Kingdon daughters were in the following situations -

Mildred had married Ted Miller in 1931 at Fullerton, NE; They had a son.

1937: Millers moved to San Bernardino, CA where Ted was a shoe salesman.

By 1941 they lived in Barstow, CA; owned a shoe store.

Viola had married Cerney Gentry, and lived in Omaha, NE for a time.

Vi moved to Las Vegas and filed for divorce there. She remained in Las Vegas.

Alice Mae had graduated from HS at Kennard; moved to San Bernardino, CA and lived with Millers.

She worked for Gutzwillers doing child care & housework. 1940: She married Ralph Smothers at Las Vegas, NV.

December 1941 - Bill & Nettie Kingdon moved to Newberry, California - worked at a chicken ranch.

Bill Jr. entered the army. Jack attended school.

The following year the Bill & Nettie Kingdon moved to Riverside, CA.

Nettie cooked at a cafe whose customers included many young soldiers stationed at a nearby base.

Bill was maintanance man & janitor.

The cafe ran out of milk one morning, so Nettie served the soldiers their bowls of cereal with a scope of ice cream.

The young men asked for cereal that way thereafter. Many continued to communicate with the Kingdons for years afterwards.

Ralph Smothers was drafted into the army.

Bill & Nettie lived in a duplex in Riverside. Alyce Mae lived in the other half of the duplex.

After the WW II Bill & Nettie purchased a house in Riverside, CA.

1960