| Notes |
- William A. Wigdahl and Fern Irene Carson were married Jun e 16, 1940 at the Langford United Methodist Church. Willia m was born at Wautaga, S.D. April 18, 1914 on the claim tha t his father and mother had there, but the J.A. Wigdahl fam ily had lived on their farm near Claremont. S.D. since. Fer n's parents, Ellis and Florence Foote Carson had their far m home near Langford, in Hickman township. Fern was born Ma rch 10. 1915.
Bill and Fern purchased the Fredrick Reinckey homestead an d made their home there from the time of their marriage unt il they moved to the J.A. Wigdahl home in Britton in May, 1 977. Their seven children grew up on the farm, went to th e Newport school one-half mile east until school reorganiza tion and buses took them to Langford. Howard Arthur (May 8 , 1942) has lived near Dayton, Ohio with his wife, Jewell , and their children, twins Alan and Jeffrey, Ann and Eric k since graduation from S.D.S.U. Barbara (Nov. 17, 1944) an d her husband, Frank James, and their three children live o n a farm near Lily, S.D. since his return from service in V ietnam. They were S.D.S.U. graduates also. Their children a re Frank, Brian, and Jeanne. Mary (May 11, 1946) and her hu sband, John D. Hecht, Jr., and their two sons, Nathan and R euben live at Bozeman, Montana. So does Margaret (June 2, 1 951) and her husband, Alan G. Tupper. James A. (May 27, 195 4) and his wife, Susan Jane Pulfrey and Tracy live on the h ome place (Sec. 11, Newport Township) while Robert Arden (A ug. 9, 1955) and his wife, Bethany Loebs, live on Sec. 30 , Newport. Lois Lynn (Oct. 19, 1956) is living in San Diego , Calif. since her graduation in 1978.
When Bill and Fern began farming, he had horses and a tract or. The first few crops were threshed but he soon had a com bine. He picked a lot of corn crops by hand. They had som e white face here-fords, good pigs, sheep for awhile, turke ys and chickens. The children were involved in 4-H. Beside s the tree that Mr. Reinckey had started. Bill planted man y more. Machinery with cabs and air conditioning, Rural Ele ctrification since 1948 for us, graveled roads, rural tele phones (Sully Buttes for us) were all appreciated. Telephon es had been there, of course, but had been in trouble durin g the depression of the 1930's, and not always available.
Sometimes the teacher for the Newport school stayed at ou r house. There were "hired men" who worked for us who als o had to have a room and meals. There were "hired girls" o n a few occasions. Gardening and lots of canning of produc e, fruit, meat took place. Electricity and a large freeze r changed some of that. Remodeling of the home between 194 9-1951 included a bathroom but retained most of the origin al Reinckey homestead. The original barn with additions , a granary, and car garage are still there plus some new o nes that Bill added..
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1914 - 1990 (75 years)