Material in the public domain. No restrictions on use.
Description
Key Words: W. K. Kellogg, Kellogg Ranch [Part 1] Norman Williamson is the grandson of W. K. Kellogg, the founder of the Kellogg Cornflake Company and the owner of an Arabian horse ranch in Pomona. Williamson was born in Battle Creek, Michigan. Because he and his siblings had many health problems when he was a child, his grandfather started the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, which “became one of the biggest charitable foundations in the USA.” His family moved to California in 1926. He and his brother, John, worked as stable hands, riders, and trainers on the ranch. In 1928, Kellogg added an emergency landing field for airplanes which was used by the film industry and Western Air Express, a company that would bring in mail from Salt Lake City. Williamson remembers selling concessions at a horse show at the ranch. [Part 2] Williamson describes challenges that his grandfather had with the management of the ranch. During World War II, Kellogg turned over several of his properties in California and Florida to the Coast Guard and Marines, and the ranch was turned over to the Army. He describes the process of turning the ownership of the ranch over to Cal Poly. “The state of the university is very good,” he commented, “and the outlook for the future is even better.” Williamson describes what he remembers about the early years of the Kellogg Cornflake Company. “The Kellogg Company had embarked a revolutionary six hour shift for their plant; instead of three 8-hour shifts, they had four 6-hour shifts, which made it possible to employ a third more people.” [Part 3] Williamson remembers traveling to Washington, D.C. when he was a young man. He attended the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1933. He describes his grandfather, W. K. Kellogg, as “quite a clever manipulator . . . he rarely, if ever, gave anything without strings. He didn’t give out of the goodness of his heart, entirely.”
Type
sound
Format
Master Audio cassette
Form/Genre
Oral histories
Extent
2 Tapes of 2
Identifier
caclah_000034_t01; caclah_000034_t02
Language
English
Subject
Air travel Horse racing Horses Local history World War, 1939-1945 World War, 1939-1945--California U.S. Army
Time Period
1926/
Place
Claremont (Calif.)
Provenance
Claremont Heritage California Revealed is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.
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