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Note: N248 Considered a good marksman. ______________________________________ The following is from a "memory book" on Wilfrid Hedrick written by Cristen Liescheidt Luehmann" Wilfrid Allinger Hedrick was born in Dubuque, Iowa the fourth son of William Hedrick and Katherine Elizabeth Scheppele Hedrick on October 28, 1907. He was two years old when the family moved to Latham Kansas where he lived until 1928. There was a special bond between Wilfrid and his mother. He was not a robust youngster and in reference to his sickly childhood he would say, "I was not worth raising!" Wilfrid attended a one room school with his three older brothers (Milon, Arnold, and Ralph) and younger sister (Alice). As a shy, quiet student school was not fun for young Wilfrid. He was often ridiculed by the teacher who taunted, "You are not as smart as your brothers Milon and Arnold!" By the age of seven, Wilfrid trapped and skinned fur amimals and sold the skins to Faulks Fur Company in St. Louis. His first purchase was a 22-rifle, mail ordered from Montgomery Ward. He kept the rifle in like new condition all his life. When Wilfrid was fourteen he suffered a severe case of osteomyelitis. This was before medical science had discovered antibiotics to combat such infection so the doctor "chipped away" all the diseased bone in his left clavical bone It was said the bone would not support the weight of a sparrow. --- All the Hedrick men including Wilfrid enjoyed the out- of-doors, hunting and fishing. A family story tells of the three older brothers Ralph, Arnold, and Milon refusing to take their little brother Willie hunting. "You are too little, you'll get tired and we'll have to carry you home." As the story goes, little Willie kept whining and crying until his mother in exasperation said, "I saw a goose drop down on the Smith's pond this morning, why don't you take Alice and see if you can shoot it." So off he went with his rifle and Alice following. On hands and knees they quietly climbed the bank of the pond each holding a branch as camouflage. Well sure enough, there swimming in the pond was the goose his mother had seen. Little Willie took careful aim and POW the goose was his! The children waited patiently till the ever present Kansas wind blew their prize to the bank. Little Willie proudly took that goose home to his mother who cooked it for dinner. That evening, the older brothers came dragging home dog tired and empty handed~but they enjoyed a roasted goose dinner anyway! --- Out of high school, Wilfrid worked as a bookkeeper at the Latham Bank. The Butler County Bank Association organzied their own protection system against bank robberies. This was in 1925, the days of the legendary outlaws Bonnie & Clyde. The program worked like a "fire drill". At an unannounced time all the banks in the county would close, the employees grabbed their guns, went to their appointed posts and set up road blocks. At the regular practice sessions, Wilfrid earned the highest bulls-eye score. He held the record for being the best shot in the county! --- On long winter evenings the Hedrick family sat around the wood stove reading. The family shared magazines with the neighbors: Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, and all of the Zane Grey stories. Wilfrid was familiarwith the classics and found Gray's Anatomy facinating. He was a good Bible student and memorized many of the Psalms. He could quote a verse applicable to most any situation having chapter and verse at his fingertips. Because of his love of reading, he was conversant with most any subject. The Hedrick and Jacobs families owned ajoining farms in Kansas. They worshipped together at the Methodist Church, attended the same one room school and when Wilfrid came to St. Louis in 1928, four of the Jacobs siblings welcomed him. Roy and his sister Ruby invited Wilfrid to share their rented apartment. After Ruby married, Wilfrid and Roy lived in boarding houses together. The boarding houses were big, old, three-story residences on the West End oft own. Wilfrid had many stories to tell of his boarding house families. Mrs. Robinson's house on Raymond Avenue was especially nice. Everyone dressed for dinner, gentlemen in coats and ties (winter and summer in the days before air conditioning). Mrs. Robinson set a beautiful table, linen table clothes and napkins, iced tea with a sprig of fresh mint. Mrs. Robinson nursed Wilfrid through the mumps and referred to him as "Wilfie honey" as he was always helpful around the house checking the furnace, forcing a stuck window or anything else an old woman could not do for herself.
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