WIEGARDT, WILLIAM H. (BILL) AND ZOE (GRIBBLE)

by E. Y. Wiegardt

Entry F439 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Wm. H. Wiegardt Family, 1924. Bill, Lois, Yale and Dale,
Beth and Harriett; Mullen home.

1924 Zoe's piano in their Mullen home (still in the family
at Charlotte, N.C.

Can't be classified as old pioneers such as
"Old Jules", but in 1917 Bill and Zoe
migrated to Hooker County, Nebraska with
twin boys Dale & Yale, age 2. Mullen Nebr.
was our new home. Bill & Zoe (young 20 year-
olds) were from Seward County, Nebr. where
Bill had been a barber, but was enticed to
come to Mullen by Mr. Bristow, to head the
Citizen's Bank. Quite an undertaking as
Mullen had been in existence for about 25
years. Bill and Zoe "took" to the territory
right away and figured it was a great place to
bring up kids. So in April of 1920 Lois joined
her twin rascals as the first girl in the family
and in 1922 was joined by a playmate, Beth
Harriett. Both were born in Mullen at the
Wiegardt residence.

Zoe was very active in Eastern Star work
and Bill in Masonic Lodge. (At the time of his
death in 1979 he was the oldest member of
the Lodge).

Bill's parents migrated from Tondevn,
Germany (Schleswig-Holstein, German-Den-
mark border) landing in New York April 1,
1881 then to Illinois (Dwight) and then to
Staplehurst, Nebr., (Seward County), Jan. 4,
1883. Zoe's family, from the Johnstown, Pa.
territory, about the same time, settled in
Tamora, Nebr.

In 1927, a brother, Billy Bruce, the pride
and joy of his brothers and sisters, but to
great sadness died in the diptheria epidemic
of 1929. A final brother, Jon, was born in
Denver, Colo. 1937.

The Wiegardts spent 14 years of their lives
in Mullen as an ideal environment to rear the
family. In 1934 the family moved to Denver,
Colo. as the bank holiday and depression had
convinced Bill (who disliked saying "no" to
anyone who needed banking support) to leave
his banking career and beloved sandhills
behind and joined the Reconstruction Fi-
nance Agency (Roosevelts baby) in Denver.
Bill died in 1979, age 84, and Zoe in 1971, age
77, never having lost their love of Hooker and
Cherry County, Nebr. and Mullen.