My Father, Kenneth Ray Elwood
My father, Kenneth Ray Elwood, who had a good sense of humor, was a hardworking, honest, kind, man;
A native of Northeast Nebraska who grew up on that land;
Dad went to the service right out of high school;
He enlisted in the Army Air Corp from the farming land so rich and rural;
Kenneth was sent to the Philippines after basic training, he became a mechanic and supply sergeant, serving his country in WW II;
He learned to repair P-38, and P-52 airplanes, he could of have been a trouble shooter traveling the sky of blue;
A desire to farm and be with his family were the reasons to come back home;
He felt by traveling the world, he would be all alone;
So, my dad, returned home to Nebraska after serving his country for 2 years;
He worked as a car mechanic in Creighton, NE, met Iva Jean Young at the Plainview Roller Rink, fell in love, married, as he continued on with his careers;
After working for a while at Jess Tepner Chevrolet on cars so many;
A family was started with their first born child, Nancy, by Jean and Kenny;
So he left the car dealership to farm for many years in Pierce and Antelope County;
Corn, alfalfa, and soybeans there were plentiful seeds and a fruitful bounty;
Three more children were born Sue, Terry and Dan;
Dad continued to work on cars and tractors as the whole family farmed the rich farm land;
As the years evolved with the children growing up and then dad and mom were all alone;
My father expanded his expertise by learning diesel engines and repaired diesel tractors and irrigation engines as he was well known;
My dad would not want to be known in this way;
He worked very hard and fix it, it would stay;
Why do I know this, I remember hearing my mother say “let Kenny Elwood, fix it!”, and other potential customers would say, “he is up to that test;”
Sometimes I wondered with the dual businesses if he got enough rest;
My father, the mechanic and farmer, was the best!
Now you know the rest of the story;
Thank you, dad, I know you do not want any of that fame or glory;
Written by Daughter, Nancy
February, 2014