The author if this is/was Mary Ann Harmon -- our cousin.  The information came from our Aunt Jeanne Marie Bickford -- our Dad's twin sister.  If memory serves -- Aunt Jeanne was born first and she and our Dad used to trade good natured quips over their birth order!

Aunt Jeanne Marie Bickford (through her daughter, Mary Ann Harmon): 

"Some of this will not necessarily be news worthy, but mom and I felt you would like to know these things about your dad.

The Grade School which your dad attended was Titusville Elementary-located on River Rd. in New Jersey. It is still standing and functioning as a school. We visited it a fee years ago after the reunion..

The High School he attended was Pennington Central High School-located in Pennington, New Jersey

He got permission to enter the Navy before his official high school graduation.  He had straight A's so he was easily accepted. It was the only time my brother and I did not march together.  The year was 1944.

I am not sure what year he graduated from Kent State.  It would have been after serving in WWII. I know he came home and worked to earn money for school.  He worked at the Otis Elevator Company, on the farm with my Uncle George and other places to earn money for college.  He did have the GI bill which covered his tuition and books.

He served in the Pacific. He guarded the troops while they were being transported to and from the war front.It was very dangerous because the enemy would try to destroy the transport ships. It was a vital part of the war effort.To get home when he was on leave and after the war he would hitch-hike. In those days people willing gave rides to servicemen.

Bill also worked for Uncle George in our High School years.  Uncle George paid Bill with a Holstein calf which grew up and provided the whole family with milk. Mother appreciated the milk and cream.  The whole family benefited from his labor.  He could have sold calf for money but he raised, cared for her and gave her to the family.  We all learned to milk her.

Hobbies:                                                                                                                                                                              

          -As a boy he loved to go fishing with Ted and Dick. He also loved to go swimming in the Delaware River.  We all learned to swim in the Delaware Canal in Titusville, because it wasn't as deep or swift as the river. 
          -We all took turns doing our share of gardening with dad and mother-hoeing, weeding and eating. We saw the fruit of our labor and mother canned of course.
           -He went coon hunting with Uncle Walter and cousins Jim and Robert.
           -In high school he sing in Glee Club and church choir. 
           -We all loved to play baseball after dinner in the front yard, even dad and mother played.
           -In school he loved to play jokes. Sometimes it would get him into trouble, not terrible trouble because we had understanding teachers.
           -He also loved to play horseshoes. We would all take turns. We used horseshoes that were actually discarded from horses, not the store bought ones.
           -We didn't have bikes when we were young, so Bill walked where ever he needed to go. Ken later gave Bill his bike and Bill sure enjoyed that bike.
            -In His Adult years he loved to sing. He sang a solo at my daughter Phyllis' wedding. He would sing solos and duets at retirement functions.  He always had accompaniment.and a regular  program. He would often call me and we would discuss what he was going to sing and we would also sing together over the phone.. He was a baritone but he had a wide range and could sing tenor if he needed to do so.. At our high school class reunions we would usually volunteer to sing together. He loved "My Wild Irish Rose". He loved songs that talked about freedom on the road and he also loved ballads. Once in a while we would sing hymns together. His favorite hymn was "A Little Brown Church in the Vale". He had such a good memory. I could always depend on him to remember the words.
          
A special memory is that every Christmas the boys and dad would go out and cut down a live Christmas tree; then bring it home so that we could all decorate it.  We really enjoyed it. It was one of the high-lights of Christmas time.

Bill was always especially interested in family. He would call and check-up on me as well as our nieces and nephews. He would often offer to help pay for things, like new glasses and such. At the time of his death he was helping us make the reservation for next years' family reunion. He cared for all of us. I think after Dad passed away Bill took it on as a mantel. He just keep track of all of us.

Every time we spoke on the phone Bill or I would always say how fortunate we were to have the parents which we had.  We never felt that we were poor, because we knew that we were loved and care for by our parents."