Plane Crashes Devastate Los Gatos

Billy Jones and his wife Geraldine are seen in this photo dated Oct. 16, 1943, the day of the "golden spike" ceremony for the Wildcat Railroad.

Geraldine Jones is holding the spike.

In November of 1943, less than a month later, the couple learned that their son, Bob, had been killed in a plane crash in Alaska.

Less than one year later, their son, Neal, died when his plane went down over the Philippines.

Billy Jones ran his railroad as a memorial to his two sons.

Source: Hooked on Los Gatos, the Library and Museum History Project

Courtesy Billy Jones Family Collection