(7.4.1860-6.10.1951)

 W.K. Kellogg came out to California from Battle Creek, Michigan in November of 1924 in search of acreage on which he could build an Arabian horse ranch. He finally settled down in "the heart of the greatest food producing belt of Southern California" which was appropriately named "Pomona" for the Roman goddess of fruit trees. During the lapse of time from 1924 to 1932, pure bred Arabians (many originating from the stables of Lady Went worth in England and from Saudi, Egyptian and Polish stock) were bought by Kellogg in order to preserve the breed in America. In 1932, Kellogg decided to give his ranch to the University of California along with an endowment of $600,000 for educational purposes.

His hopes were that the ranch would be kept "in perpetuity," but, unfortunately, this proved not to be true--at least for the time being. When the University took control of the ranch, business continued as usual. Celebrities continued to come to the ranch to have their pictures taken with the famous Arabians, more horses were bought and more foals were born, and the tradition of the Sunday shows on the ranch continued until that fateful day when the U.S. Army took control of the ranch.

 Mr. Kellogg was a generous man who wanted to help the Country as much as possible. From the time of the Spanish-American War through World War I, W.K. Kellogg was very eager to help in the effort, but for one reason or another, was not able to do so. When World War II began in Europe, Kellogg started to give some serious thought about transferring the deed of the ranch from the University of California to the U.S. Government in order to support The War.

 Kellogg had several reasons for wanting to turn the ranch over to the Government: Many were subconscious and never will be known, and there were others that were brought out by his character. Norman Williamson, Kellogg's grandson, says that because relations with the University of California were unfavorable, it gave Kellogg a good reason to move the deed of the ranch to the Army in view of his extreme patriotism. Another reason was Kellogg's "uneasiness over too many luxuries" during the time of war. He claimed it was "sinful" for him to have these extras that other people did not have.

William Keith Kellogg was very determined to gain governmental interest in the proposal. Though he knew others might think it was too big of a project, he himself would "leave no stone unturned to put over this Arabian Army proposition."

 On January 31, 1943, Kellogg suggest that the Arabian horse project will sometime be turned over to the Government."

 As negotiations continued, Kellogg began thinking about the fifty acres he had reserved for himself upon the donation of the ranch to the University of California. After considerable thought, Kellogg decided to include these fifty acres, which included his mansion (he had more than one home), a guest house, a one-car garage plus a grove of citrus and avocado trees, to the U.S. Army.

 Kellogg's agreement to the University's terms was the first visible step toward the fulfillment of his hope. On March 15 1943, a favorable step towards that ultimate goal was put into action when the University Board of regents acted benevolently in reference to Kellogg's proposal. The Army was then given the option to purchase the ranch for the sum of one dollar--the Army refused to accept the ranch as a donation and made it a requirement that they purchase it.

 At the time, the United States had been at war for two years. The bombing of Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war on Japan and by Germany and Italy in 1941 "reordered priorities for all Americans." Consequently, the "red tape" slowed down, but did not come to a halt by any means. The Army accepted Kellogg's proposal and turned the ranch into their headquarters for their western remount area. The ranch, consisting of 750 acres, was to be named the W.K. Kellogg Quartermaster Depot in honor of W.K. Kellogg. On October 28, 1943, the U.S. Army officially took control of the Arabian horse ranch.

 It has been fifty-seven years since Kellogg originally came out to California from Battle Creek, Michigan. W.K. Kellogg died in 1951 at the age of 91. His life has ceased to exist, but his dream lives on. His dream was to aid the war effort in any way possible and to preserve the Arabian breed in America. He succeeded at both. He preserved the breed by helping California attain twice as many Arabians as any other state. William Keith Kellogg generously gave support to the Government during World War II. In fact, Kellogg was so generous that he gave the armed forces every piece of property he owned, except his home in Palm Springs, California (which would have left him homeless if he had), to be used for the war effort. Kellogg "sincerely believed everyone owed a patriotic duty to the country."

 W.K. Kellogg was an exceptionally patriotic man: described as "truly dedicated to the war effort." He was also a man who cared for others.

 References:

• Mary Jane Parkinson, The Kellogg Arabian Ranch: The First Fifty Years (Arabian Horse Association of Southern California, 1975)
• "Kellogg Ranch Given to Army," Battle Creek Enquirer, June 1, 1942
• U.S. Government, "Proposal for Future Operations of Kellogg Ranch," 1948