Curtiss Family Information

Herbert Dewey 'Herbie' Curtiss of Basset, Nebraska had four children - David, Eugene, Elizabeth, and Harold.

David was born in 1916. The U.S. entered WWI in 1917. Herbie got a deferment since he had a wife and child. Eugene was born in 1918. They used to charge groceries at Niemers - fed the family for $30 a month. One time Herbie charged a box of cigars to the grocery account and Martha gave him the dickens. Herbie smoked a lot of cigars - but no cigarettes. Herbie was a great duck shot - had a model 12 12 gauge with a full choke. David saw him shoot six teal out of a flock with single shots - they landed about 20 feet apart. David started going duck hunting when he was 14 years old. Limit was 15 ducks each - Herbie took the kids along so he could shoot all the limits.

Herbie hunted for the market - when he was going to high school - he would go out and shoot prairie chickens and ducks, pack them in barrels of ice, and send them to Chicago. Harold got the nickname 'moon' because he was plump and had a round face - so Gene and David nicknamed him moon-face, then shortened it up to 'moon'.

Curtiss Family Info