Two generations of the Arnet family are documented in this collection. Unfortunately the information on many important events in their lives is not clear. The first generation, the children of George B. Arnet of Houston, Minnesota, included Philip I, Elsie, Irene, Edwin, Selma, and Joseph. Philip I served in the 47th Infantry during World War I and died in France on August 3, 1918. His brother Joseph later took over management of the family farm. Joseph married Laura Sheldon, also from Houston, during the 1920's. Joseph and Laura had two children. A son, Philip Arnet II, was born on July 7, 1928. A daughter, Mary Ellen, was born about a year and a half later.
On their farm near Hokah, Minnesota, the Arnets raised grain, milked dairy cattle, and kept chicken and turkeys. At some time prior to 1943 Joseph Arnet died. Laura apparently continued to run the farm by herself, for in 1943 she was filing tax forms as the sole farm operator. She may have found this difficult because between 1945 and 1948 she apparently moved back and forth between the farm and La Crosse, Wisconsin, where she worked for the Trane Company. After Philip II returned from service in Japan from 1946 to 1947 his mother took him into partnership in the farm in 1948.
