Foster-Smith family.

William Bennett Foster was born in Omaha, Nebraska on August 26, 1897 to William Bray Foster and Eleanor (Nellie) LeFevre Foster. He had one sister, Eleanor Trace Foster, who was born on September 20, 1891. Bennett, as he was known, was reared by various family members after his father died when he was three years old. Growing up, he attended several schools including St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin. Later, he moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico and lived with his uncle Luther Foster, who was a president and faculty member of New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (now New Mexico State University). Bennett attended New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts from 1916 until January 1918, when he joined the Navy.

Foster was discharged from the Navy in August 1919. He returned to Las Cruces and started college again on October 1, 1919. He left college a second time and moved to Roy, New Mexico in 1920. He worked for the State of New Mexico Co-operative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics in Roy and was active in the Wheat Belt Fair Association, eventually being elected secretary. However, he decided to return to college in Las Cruces in fall 1920, graduated in June 1921, and then moved to Raton, New Mexico where he taught high school for many years.

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