Geraldine McGrady Jones (1892-1952) was born in San Francisco and five years later moved with her family to Los Gatos. She attended the San Jose Normal School where she graduated in 1914, after which she worked as a school teacher at the Wright's Station School in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It was there that she met her husband William 'Billy' Jones who worked as an engineer for the Union Pacific railroad. The couple lived in converted boxcars for the first several years of their marriage and eventually settled in Los Gatos where they raised their four children Betty ,Geraldine, Robert and Neal. Geraldine Jones recorded vignettes of her family life in the form of short stories and poems, several of theses poems honor her sons' sacrifices and commitment in World War II; both were killed in the war. Following World War II, Geraldine Jones worked as an aid in the San Jose Hospital and the Dibble Hospital in Menlo Park. William 'Billy' Jones became a popular local figure after installing a small gauge railroad called 'the Wildcat Railroad' in 1943, on his Los Gatos property. The railroad became a popular amusement for local children. The popularity of this small gauge railroad attracted the attention of Walt Disney who later consulted with Billy Jones during the construction of the train system in Disneyland in Anaheim California. The Billy Jones Railroad remains a popular attraction in the Vasona Regional Park.
From the description of Geraldine McGrady Jones collection, 1870-1947 (bulk 1900-1930) (San Jose Public Library). WorldCat record id: 756792939
