Dwain Cover McDonald's and Yvonne Lucille Petersteiner's Family Tree
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13

WALTER ^(*)

AS TOLD BY TILLIE

Walter was born August 24, 1910 in Osawatomie, Kansas.  His parents are Luther Vanmeter Young and Bertha May Seetin Young.  His early life is outlined in the part of this history regarding their life together which ended when he was nine years old.

Walter had begun his elementary education in Montpelier, Idaho, but most of his grade-school education was obtained in the elementary schools of Osawatomie, Kansas.  He was a good student and made many friends among his classmates; among them were his most intimate friends Maurice and Orville Strode.

They called him "Molly" sometimes.  It was a "fun" name which he was given by his close play­mates- it grew out of the trips they all took to the woods where they listened to the bird calls- they were always joking about the origin of the name and had so much fun telling the story of those boyhood days.  At the age of fifteen in 1925, he moved to Wichita, Kansas with his mother and sisters.  They all worked/and rather than have him be alone so much of the time, his mother let him live with Lill and Jess Dennett, where he worked on their farm and attended school.  The Strode family lived in this area which was Rose Hill, Kansas not far from Wichita, Kansas.  Walter liked this arrange­ment, since his friends and family were close by; he went to Wichita quite often to be with his mother and his sisters, Tillie and Oma.  The Dennetts were very fond of him, and he always spoke of them with the highest regard.  They were the parents of five daughters; Walter and Jess became very close, almost like father and son, and soon they just considered Walter one of their family.  After completing two years of high school at Rose Hill, he decided to go to Wichita, Kansas, where he found a job driving a truck.  He stayed there for quite some time.

In 1929, Walter went to Parsons, Kansas where his sister Tillie and husband lived; there was not much for a young fellow nineteen years old in the way of employment there.  He stayed with Tillie and Claude that winter, and then he went back to Wichita, where he visited his friends.  In 1929, business was beginning to decline, and they were not hiring at all, so he later decided to go to Kansas City, Missouri and look around there for work.  This enabled him to visit his mother who was living in Osawatomie, Kansas just sixty miles away.  He found employment with Myron Green, engaged in the restaurant and bakery business.  He worked there until his mother passed away in May of 1934.  Tillie, his sister and her husband lived there, and they were such a comfort to each other at this critical time during his mother's illness.  After that, he began to look for work in some other business and spoke of taking up a trade, but with the big depression in business on, it was not very encouraging.

He went to see his sister Tillie and husband, who had moved to Chicago, Illinois, but the Century of Progress (world's fair) had closed and business was declining again.

Walter had always wished to go west, so he returned to Kansas City, Missouri, where he worked for the next two years and saved his money.  Then he and some of his very close friends started traveling west; they stopped in Blackfoot, Idaho, where he had heard that his father resided.  Walter visited his father, and he and his friends journeyed on west, finally going as far as San Francisco, California.  They looked for employment while they traveled, but business conditions in the west appeared to be not much better than in the Middle Western states.  Walter then decided to go back to Boise, Idaho, where his Uncle Oliver helped him to find work and invited him to stay with them until he could establish himself.

He went to work for an automobile dealer, and was very happy there.  Later, while working on his job, he was forced off the road by another vehicle in the mountains and was injured.  It was found that his foot was broken - a very bad break in the heel area, so he was not able to continue with his work.  Tillie and Claude asked him to come and stay with them at Springfield, Missouri until his foot mended.  His foot became somewhat better, but he could not get his shoe on.

His foot became some better.  He had to wear a boot for some time.  He started back to Kansas City, but stopped to visit friends in Osawatomie, Kansas on his way.  He decided to stay there a while; he helped on Ed Strode's farm, and worked at his Uncle Red Eichorn's and Ed Strode's Garage and Filling Station.

He lived with his very dear friends, Maurice and Orville Strode.  At this time, he met is future wife Elinor Stanley (called Tootie); they began to date then.  When Walter's foot seemed to be mended, he went back to Kansas City, Missouri and went to work for the B. & G. Sandwich Shop where he had worked once for a while.  Later after trying hard and keeping in touch at Mobil Oil Company, where earlier Maurice Strode became employed, Walter was hired in 1940 by Mobile Oil Company and became an Air Brake Mechanic on tank cars.  He was pleased with his work and was so happy to be in work where he felt there was some future for him.

In 1941, he was inducted into the United States Army in February and was sent to Camp Robinson, Little Rock, Arkansas.  He was released in November 1941, because of his age.

At this time, he married Elinore Stanley on November 16, 1941 at Olathe, Kansas.  He then returned to his job at the Mobil Oil Company, but was soon called back into the Army and was stationed at several army camps and eventually was sent overseas, where he served in the 35th Division- 130th Field Artillery until the end of World War II.

He was in the European Theatre at the time of the "Battle of the Bulge" which was the German Army's last ditch try to win.  He had started in England-went over to France and Germany and served in the occupation until they were transported back home.  All together, he served in the United States Army for five years.

During those years, Tootie, his wife, worked in the national defense industries - Douglas Aircraft, Los Angeles and North American Aviation, Kansas City, Kansas, and she saved their money; so, they would be able to get started again when the war ended.

After Walter received his discharge from the Army, he and Tootie returned to Kansas City, where he went back on his job with Mobil Oil Company.  They were happy and doing very well.  He had contracted asthma earlier in his life, but this time his stomach and other disorders seemed to trouble him.  He went in the hospital for a while and was off his job for about a year.  He spent quite a bit of that time at his sister Oma's and Orlan's farm in Crowley, Colorado, where he began to improve.

Larry Ray Young, a son, was born March 8, 1950; they were delighted and a whole new world opened up for them.  Walter was soon able to return to work at Mobil Oil Company.  Later they purchased a home at 5127 South Benton, Kansas City, Missouri, and they were very happy.  Larry went to grade school there.  They eventually bought another home at Raytown, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, where Larry finished grade school and high school.

Walter sometimes took Larry hunting and fishing down home at Osawatomie- often joining their good friends there.  He took a great interest in Larry Ray's little League Baseball Team.  He spent his summers helping with the teams and going to the baseball games.  Sometimes the team would go out of town to play, and he always went with Larry Ray; this he enjoyed very much.  Larry finished High School and was attending College; Tootie had gone back to work again, and they were quite content in their home at Ray town, Missouri.  Walter’s asthma began to trouble him, and it became quite severe; eventually, he had to retire on disability in 1965 at the age of 55 years.  He attended the family reunions, along with his family, and we had many enjoyable times together.  He had a very kind, patient and loving disposition, and he was very fond of his whole family.  After many attacks of asthma and trips to the Hospital, he passed away on September 4, 1970.

Tootie stayed on in their home and continued to work at the K.C. Terminal Employees Federal Credit Union, and Larry Ray returned to College.  We get together for Christmas and take our vacation together; also we see one another at the family reunions in Utah and California.

We remain very close.  We do hope Tootie and Larry have a long and wonderful life in the future, and we love them very much.

(*) His sisters always called him "Bud”