Otto F. Walter
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| Biography | 929 |
William James Walter was prominent in business and fraternal circles in Columbus. He was active in the councils of the Democratic Party and was a member of the staffs of two Nebraska governors, John H. Moorehead and Keith Neville. He served as trustee of the Columbus Lodge 1195 of the B.P.O.E. (Elks), was a member of the Knights of Columbus, past president of the Maennerchor Society, a member of the Orpheus Society, and a past president of the Sons of Herman.
He was a member of St. Bonaventure's Catholic Church in Columbus. William James Walter died in Columbus on May 26, 1923.
Helen Walter was born in Columbus, Nebraska, and attended grade school there.
In 1925 she moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, with her mother, brother Frederick and sister Pauline.
Helen was graduated from the Lincoln High School and the University of Nebraska with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. She was a writer and prior to her marriage was the Fashion Editor at Warner Brothers Studio at Burbank, California.
Miss Helen Walter and Lynn Root were married in Los Angeles on December 31, 1933. They have one son Charles Anthony born in Beverly Hills, California, December 10, 1941.
Lynn Root, the son of Charles and Edith Butterfield Root, was born at Redwood, Minnesota, and received his early formal education there. He later moved to Beverly Hills, California.
He is a writer and has achieved a place of national importance in that field in a comparatively short time. Among his works he is best known for his production Cabin in the Sky which played a season on Broadway, and was later made into a moving picture. His Milky Way has also been an outstanding screen success.
Pauline Catherine Walter was born in Columbus, Nebraska, and attended grade school there.
In 1925 she went to Lincoln, Nebraska, where she was graduated from High School and the University of Nebraska.
The Walter family later moved to Los Angeles where, prior to her marriage in 1943, Polly was the secretary to the manager of the Don Lee Broadcasting Company. She was also the Women's Personnel Manager for that company.
On June 26, 1943, in Los Angeles, California, Miss Pauline Catherine Walter was married to Edward Francis Lehn. They have a son, Thomas Charles, born in Los Angeles, July 25, 1945.
Edward F. Lehn is the son of Charles and Mary Kessler Lehn. He was born at McCook, Nebraska, where his father was a banker for several years.
Edward moved to Los Angeles with his parents where he was graduated from the Loyola Preparatory School and the Loyola University. He is a mechanical engineer.
During World War II he served in the United States Army for over four years.
Doctor Frederick William Walter, the son of William J. and Mary Odenthal Walter, was born in Columbus, Nebraska, September 17, 1906.
He was graduated from the Columbus High School in 1924, and the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. He practiced his profession at York, Nebraska, and later moved to Los Angeles, California.
During World War II he spent four years in the United States Armed Forces, two years of which were spent in overseas service. He was a major in the Dental Corps.
Otto F. Walter |
Doctor Walter was married at Lincoln, Nebraska, to Miss Ruth Batson the daughter of Samuel R. and Bertha Jungbluth Batson.
Doctor and Mrs. Walter have three daughters: Maralee June, Diane Jane and Candice Suzanne, who was born March 26, 1947. Maralee and Diane attend the St. Mary's High School at Los Angeles.
Doctor Frederick W. Walter has attained a high place in his profession in Los Angeles. In California he belongs to the Los Angeles County and the California State Dental Societies, and is a member of the American Dental Association. His office is on Sunset Boulevard.
Otto F. Walter, the son of William James and Anna Fasoldt Walter, was born in Aurora, Illinois, on April 19, 1890. His father, former president of the Columbus Beverage Company, was born on July 2, 1859, in Mendota, Illinois, and died in Columbus on May 26, 1923. His mother was born in 1859 at Amboy, Illinois, and died in Aurora, Illinois, in 1903. On August 8, 1905, at Dixon, Illinois his father was married to Mary Elizabeth Odenthal. Mrs. Walter lives in Los Angeles, California.
Otto has a half-brother and two half-sisters; Doctor Frederick W. Walter; Helen, Mrs. Lynn Root; and Polly, Mrs. Edward Lehn.
Otto Walter lived in Aurora, and at Dixon, Illinois, until he was fifteen years old. He came to Columbus in
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March, 1906, with his father, step-mother and brother Carl. A brother Leo Walter came from Chicago in 1907 to join the Walter family here. For several years Leo was associated with the Elliott, Speice, Echols Company. Leo and Carl Walter are deceased.
Otto Walter was graduated from the Columbus High School in 1907, and the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1911. Following that he spent a year in study at the University of Chicago School of Law. Returning to the University of Nebraska in 1912, he was graduated from the College of Law there in 1913 with a Bachelor of Laws degree. He is a member of the Delta Chi Legal Fraternity.
After his admission to the Nebraska Bar in 1913 he started a law practice in Columbus. In November, 1914, he was elected to the office of County Attorney on the Democratic ticket and served in that capacity until 1927. Mr. Walter made a creditable record while in public office through honesty and efficiency in the performance of his duties. He has been a leader in the Democratic party, and was a delegate to the Democratic National conventions in 1924 and in 1928.
Since 1927 he has conducted a private law practice in Columbus. In 1935 he formed a partnership with Marvin G. Schmid. The law firm being known as Walter and Schmid until 1937. At that time Robert D. Flow became a member of the law firm and the name was changed to Walter, Flory and Schmid. In 1946 Marvin G. Schmid withdrew from the firm and started a law practice in Omaha. The firm was then known as Walter and Flow until January 1, 1949, when Robert D. Flow took over the office of District Judge to which he had been elected in November, 1948. In January, 1949, Vance Leininger of Fullerton, Nebraska, formed a law partnership with Otto F. Walter and the law firm is known as Walter and Leininger. Mr. Walter's law office was in the State Bank Building at Thirteenth Street and Twenty-sixth Avenue until 1936 when he moved into a suite of offices in the Scott Building.
During World War I, Otto F. Walter spent eight months as a Naval Aviation Cadet. From 1918 to 1919 he was stationed at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
On October 16, 1919, in Columbus, Otto F. Walter was married to Miss Gertrude Bloom, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Bloom. Mrs. Walter was graduated from the State Teacher's College at Kearney, Nebraska, and prior to her marriage taught in the Columbus Schools.
Otto and Gertrude Bloom Walter have one daughter, Virginia Jane, born December 25, 1924. Virginia Jane attended the St. Bonaventure School, was graduated from Kramer High School in 1942, and then attended Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, for two years.
In June, 1946, she was graduated from the University of Nebraska where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. She was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority. Virginia Jane was a Countess in the Royal Court of the King and Queen of Aksarben at Omaha in the autumn of 1946.
On December 21, 1946, Virginia Jane Walter was married to James E. M. Thompson, the son of Doctor and Mrs. J. E. M. Thompson of Lincoln, Nebraska.
James E. M. Thompson received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Nebraska in 1949. He was a member of the "varsity" football team there from 1946 to 1948.
James and Virginia Walter Thompson have a son James Walter, and a daughter Kathleen Ann, born in 1949.
In the summer of 1949, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson established their home in Columbus, where James bought the Carberry Seed Company.
Mr. Walter is possessed of a cordial manner, and a mastery of the English language which has made him a forceful and attractive public speaker. He has filled the place of toastmaster at many of Columbus' large gatherings and no festive occasion seems quite complete without his appearance in the role of song leader.
Otto F. Walter has memberships in the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club, the B.P.O.E. (Elks), the Izaak Walton League, the Platte County Bar Association, and the Nebraska State Bar Association. Politically, Mr. Walter is affiliated with the Democratic Party. His hobbies are travel, baseball, football, horseback riding, music, reading, and photography.
Mr. and Mrs. Otto F. Walter have traveled extensively in Europe, South America and the United States. They are members of St. Bonaventure's Catholic Church, in Columbus.
Doctor Eugene C. Walter, the son of Edward Christopher and Minnie Augusta Schroeder Walter, was born in Humphrey, Nebraska, on November 3, 1916. His father was born in Illinois, on May 17, 1874. His mother was born in Humphrey, January 16, 1877.
He has one brother and one sister: Ervin E. is married to Neoma Bradshaw; and Leona L. is a school teacher.
Eugene C. Walter attended the Humphrey schools and was graduated from the Humphrey High School. Following this, he attended the Wayne Teachers College and then enrolled at the University of Nebraska, where he received the degrees of Bachelor of Science, and Doctor of Dental Surgery. He was affiliated with the Sigma Phi Epsilon and the Xi Psi Phi Fraternities.
During World War II, Doctor Eugene C. Walter served for three years and seven months in the United States Navy. He received his early training at the United States Pre-Flight School at Iowa City, Iowa,
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and at the United States Naval Air Station at Ottumwa, Iowa. He saw service with the Second Marine Division in the South Pacific Theatre, where he participated in the Battle of Tarawa. He was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
In 1946, Doctor Walter opened his dental offices in the Central National Bank Building, in Columbus, and established his practice there.
He has traveled extensively. The places of interest that he visited included New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands. His hobby is photography and he also enjoys competitive sports and music.
Doctor Eugene C. Waiter is a member of the Lutheran Church, and politically, he is affiliated with the Republican Party.
Oliver H. Walters was born at Petersburg, Nebraska, February 18, 1887. His parents were Oliver E. and Cora Martin Walters. His father was a native of Brooklyn, New York, and his mother was a native of Wisconsin.
His father homesteaded in Boone County in the early 1870's. He served there as county clerk for seven years, and then established a real estate and abstract business in Petersburg. He later published the Petersburg Index.
Oliver H. Walters attended the Petersburg schools and finished his high school work in 1902. From 1902 to 1906 he worked on the Petersburg Index.
In 1906 he went to Albion, Nebraska, and worked on newspapers there for several months. He came to Columbus in June, 1907, to work as foreman on the Columbus Tribune, then owned by Richard Ramey. He remained in that position for five years.
In 1912 O. H. Walters formed a partnership with G. W. Davis and founded the Art Printery. In 1913 Mr. Walters bought the interest of Mr. Davis and from that time has conducted the business. His son, O. Wendell, has been associated with him in its operation and management for several years.
On June 14, 1911, O. H. Walters was married to Ettna Cora Linstrum, the daughter of C. A. and Cora Linstrum of Columbus. Mrs. Walters was born at Sutton, Nebraska, and came to Columbus with her parents at the age of three.
Oliver H. and Ettna Linstrum Walters have two sons and four daughters: O. Wendell, Richard, Davida, Geraldine, Mildred and Lucille.
O. H. Walters was a member of the Columbus Board of Education for several years, and at one time served as president of the Nebraska Association of School Boards.
Mr. Walters has published the city directory since 1933, and is also the publisher of the Columbus News.
He holds membership in the Chamber of Commerce, and Lions Club, and is a member of the Methodist Church.
S. Don Ward, manager of Montgomery Ward and Company's Columbus store, was born January 25, 1912, at Everett, Washington. His parents were Stephen Allen and Elizabeth McDonald Ward. Stephen Ward was born in 1883 in Wisconsin and died November 12, 1919, at Everett, Washington. Elizabeth Ward was born November 8, 1888, at Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Don Ward had two sisters: Dorothy, Mrs. Robert Stevenson, of Everett, Washington; and Jean, Mrs. Harry Ellis, also of Everett.
S. Don Ward was graduated from high school at Everett, Washington. Since finishing school his work has been in the retail field, including general merchandise, grocery, and "five and ten" stores. He has covered the entire United States in this work. He came to Columbus in May, 1946, to assume his duties as manager of the Columbus Montgomery Ward and Company store.
Michael Weaver |
On November 23, 1935, in Billings, Montana, S. Don Ward was married to Lyllis May Grant, the daughter of P. L. and Ruth Richel Grant. P. L. Grant, was born May 9, 1886, in South Dakota, and is a building contractor. Ruth Richel Grant was born January 4, 1892, in South Dakota.
S. D. and Lyllis Grant Ward had three children: Michael A., born May 15, 1942, in Billings, Montana; Pamela Ann, born November 23, 1944, in York, Nebraska; and Stephen David, born March 21, 1948, in Columbus.
Mr. Ward is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the B.P.O.E. (Elks), and the Wayside Country Club. He enjoys competitive sports and plays golf. Politically he is a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Ward are members of St. Bonaventure's Catholic Church.
Michael John Weaver, born January 7, 1828, in the Kingdom of Wurtemburg, Germany, came to Columbus, Nebraska, from Columbus, Ohio, in the spring of 1857, a year after the town was founded and the townsite staked out. Mr. Weaver was an expert cabinet maker by trade, and conducted a furniture business here for many years.
Michael Weaver married Dorothea Heckman, the daughter of Valentine and Dorothea Ritzman Heckman, natives of Germany, who died in Columbus. Dorothea Heckman Weaver was born January 28, 1830, in Saxony, Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Weaver had eight children : Louisa, born May 25, 1850, in Columbus, Ohio, was married to Doctor Samuel
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A. Bonesteel on July 4, 1870, and she died March 24, 1920; Elizabeth, born April 5, 1852, in Columbus, Ohio, was married to Leander Gerrard, and died February 7, 1924; Mary M., born February 24, 1856, in Columbus, Ohio, was married to L. J. Cramer, in June, 1885, and she died July 6, 1937; Louis William, born July 25, 1860, in Columbus, Nebraska, married Phoebe S. Schrack, July 25, 1883, and after her death, he married Josephine Byllesby, who had taught in the Columbus High School; Jennie, born August 1, 1862, died September 28, 1914; Valentine, born October 12, 1864, in Columbus, Nebraska, married Effie Beardsley on September 8, 1897, and he died February 8, 1935; Clara, born October 2, 1870, in Columbus, Nebraska; and Walter, born October 6, 1877, in Columbus, Nebraska, died in 1878.
Michael Weaver was the first Superintendent of Schools in Columbus and Platte County. He and his family experienced all the hardships of pioneer life. He was very proud of the bravery of his wife, who, on the occasion of an Indian uprising, refused to leave him when most of the other women were persuaded to go to Omaha for safety and leave their husbands to fight the Indians.
Michael John Weaver died April 7, 1901, in Columbus, Nebraska, and Dorothea Heckman Weaver died there on April 5, 1913.
Louis William Weaver, son of Michael and Dorothea Heckman Weaver, was born in Columbus, July 25, 1860, four years after the town was founded. Mr. Weaver was a native son who chose to spend his entire life in Columbus, and was numbered among the men who played an important part in its commercial and civic development. His father came from Columbus, Ohio, and settled here in the spring of 1857. Louis was the second white child born in Columbus. (Margaret Lynch, born May 22, 1860, on Shell Creek, was the second child born in Platte County.)
Louis received his education in the Columbus public schools in the early years, before the little western village had a high school. At nineteen, he became a clerk in the County Treasurer's office and was later appointed Deputy County Treasurer, serving in that capacity while John W. Early was County Treasurer. Following that he was a candidate for County Treasurer, but was not elected. He is said to have attributed his business success to that defeat, as it turned his attention from politics to business.
He established a coal business in 1883, and became one of the city's pioneer coal merchants. His first office was at 2510 Thirteenth Street, where he later bought and sold grain, produce, and hides, as well as coal. He opened a harness shop in connection with his coal business, in partnership with L. A. Wiley.
Three years later, he bought Mr. Wiley's interest, and after operating the shop alone for a while, he sold the harness line to G. Granlund, and from that time on, handled coal exclusively. When fire destroyed the building, about 1918, he moved the coal office to his building at 1363 Twenty-fourth Avenue.
When his son, Edward M. Weaver, returned to Columbus, in 1922, Mr. Weaver turned the management of the Weaver coal business over to him, and in 1923, he retired.
From 1907-1923, Louis Weaver contributed to the permanent development of the city's business district by the erection of three brick buildings, the first being then occupied by the Weaver Coal Office and the Grey Taxi. The next one was occupied by the City Hall, from 1917 to the 1930's, and is now the offices of Doctors Maurice C. James, Julian E. Meyer, and Everett G. Brillhart. The third building is at 2510 Thirteenth Street.
Louis W. Weaver was twice married. On July 5, 1883, he was married to Phoebe Grace Schrack, the daughter of Major and Mrs. E. M. Schrack, who conducted a hotel in Columbus in the early days. At one time the Schracks resided at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Phoebe was born on March 7, 1863. The family moved from Pennsylvania to Columbus, and then to Crete, Nebraska, where Phoebe was married to Louis Weaver. Major and Mrs. Schrack later moved from Crete to Seattle, Washington.
Louis and Phoebe Grace Weaver had three sons and three daughters: Earl S. Weaver, born May 10, 1884, married Leona Harbert, and worked for many years as a supervisor with the telephone company, in Scottsbluff, Nebraska; Dorothea was married to Edwin S. Ripley, now deceased. Mrs. Ripley lives in Lincoln. Lydia was married to George E. "Ned" Janes, now deceased, and she lives in Los Angeles, California. They had a son, George E. Janes Jr.; Louis W. Weaver, Jr., born April 11, 1890, was married to Beatrice Taylor, and has been the county engineer of Lancaster County. Mr. and Mrs. Louis Weaver, Jr. live in Lincoln. Marguerite Weaver Brian married F. Howard Whaley. He died in 1924, and in 1926 she was married to Vivian Brian, and now lives in Columbus; Edward M. Weaver, born October 20, 1895, was married to Phyllis McCann. He owns and manages a large potato chip factory, in Lincoln. All of the Weaver children were born in Columbus, and were graduated from the Columbus High School.
Phoebe Grace Schrack Weaver died December 11, 1912. On July 1, 1916, Louis Weaver married Josephine Byllesby, of Fairbury, Nebraska, who taught in the Columbus High School.
Louis Weaver was a member of the Congregational Church and the Modern Woodmen Lodge.
Dorothea Weaver Ripley was born March 7, 1886 in Columbus, Nebraska. Her parents were Louis William and Phoebe Grace Schrack Weaver.
Dorothea was graduated from the Columbus High School in 1904, and from the University of Nebraska in 1910. She taught school from 1910 to 1916, and was the assistant juvenile probation officer of Lancaster County in Lincoln from 1932 to 1950.
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On September 12, 1916, in Columbus, Nebraska, she was married to Edwin S. Ripley. Mr. Ripley died May 5, 1932.
Edwin S. and Dorothea Weaver Ripley had two children. John A. Ripley, born October 7, 1917, in Lincoln, is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and now has his own advertising agency in Los Angeles, California. Doris Ripley is the wife of Ray M. Knapp, D.D.S., associate professor at the University of Nebraska Dental College. She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and taught English at the University in 1946-1947.
Dorothea Weaver Ripley is a member of the First Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln, and the Eastern Star.
Valentine H. Weaver was born in Columbus October 12, 1864. His parents were Michael and Dorothea Heckman Weaver.
"Vollie" Weaver was educated in the city schools, and except for a few years lived in Columbus throughout his lifetime.
As a boy of sixteen, he became a teacher in the rural schools of Platte County, and later, worked as a clerk at the Columbus postoffice. Following this, he became assistant postmaster at Norfolk. He returned to Columbus in 1887 to become bookkeeper for the Columbus State Bank. For more than thirty-five years, he was associated with that bank, first as a stockholder and later as vice president until 1931.
On September 8, 1897, Valentine H. Weaver was married to Effie Beardsley, a member of a well known Columbus family. They had three sons: Allan, of Port Washington, Long Island; Everett, of Columbus, a member of the Daily Telegram force; and Howard, who died August 13, 1925.
V. H. Weaver was interested in educational and religious activities. He served as a member of the Columbus School Board, and for years took an active part in local Y.M.C.A. work.
He was a member of the Congregational Church, and was active in the Federated Church in Columbus after the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches were united. He was a member of the finance committee while the Federated Church building was being built. He was an advocate of the conservation of bird-life of the nation, and was long active in the Columbus Chapter of the Izaak Walton League. He was a member of the Wayside Country Club and an enthusiastic golfer. He was a member at the Masonic Lodge, in which he was a chaplain for several years.
Effie Beardsley Weaver died March 3, 1905, and Valentine H. Weaver died February 8, 1935.
William Ellsworth Weaver was born January 5, 1866, in Morrison, Illinois, and died there May 9, 1942. His parents were Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Weaver. His father was born May 29, 1853, at Wilmore, Pennsylvania, and died June 26, 1921, at Morrison, Illinois. His mother was born March 20, 1835 (sic), at Lindleys Mills, Pennsylvania, and died in Morrison November 10, 1910.
One of three sons, W. E. Weaver was reared on a farm near Morrison. He attended the rural grade school there at Prairie Center, and was graduated from the Morrison High School, and Knox College at Galesburg, Illinois. Among his hobbies was the historical research of Illinois. His main interest being the history of Whiteside County and the town of Morrison, Illinois. He spent his active years in the educational field.
While a young man, he was an instructor at the High School in Columbus, Nebraska. During that time, he was married on July 8, 1903, to Minnie Fredricka Becker, the daughter of John Peter and Philipina Schram Becker, and a sister of Albert D. Becker of Columbus. Mrs. Weaver's father was one of the thirteen founders of Columbus.
William and Minnie Becker Weaver had three children. One daughter and two sons: Jane Philipina Weaver, born in Morrison, was graduated from the Morrison High School and the Francis Shimer School for Girls at Mt. Carroll, Illinois, and is married to George Thiem. They have two children, a boy and a girl. John Weaver is married and has one son. Henry Weaver died March 22, 1946. John and Henry both graduated from Morrison High School, attended College at Springfield, Ohio, and later were graduated from the University of Chicago.
William E. Weaver, after teaching at the Columbus High School, was the Superintendent of Schools at Morrison, Illinois, until he retired.
Besides his school work, he was also a member of the Library Board there. Mr. Weaver and his sons, John and Henry, were members of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. Mr. Weaver also held membership in the Morrison Club, the Rotary Club, and was a Republican. He attended the Presbyterian Church.
Minnie Becker Weaver lives in Morrison, Illinois.
William Weber, born in Germany in 1844, immigrated to America with his parents in 1856, settling in Illinois. In the early 1870's he came to Columbus and homesteaded in Polk County. He received his early education in Germany.
On April 17, 1876, he was married to Miss Caroline Labens, a niece of Carl Reinke, one of the original thirteen men who founded Columbus. In 1888 (sic), Mr. Reinke sent for Caroline and her sisters to come from Germany. She was then fifteen years old. Shortly after coming to Columbus, a frontier town, she was employed in the general store and post office of Hugh Compton. As soon as she was old enough she took a homestead in Burrows Township, six miles northwest of Platte Center.
After their marriage, William and Caroline Labens Weber first established their home on his homestead in Polk County. This was before bridges were built across the Loup and Platte Rivers, and the settlers from Polk County had to ford both streams.
In 1882, the Webers sold the Polk County farm and moved to Mrs. Weber's homestead in Burrows Town-
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