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Walter lived his early childhood with his parents on rented farmsteads near Denhoff, McClusky, Buchanan (1 ½ mi.W) and Goldwin (5 mi.N), ND. In 1934 he left his parents home, and rented his own farmstead five and one half miles east of Goldwin. His parents soon left their Goldwin farm
(known after that as the Fred Zinke farm) and moved to Priest River, ID.
Walt and Kay were married in 1935 and honeymooned at the Blackhills of South Dakota. Kay's dowry consisted of 10 cows, a dining room set and a bedroom set. Kathryn was the fifth child of Jacob and Christine Trautman and lived on the homesteaded farm one mile north of Goldwin. Walt and
Kay were doing quite well with the financial help from Kay's mother. They paid her Mother back in four years. Kay's father died in 1932.
To make a living for the family was tough after Walt and Kay's marriage because the 30's depression was in full swing. Walt sheared sheep with hand clippers for one nickel per head. He later joined with a friend Mr. Fritz Koenig from Woodworth to shear sheep with mechanical lever arm shears and was paid one quarter per head. He also worked under the federal WPA for the Northern Pacific Railroad for a short time to build a new train bridge across the Missouri River at Bismarck, ND. Then Arnold
Pieske bought the rented farmstead out from under them.
In 1940 they and their two sons moved north across county road 36, (Gravel road), to just beyond the railroad tracks of the NP spur - line and started a new farmstead on the open prairie. The farmstead began with 2 1/4 quarters plus 80 acres (strong quarters) and was built-up over time to over 1,000 acres, (500 grain and the rest fenced cattle pasture). The NP spur-line from Pingree to Wilton ran diagonal through the farmstead. The spur-line was used by a Goose, (single car train), to carry milk/cream, mail and passengers, and by freight trains, (early steam locomotives and later diesel). At its peak the spur-line was used to carry hundreds of freight cars daily hauling lignite coal from the coal mines at Wilton, ND, gravel from a pit near Goldwin to destinations
unknown, and grain from the local elevators to places like Duluth and Minneapolis, MN.
The farm homesite began by moving a discontinued railroad depot from some southern location and at considerable distance for use as the house. The granary, garage, chicken coop and small barn buildings were purchased from as far away as 30 miles and moved to the farm site which was near a surface spring. The spring was used for the farm well as well as for a refrigerator until electricity came to the area in 1948 and a new well was drilled. The well was artesian and flowed over the surface of the ground at the rate of six and a half gallons per minute. The water flowed through a trove for watering cattle during the North Dakota winters.
Walt was a skilled carpenter, and soon built the farmstead into a large modern mixed farming homestead, (at one time or another it included: Chickens, ducks, turkeys, bandy chickens, geese, sheep, pigs, horses, cows, a mule and a goat). Grain covered the spectrum from oats, flax, winter and spring wheat, bearded and unbearded durham, rye, barley, millet, corn, etc.. He built a hip roof barn and replaced it with a large round roof, (rilko rafter), barn when a tornado destroyed many buildings in 1952. At one time the family milked over 20 cows from about 150 head
of mixed herd consisting of holstein purchased calves from the state hospital at Jamestown; herefords, guernseys from Kathryn's mother, and black angus.
Walt involved himself in activity other than farming, He was self taught to play the guitar and the violin and played for dances at the Lyman country school 5 miles north of Goldwin. He was appointed Paris township supervisor/treasurer and held the position for over 20 years. He helped build the Woodworth Gymnasium, (the only school building standing - 1995). He and his brother-in-law, Mr. Edwin Trautman, who was living on the Trautman homestead, donated and installed the original lighted electronic scoreboard at the Woodworth gym.
The eventually discontinued boxcar that had been used at the train depot at Goldwin, (no longer on the map), was moved to the farmstead and used for storage for oats and a shelter for young stock. Walter and his family experienced the transition from horse-drawn machinery, kerosene lamps, threshing machines, shocking grain, battery operated phones, etc., (prior to 1948), to tractors, combines, electric (Surge) milking machines, television, etc.. Walt continued to farm on a much reduced scale after his two sons married and left home, and until his death in 1964.
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1907 - 1964 (56 Jahre)
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: Adresse
: Ortsteil
: Ort
: Region
: (Bundes-)Staat/-Land
: Land
: Nicht festgelegt