OH, POOR WALTER

In August of 1894, Walter had to get up at 6:00 o'clock in the morning so he could leave for his accounting job by 8:15; walking 45 minutes to work.

Then, because the food is better, comes home for dinner, (noon meal) and uses a taxi service. He states it is cheaper to come home for lunch and pay for the taxi than to eat downtown.

Walter says he has so much writing to do at work that he can hardly hold a pen and his arm feels lame. Oh, poor Walter, when he gets home he has to put the ice in the fridge and help his wife with dishes.

Then, after supper, he has to pile wood. He bought the four foot lengths of Maple and has to cut and split it. Then, there is a matter of ordering coal, would 3 ton be enough for September, October, November, and December?

Poor Walter, now he has to take his lunch to work to save the street car fare. He needs to apply that $3.00 to a $40 furniture bill and $15 on his stove.

Now in January, Walter decides he doesn't like his job. He works for his uncle. He has been treated meanly and anyone, according to Walter, that smokes cigarettes will do anything low.

In February Walter remains on his job but is bored because all he does is work and go home and goes to bed. Poor Walter who stays by the fire to keep warm and freezes his back side while the front side roasts.

Walter has been home with a head ache and eye pain for three days. He has to work with his eyes and thinks he needs to find a different job. He says his wife is a lovely housekeeper but she needs to be more economical in her spending.

By April, he is still harping about wanting to move. This time closer to the families. It is rumored the salaries will be cut even though the manager of the company is rich. The manager is considered the wage earners worst enemy.

Poor Walter is now bitching to his family about writing letters to him talking about how well is brother is doing. He tells his father he didn't have the opportunities his brother had. His brother took a job driving a wagon and delivering goods and the owner took a shine to Charlie while he, Walter pokes along at the same thing working for the railroad.

Walter writes to his mother in July and asks her to come and take care of his wife who is sick. Actually, she is recovering from childbirth.

Poor Walter has been so busy because he had to do all the writing of letters to his wife's family AND wait on his wife. The baby was a forceps baby and his head and face were all out of shape. Poor Walter had to work a few evenings to catch up at work.

Ah, now we know why he was bad mouthing his brother. His brother loaned him money and he doesn't have it to honor the loan. He tells his brother he doesn't have a decent suit to wear to church and both he and his wife need shoes but he doesn't even have the money for that! Walter makes $56.50 a month as an accountant and he owes the doctor $9 and the dentist $2.50.

He makes a list of what he owes:

$12.00 rent
19.75 groceries
2.00 ice
2.75 fuel
2.20 coffee, tea
3.00 milk and cream
3.12 baby food
.76 laundry
3.00 sewing machine payment

He has $7.92 cents left at the end of the payments.

In September of '96, Poor Walter lost his job which put him in a bad way.

Walter did not find a job from September to January when he wrote again to say that when he came home from looking for work, his wife and baby were sick..

Walter died in 1930 of Bright's Disease and his wife died in 1944. The baby served in WWI and trained in Salvation Army work and rose to the rank of captain.

Do you know any Walters?

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