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220 Walter Winfred Larsen Chapter
220 Walter Winfred Larsen Chapter
220 Walter Winfred Larsen Chapter
When I graduated from high school at 17 I was just a scrawny kid who looked 13. No one
wanted to hire me. Uncle Walter invited me to his home in Albany, Oregon, and put me to
work as a surveyor’s helper at $0.50/hour—good pay in 1941. I only got paid when I worked
and I only worked when there was land surveying to do. Uncle Walter taught me my duties
and also taught me how to use the calculating machines, etc. in the office. When I worked
with Uncle Walter people would always ask if I were his son. I was more his size and looked
more like him than did his taller son, Lyle. He was a patient, but demanding teacher, and I’m
grateful for both his kindness and his discipline.
I especially enjoyed meal times at the Larsens. Aunt Nellie was a good cook and saw to it that
the family sat down to a sumptuous and rather formal dinner every night. We even had cloth
napkins and napkin rings! Uncle Walter and his mischievous sense of humor kept us
entertained. Aunt Nellie seldom asked us directly to pass anything. If the potatoes were
beside Walter she would say: “Would you like some more potatoes, Walter?” He would say:
“No thank you.” So Aunt Nellie would finally say: “Please pass the potatoes.” He taught by
example and soon he had us all saying: “No, thank you” and not passing the potatoes. Of
course there were plenty of stories to tell about the antics of the Linn County Judge,
commissioners, and other members of the courthouse gang.
Chapter 12 -- 6
It was Uncle Walter’s policy to have each of his nieces and nephews in turn come to live with
him right after high school. Three of his nephews and his two sons went on to become
engineers. All of us, nephews and nieces, came away better people because of the example he
set in fulfilling his duties as acting head of the extended Larsen family. I think many of us
nieces and nephews were surprised to find that Uncle Walter was an important man in his
community—a pillar of the Evangelical Church, and manager of a large work force composed
of construction workers, heavy equipment operators, clerks, and engineers. I saw that his
employees plainly liked and respected him for his professional skill and the fair treatment he
gave them.
Biographical Summary
He was always active in the Evangelical Church, serving in important lay positions.
The next 23 years of retirement were happy ones. Walter and Nellie traveled with their trailer
home until it came time to retire to Oregon City.