Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: James Hutcheon & Ann Croall of Kincardineshire, Scotland

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James Hutcheon & Ann Croall of Kincardineshire, Scotland

Generation No. 4

5. WALTER SCOTT⁴ LARNER (AMELIA ADA³ HUTCHEON, GEORGE², JAMES¹) was born February 27, 1899 in Marcus, WA, and died October 01, 1946 in Wenatchee, Chelan Co., WA ⁶¹. He married ELLA FAYE ASBURY May 04, 1927 in Wenatchee, Chelan Co., WA, daughter of GILBERT ASBURY and ANNA WRIGHT. She was born December 01, 1902 in Waterville, Douglas Co., WA ⁶², and died March 16, 1989 in Lewiston, Nez Perce Co., ID.

Notes for WALTER SCOTT LARNER:
A letter to Walter while serving in the Navy during WWI, from his former high school principal, Wellington Pegg, just 2 mos. and 1 week before Armistice Day, 1918:

WENATCHEE HIGH SCHOOL
WENATCHEE, WASH.
WELLINGTON PEGG. PRINCIPAL
ELIZABETH MURRAY. LIBRARIAN

Wenatchee, Washington,
September 4, 1918.

Seaman Walter Larner,
Aboard Ye Goode Shippe Neptune,
Norfolk, Virginia.
My dear Walter:

      It was with a great deal of pleasure that I received your valued letter dated July 7. I have read it and read it again. I think the finest thing to mention about its composition is the spirit of pride you are taking in your work. There can be no more importatn service anywhere in the fighting forces of freedom than the seeing to it that our navy has the wherewhital to steam and maneuver. As I understand it that is what you are engaged in furnishing to the battleships and cruisers. I mrust assure you that I am woefully ignorant of the duties of the sort of ship that you are serving upon, that is, in a detailed way. You state that you are expected to coal the Atlantic fleet. You must have a number of other colliers to assist in this task. You see I do not at all know what the capacity of your collier is, nor the comparative capacity of a battleship and its daily or weekly consumption. This is matter upon which I should be glad to have enlightenment. Do I un derstand that you do this coaling right out upon the high seas? And is the weather a large factor governing whether you do the coaling at all, and with speed varying according to the blow and the waves? Is ygur collier kept spick and span as other ships are? I should suppose that the coal would blacken you up quite a bit. I believe it was a collier was it not, that disappeared out of the West Indies and has never since been heard of?

      We still are sending the men, some all the time. Frank Peterson went into the Quartermaster's line. Howard Virgin and Ray Cain are preparing to enter the Naval Reserve at the Univer sity. They will be put into a course intended to fit them for commissions in a certain time. A Fred Clark, whom I do not know, altho it is said that he attended school here three years, was suffocated under bunkered coal last week. The funeral was held a few days ago in the Christian church here. Did you know him? His folks are Badger Mountain people.

      Frank Barber has asked and received credentials for entering the university. Florence Betty will attend the Cheney Normal. I am told that Doris Slabaugh will go to Willamette. I had a letter from Francis Cramer a short time ago from the Presidio where he was taking work in a students reserve training job of some kind.

      I saw your mother shortly after I had received your line and told her that I had had word from you. She said that you were hard at it in preparing for promotion. Here's to you, and hoping that you go up. What is it that you are after? The fine features of Lefty were printed in the World the other evening. I believe that the account stated that he is on this same collier with you. Is that true? If so,please give him my regards, and do likewise to any of the other fellows that I know and that you are in touch with, and in your next, which I trust will be soon, please tell me where they are. I mean particularly the fellows that left here at the same time you did, such as Merritt, and Fred Graham, and Coach. How and where is Fred Gruenberg, and is he still having trouble with his hearing. When he was back here in the spring he told me there was some danger of his being discharged on account of a defective ear or two.

      We have certainly had a good summer in these diggin's. There was some heat in July when we were at the apricot harvest, but you could not have asked for a finer August than the Wenatchee Valley was blessed with. I have been at home all the summer except ten days recently when Mrs. Pegg and I were over on the west side. We spent the most of the time at Langleyh on Whidby Island in the sound directly west of Everett. Eight weeks still remain before school convenes. It is surely a lengthened vacation but will work much better than the arrangement did last year. What effect the draft as touching the destinies of our 18 year old boys is going to have upon the school enrollment remains to be seen. I feel sure that it will materially decrease the number of boys that we will have.

      Great days, these are, for the Kaiser, (not). Pretty hot around Berlin, I reckon, and hot around the Crown Prince's pants' seat. Papa is after him, or more likely after his subordinate generals, pretty lively, I should judge, just now, for permitting all these reverses, and especially just after they apparently had things going so finely for themselves.

      The one thing we must now watch out for and guard against with all our sense and skill in the next German peace offensive due about December. I am afraid of it. But if we hold steady we can do the things that must be done to finish this nasty job right. Germany must be brot to her knees. We don't want this war over again in 25 years or less. I think the sailors and soldiers mean to do it that way if we folks will back them up. Everything looks now as tho we were willing to see the thing clear thru to the right kind of an end. It is surely that determination that prevails in Wenatchee. Hardly anything here these days but what promotes the getting of victory. Purely social stunts are pretty well taboo.

      We are all proud of the men that have gone to represenmt us. Many there are still here is that wisht they might take an active part in the task. We older fellows will have to register the 12th of this month. I should be very proud to be accepted for service, but I fear that this is not to be my lot. I shall continue to serve where I can.

      Be sure to write me again when you have time. Mrs. Pegg sends her regards with mine.

            Cordially,
            Wellington Pegg

More About WALTER SCOTT LARNER:
Burial: October 03, 1946, Wenatchee Cemetery, Wenatchee, Chelan Co., WA ⁶³
Burial Lot Location: B-155-2
Cause of Death: Coronary Thrombosis
Occupation: 1946, Cemetery Sexton/Wenatchee Cemetery
Religion: Presbyterian
Residence: Abt. 1945, 150 S. Emerson, Wenatchee

More About ELLA FAYE ASBURY:
Burial: March 18, 1989, Wenatchee Cemetery, Wenatchee, Chelan Co., WA
Burial Lot Location: B-155-1
Religion: Presbyterian

Marriage Notes for WALTER LARNER and ELLA ASBURY:
Faye wrote for her 50th high school reunion bulletin:

Walter and I were married in May 1927 and had a very happy life until his death in 1946; we had 2 children; 7 grandchildren; Lived all my years in Wenatchee until 1969 when I moved to Portland, Ore. to be near my daughter; After WHS I took a business course; retired after 24 yrs. from Wenatchee Federal Savings & Loan; my activities have been in family and church things, some club work and fraternal organizations.

Children of WALTER LARNER and ELLA ASBURY are:

	i.		THOMAS ASBURY⁵ LARNER, b. Private; m. MARGARET DOLORES WELCH, Private; b. Private.
	ii.		MILDRED ANNE LARNER, b. July 17, 1931, Wenatchee, Chelan Co., WA; d. November 29, 1994, Portland, Clackamas Co., OR ⁶⁴; m. WILLIAM LAVERNE COUCH, Private; b. Private.

More About MILDRED ANNE LARNER:
Burial: Abt. June 1997, Skyline Memorial Gardens, Portland, Multnomah, OR
Namesake: Patricia Anne Graham

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