2x3 Walt & Wanda

This page was last updated 8 April 2001 -- rak.

2.5    Walter and Wanda Kraus

    Mom and dad were married 14 June 1936 at her mom's home in Cedar Vale, Chautauqua County, KS.  Dad told me he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to get a marriage license, so on the way to the wedding he stopped at the Kingman County Court House to get one.  To get it, he had to spend most of the $5 he had borrowed from old Mr. Beaucamp to finance a one-night honeymoon.  Consequently, he and mom had to spend their honeymoon night with her sister Laura and her husband Morris Tetrick in their small apartment in Arkansas City, Cowley County, KS!

    It was a small family wedding.  Dad's folks and sisters drove the 60+ miles down from Arlington.  Mom's mother and siblings were there.  Her brother Bill sang.

    They set up housekeeping in the old Eaton house on Algona Street in Arlington, moving later to what was later the Fowler place up on the hill a half of a block north of Main Street.  Then they moved to the house later occupied by the Taylors directly across Algona from 312 Algona which they later bought and which was our home for most of my growing up years.

    Next they moved to Wichita, first to an apartment, then to a small rented house next to their landlords, the Cr----s.  John was born there.

    The next move was to north central Missouri.  Dad hated the unpaved, rocky roads.  I was in heaven -- endless fishing, nutting, berrying, mushrooming, etc. etc.  The woods were my wonderland.  Mom was my tutor.

    One night in the midst of a really terrible storm, mom got very sick.  Dad called a doctor from his boss' house who lived next door -- we of course had no phone.  The doc made it in and dad made it out and back to get some whisky for mom -- the doc thought she would need a pain killer.  Just after he got back it was no longer possible to get away from our place.  All the roads crossed creeks and rivers where there were either fords or low water bridges ... all were flooded out!  It turned out mom had a miscarriage that night ... it was messy ... dad had to throw the mess into the trash heap ... and it meant no more kids in our family.  The doc drank the whisky and slept it off until the waters receded enough so he could get out.

   

    Then back to Arlington and the H&K.

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