Memories from the Homestead: Waldens contributed to Garber's success

During the recent Memorial Day holiday, many of our longtime neighbors here along Roark have come to mind, and today I'd like to remember another family who arrived around the time the Garber community was established, the Walden family.

     The Waldens arrived around 1887 from Chase County, Kansas, settling on 160 acres along the north fork of Roark.  

     William W. Walden (born June 12, 1849 in North Carolina) and his wife Mary E. (Banks) Walden (born December 27, 1865 in Indiana) married in January 1880 in Matfield Green, Kansas. After the birth of their son Tommy (January 5, 1886), the family homesteaded a rectangular piece of land a half mile in length north of the fork of Roark when Tommy was around a year old. They received their official Homestead patent on April 3, 1896.

     William and Mary would have a total of nine children—two boys and seven girls. In order from oldest to youngest are Tommy, Rosa, Flora, Amelia, Josephine, Francis, Edith, Rachel and Lester. Amelia would outlive all of her siblings, born in 1893 on the homeplace. She passed away at the age of 103 in Bryan, Texas, in April 1996.

The William Walden family at their home along Roark, north of Garber. Their first born, Tommy, is standing at left, wearing the vest. Their youngest child, Lester, is standing in between his parents. (Photo courtesy of Liz Smith)

    Tommy would remain a Garber resident the rest of his life. William operated a store north of Garber for several years until the completion of the railroad. Working exclusively in timber during the years of railroad construction, the family also raised goats and cattle on their Roark bottom farm.

      Speaking of the timber industry, several of Tommy's descendants are still involved in the lumber business today. When Tommy was sixteen, in addition to splitting railroad ties full-time, he took a position delivering the mail from Notch to Garber to Irma, for Postmaster Levi Morrill.  This is when Tommy met Harold Bell Wright. 

     In a 1985 interview with Jerry Madsen, Tommy shared his relationship with the author of "The Shepherd of the Hills."  

     "The first time I met Mr. Wright was on the front steps of the Notch Post Office. He was stepping up as I was heading out to Garber and then on over to Irma with my mail pouch," Walden remembered. 

     The scene about the barefoot boy Zeke Wheeler—there's no doubt Tommy was the inspiration for the character. Remembering his time with Wright, he recalled, "I really liked that man. He walked with me many a time, but would wander off before we ever finished the route. He always had a book or two under his arm. He told me once he liked to bump into people for a chat, and observe God's hills and valleys along the way."

     William and Mary Walden would remain Garber residents until shortly before the beginning of World War I. They would relocate to the Bergman area in Boone County, Arkansas. Several of their daughters would become school teachers, all marrying, and starting families, they too, would leave the Roark Valley that had been their home.

     William passed away on September 18, 1928, at age 79, and Mary passed away on May 10, 1951 at the age of 85. Both are laid to rest in the York Cemetery in Bergman.

     Next week, I will cover a few more details on Tommy's life as a Roark Valley resident. In later years he and his family would own the Garber townsite.

     Happy trails, everyone!