Ethel and Don
BERTHA ETHEL HELLE, 15g (George A. 14, Frederick
13)
b.
Cuba, IL; Feb. 1910
Cuba, IL; Feb. 1910m.Lewistown, IL; 2 June 1928
Lewistown, IL; 2 June 1928DON WALTON, son of George and Rhoda (Frew) Walton
b.Astoria, IL; Oct. 1908
Astoria, IL; Oct. 1908BERTHA ETHEL HELLE was the first daughter born to George Adam and Ida (Kaler) Helle after five sons. Five younger brothers arrived before Ethel's two sisters. Having seen her mother diaper one baby boy after another, Ethel believed herself to be some kind of freak until she saw an aunt diaper her baby girl.
With the rest of her brothers and sisters, Ethel attended the Brick Fiatt School. Ethel recalls her first day of school: "Don (one year older) and I shared a double desk. I was excitedly waiting for the learning to start when the teacher, scaring us, came down from her platform, walked over to our desk, and broke a ruler over Don's hand.. . We never knew why she did this but she scared us so bad that we never dared to do anything wrong." In her book, Memories, Ethel relates many more of her experiences attending a one - room school; i.e., Italian immigrant schoolmates, a terrible "tongue disease" which the younger children did not understand but hoped they did not have, the joy of new books, box socials, spelling bees, high school, scarlet fever, measles (Ida had eleven children sick at one time), etc. Ethel did not get to complete high school.
With so many brothers, boys were no novelty to Ethel so when she met DON WALTON at the home of a friend, she did not pay much attention to him. However, Don noticed her and they were soon dating. Shortly after their engage-ment, Ethel's family home burned down in January, 1928. George Adam built a new home on the same foundation but Ethel never lived in it having married before the house was completed. She and Don set up housekeeping in an apart-ment in his folks' upstairs. At the time of their marriage Don worked at the P & 0 Plow Works (later IHC Co.) for thirty -five cents an hour five and one - half days a week. Their first son was born in Graham Hospital the bill being $19.00 and the doctor bill $25.00. After three days in the hospital, Ethel and baby were taken home by ambulance and she remained in bed seven more days; a common practice for the time.
Ethel summarizes Don's lifetime activities thus: "He has gone from a factory worker to a sawmill operator, a truck driver and then back to the sawmill; a farmer on a small farm in Illinois to a large dairy farm in Wisconsin, a mobile home park builder in Wisconsin, a builder of houses and owner of an orange grove in Texas, a farm back in Wisconsin again which he later subdivided and developed, another mobile park in Savanna, Illinois, and today our own house and ten acres of land."
Their two sons were born:
ROBERT LEE WALTON, 16g
b.Canton, IL; Aug. 1929
Canton, IL; Aug. 1929 RAY GEORGE WALTON, 16g
b.Mossville, IL; Sep. 1932
Mossville, IL; Sep. 1932ROBERT LEE WALTON, 16g (Ethel Helle 15, George A.
14, Frederick 13)
b.Canton, IL; Aug. 1929
Canton, IL; Aug. 1929m.Princeton, IL; Oct. 1950
Princeton, IL; Oct. 1950DORIS ELAINE NORENE, daughter of Arthur and Esther Frances (Johnson) Norene
b.Princeton, IL; July 1930 Bob and Doris are the parents of:
Princeton, IL; July 1930 Bob and Doris are the parents of:SUSAN ELAINE WALTON, 17g
b.Anniston, AL; July 1951 GARY ROBERT WALTON, 1 7g
Anniston, AL; July 1951 GARY ROBERT WALTON, 1 7gb.Princeton, IL; Nov. 1953 KENNETH REID WALTON, 17g
Princeton, IL; Nov. 1953 KENNETH REID WALTON, 17gb.Princeton, IL: Feb. 1957 KAY ELLEN WALTON, 17g
Princeton, IL: Feb. 1957 KAY ELLEN WALTON, 17gb.Princeton, IL; Apr. 1959
Princeton, IL; Apr. 1959SUSAN ELAINE WALTON, 17g (Robert 16, Ethel Helle
15, George A. 14, Frederick 13)
b.Anniston, AL; July 1951
Anniston, AL; July 1951m.Delphi, IN; Sep. 1973 DONALD LEE YAKE
Delphi, IN; Sep. 1973 DONALD LEE YAKEb.Bluffton, IN; July 1949
Bluffton, IN; July 1949Susan and Don are the parents of:
MELINDA ELAINE YAKE, 18g
b.Bluffton. IN; Sep. 1975
Bluffton. IN; Sep. 1975 MARTIN LEWIS YAKE, 18g
b.Bluffton. IN; Feb. 1978
Bluffton. IN; Feb. 1978GARY ROBERT WALTON, 17g (Robert 16, Ethel Helle 15, George A. 14. Frederick 13)
b.Princeton, IL; Nov. 1953
Princeton, IL; Nov. 1953m.Leesburg, IN; June 1974
Leesburg, IN; June 1974BRENDA SUE BAST, daughter of James Christoph and Barbara Ellen (Hepler) Bast
Gary and Brenda are the parents of:
MATTHEW THOMAS WALTON, 18g
b. Wabash, IN; May 1977
MARK ADAM WALTON. 18g
b.LaFayette, IN; May 1978
LaFayette, IN; May 1978KENNETH REID WALTON, 17g (Robert 16, Ethel Helle 15, George A. 14, Frederick 13)
b.Princeton, IL; Feb. 1957
Princeton, IL; Feb. 1957m.Hobart, IN; Jan. 1982
Hobart, IN; Jan. 1982KATHRYN WINTER, daughter of Alan S. and Jacqueline (Campbell) Winter
b.Hobart, IN; Jan. 1982
Hobart, IN; Jan. 1982Kenneth and Kathryn are the parents of:
ALECIA KAY WALTON, 18g
b.LaFayette. IN; May 1983
LaFayette. IN; May 1983KAY ELLEN WALTON, 17g (Robert 16, Ethel HeIle 15, George A. 14, Frederick 13)
b.Princeton, IL; Apr. 1959
Princeton, IL; Apr. 1959m.Delphi, IN; United Methodist Church; Nov. 1978
Delphi, IN; United Methodist Church; Nov. 1978KEVIN PAUL ROSS, son of Robert Gene and Mary Lee (Richter) Ross
b.Logansport, IN; Jan. 1956
Logansport, IN; Jan. 1956KAY ELLEN WALTON graduated from Purdue University in 1980 and is a registered nurse. She married KEVIN PAUL ROSS who graduated from Purdue University in 1978 with a B.A. in Agriculture Economics. He now farms raising hogs and grain. They are the parents of:
KYLA NORENE ROSS, 18g
b.LaFayette, IN; Dec.
LaFayette, IN; Dec. 1981 KORY ROBERT ROSS, 18g
b.LaFayette, IN; Dec. 1983
LaFayette, IN; Dec. 1983RAY GEORGE WALTON, 16g (Ethel Helle 15, George
A.14, Frederick 13)
14, Frederick 13)b.Mossville, IL; Sep. 1932
Mossville, IL; Sep. 1932m.Fort Atkinson, WI; Apr. 1953
Fort Atkinson, WI; Apr. 1953RUTH PARSONS, daughter of William M. and Mae E. (Ralph) Parsons
b.Ft. Atkinson, WI; Apr. 1935
Ft. Atkinson, WI; Apr. 1935Ray and Ruth are the parents of four children:
ROGER WALTON, 17g
b. Ft. Atkinson, WI; Oct. 1955
RITA RAE WALTON, 17g
b. Ft. Atkinson, WI; Sep. 1957
RUSSELL WALTON, 17g
b.Ft. Atkinson, WI; Aug. 1960
Ft. Atkinson, WI; Aug. 1960 ROSS WALTON, 17g
b.Ft. Atkinson, WI; Nov. 1964
Ft. Atkinson, WI; Nov. 1964RITA RAE WALTON, 17g (Ray 16, Ethel Helle 15, George
A.14, Frederick 13)
14, Frederick 13)b.Ft. Atkinson, WI; Sep. 1957
Ft. Atkinson, WI; Sep. 1957m.Whitewater, WI; June 1978
Whitewater, WI; June 1978RAYMOND I. WELTER, son of Raymond and Suzanne (Zimmerman) Welter
b.Ft. Atkinson, WI: Oct. 1954 Rita and Raymond are the parents of:
Ft. Atkinson, WI: Oct. 1954 Rita and Raymond are the parents of:WYATT DON WELTER, 18g
b.Janesville, WI; Feb. 1982
Janesville, WI; Feb. 1982