Walter B. Peter ~ Myrtle H. Mortenson history

Walter B. Peter and Myrtle H. Mortenson were both children of immigrant farmers.  Walter was born January 4, 1896, near Little Falls, MN, to Albert and Louise (Munkelwitz) Peter who came from Germany.  Myrtle’s parents, Theodore and Alma (Bakken) Mortenson, were both from Norway with Myrtle born May 1, 1910, in Hampden, ND.  They moved to western North Dakota to homestead in 1913.   

As a young man Walter was a successful amateur boxer who opted not to turn professional.  He trained and worked as a blacksmith before injuring his back.  He moved to North Dakota in 1917 soon securing a job near Parshall running the new gas powered Aultman Taylor tractor.  He began farming on his own in 1923 near Raub.

Walter met Myrtle Mortenson at Pentecostal prayer meetings in the Ryder/Roseglen area near her home. They were married November 4, 1926.  Their four oldest children, Marion, Walter Jr., Carl and Leonard, were born while living at the Raub farm.  During the depression Walter served as a foreman with WPA dam construction projects.

With the encouragement of his sister, Minnie Gage, the Peter family moved to the Page area in the fall of 1940 and began farming in 1941 at the mini-town of Walden, seven miles northwest of Page.  Anna, Alfred (Bud or Al) and Janet (Jann) were born while living at the Page farm.  The family was impacted by Carl contracting polio in 1946.

After the country school at Walden was closed in 1948, all the children attended school in Page with Marion through Anna graduating from Page.  In 1963 Walter and Myrtle semi retired in Valley City where Alfred and Janet graduated from high school.  They continued farming with their son, Leonard, until 1969 when they sold out. 

Walter was a very innovative farmer who was one of the first in the area to use fertilizer and to ditch his land so the water would flow out into natural drains.  His first drill purchased in 1945 had a fertilizer attachment on it, and he acquired one of the first self propelled combines and swathers used in the community.  The Peter family was also noted for their big gardens which passerbys enjoyed as they traveled Cass County #1. 

Walter and Myrtle Peter were charter members of the Assemblies of God church in Valley City, but after their crops were hailed out in 1957 they enjoyed fellowship at First Baptist Church in Page.

Myrtle died in 1973 at the age of 63 with Walter dying at the age of 90 in 1986. Six children remain with their son, Leonard, passing in April 1990.  He lived in Valley City with his wife, Debby, (Flatt from Pillsbury) and daughters, Robyn and Amanda.  He was employed by Blumer Construction at the time of his death.  Currently three live in North Dakota with Marion (Don) Braunberger in Bismarck, Walt (Merilyn) near Sanborn, and Carl (Evelyn) in Valley City.  Anna (Bob) Langness lives in Broomfield, CO, while Bud (Bernie) is transitioning from Newark, DE, to Richmond, KY.  Jann (Glen) Dell resides in Tigard, OR.