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.