Herman was the youngest of the four Walton boys. Two sisters were younger.
(Because he was the youngest boy, he was called "Boy" and he learned years later that people actually thought his first name was Boyd until he married Ellie and she made sure everybody knew his correct name.)
He was three when his mother died, right after the birth of the youngest girl, Clara Mae. His father, William, tried to get neighbors to adopt all his children but Herman and his brothers hid under a bed behind some boxes when the town folk came to see if they wanted one of the Walton children. Apparently, no one wanted any of the boys, only the girls were adopted. Claude, Bert, Joe and Herman were pretty much left on their own throughout their childhood and teen years.
Joe does remember being taken to an Indian Reservation in Oklahoma where all the boys stayed for a while. Bill told them the Indians were their mother's family (Icy Lee Stewart).
John (Bill's half-brother) and Melissa (Icy's sister) were married about the same time as Bill and Icy Lee (May 1906). John and Melissa eventually took over raising the four boys.
Herman never went to school a day in his life. On the first day of the first grade in 1919, he went to the old elementary school in Stamford. When he walked in he saw all those hordes of children and just walked out the back door and never returned to school. He could write his name and read newspapers but could read nothing more complicated. He and his brothers would talk about his first day at school many, many, times. They chortled every time they talked about it.
He was a dear sweet man who would give the shirt off his back to anyone who needed it. He had the wisdom of the ages. It was a shame he died so young.
Herman was the youngest of the four Walton boys. Two sisters were younger.
(Because he was the youngest boy, he was called "Boy" and he learned years later that people actually thought his first name was Boyd until he married Ellie and she made sure everybody knew his correct name.)
He was three when his mother died, right after the birth of the youngest girl, Clara Mae. His father, William, tried to get neighbors to adopt all his children but Herman and his brothers hid under a bed behind some boxes when the town folk came to see if they wanted one of the Walton children. Apparently, no one wanted any of the boys, only the girls were adopted. Claude, Bert, Joe and Herman were pretty much left on their own throughout their childhood and teen years.
Joe does remember being taken to an Indian Reservation in Oklahoma where all the boys stayed for a while. Bill told them the Indians were their mother's family (Icy Lee Stewart).
John (Bill's half-brother) and Melissa (Icy's sister) were married about the same time as Bill and Icy Lee (May 1906). John and Melissa eventually took over raising the four boys.
Herman never went to school a day in his life. On the first day of the first grade in 1919, he went to the old elementary school in Stamford. When he walked in he saw all those hordes of children and just walked out the back door and never returned to school. He could write his name and read newspapers but could read nothing more complicated. He and his brothers would talk about his first day at school many, many, times. They chortled every time they talked about it.
He was a dear sweet man who would give the shirt off his back to anyone who needed it. He had the wisdom of the ages. It was a shame he died so young.
