Editor’s note: On August 3, 2010, Marta Bender wrote the first of several articles in a series called “Everyone Has a Story.” She selected Walt Westendorf as her first person of note. He was a resident of Morrison, IL, except for three years when his family lived in Lyndon, IL. Westendorf died on Wednesday, July 10, 2013, about 12:30 p.m., at CGH Medical Center in Sterling, IL, He made innumerable friends during his 82 years, but specified there be no funeral service, gathering, or obituary notice “in the newspaper.” Thecity1.com received permission from Walt’s executor to repost Marta’s tribute in his honor.
On any given day, we come in contact with many people: some being friends, some being complete strangers. In the moments where we make contact with those with whom we are not acquainted, such as with a simple smile or by saying “hello,” we very rarely discover much about this other person, even though each and every one of us has a story to tell. That is precisely why I decided to create this series of articles entitled “Everyone Has a Story.” Each month, a person will be interviewed in order to share their story with Morrison, other local communities, and even the world. The first person to be interviewed was Walt Westendorf.
Walt, who was born in October of 1930, has lived in Morrison for almost his entire life, nearly 80 years. He did live on a farm in Lyndon, IL, while he was a child and went to school there for three years. After those few years, though, he moved to Morrison. He went to Northside first, where, at the time, first through sixth grades were held. The building was also not the same as it is today. In fact, only the location has remained the same. Southside, which was located in the same building as the High School and existed where the Odell Public Library currently sits, was his next educational destination. He completed grades 7th and 8th, which then was considered “Junior High.” For the remaining years, he moved to the other side of the building for High School. Walt shared that the old Morrison High School building was built in 1860 and was torn down in 1959. The building that is currently used was only built around 1952 or 1953. After being told these facts, it was apparent that Walt has an excellent mental capability of recalling significant dates in Morrison.
For six years, 1947 to 1953, and starting during his junior year in High School, Walt was in the Army. He was part of the Company M (pictured) out of Sterling, IL, and talked of taking weekly trips to the Old Sterling Coliseum to perform drills, study weapons, and learn military procedures. During his time in the Army, he traveled to such places as California and Alaska. He was in active service for about two years. For two weeks out of each summer during his time in the Army, he would go to camps, such as one in Minnesota, for further training. He spoke of riding in a large army vehicle called a “six-by-six” to Wisconsin during the summer to get to one of these camps. The men had to stop and sleep in fields around midnight for about an hour, before packing up and continuing the journey.
When it came to working, Walt was enthusiastic and simply waited to get out of school to begin doing so. One of his fondest memories included working on the construction of the Whiteside County Farm Bureau building in 1949 (pictured), the day after he graduated from school. His primary career was working in a factory at GE, which he began when he was 20 and continued for 36 years. While at GE, Walt took a test in Chicago and earned his real estate license. This allowed him to sell real estate as a part-time job for a couple of years. He also had a few rental properties.
Walt has seen many changes occur in Morrison. When asked what some of the most drastic ones were, he said that GE leaving town has definitely been one of the most dramatic changes, not only in Morrison, but in surrounding communities. He also said that the loss of merchants in town has also been a big change.
Now, Walt says that he has enjoyed his life thus far and likes to visit his friends from time to time. Walt said that he has “always had a carpentry shop where I could do the woodworking I needed to,” and that still rings true today. He always enjoys fixing things for people in the shop that he owns. The shop also supplies him with an outlet to work on one of his favorite hobbies, as taught him by his father: woodworking. In fact, he built some of the items in his house, such as tables, cabinets, and a cobbler’s bench (pictured.) He also enjoys finding treasures that others see no significance in, and turns them into something new or useful.
We then moved on to some rather random questions. When asked what he wanted to change about the world, Walt said he simply wanted peace, an end to the fighting. On a smaller scale, when asked what he would like to see in Morrison, he stated that we need more citizens to help and encourage those who are trying to improve the town. One thing that is most important to him includes maintaining health as he gets older. If he could do anything in the world, Walt said he would like to take a trip in a hot air balloon over Africa to see the plains, animals, and mountains. If he could meet anyone in the world it would be the witty Oscar Wilde, who Walt described as having been “quite the character.”
Walt stated that he doesn’t feel as if he has missed out on anything. He has seen and has done most of the things that he wanted to. His advice includes to try to make the world a better place for your neighbor. He also stated that if parents give respect to their children, the children will respect them. He placed an emphasis on one other piece of advice: “Be good to your family.”
