Walt must have told me all about his theater work in the army when he visited us here in Connecticut many years later, otherwise I would have had no way of knowing about it, since I left Seattle in the late summer of 1954 to ride my thumb back to New York, and Walt wasn't hauled into the service until 1955. Between that time and Walt's arrival in Connecticut (which might have been around 1975, I'm not sure) I had no contact with him. I could probably pin down the date of that later visit, since I can remember which of the various churches the Sounding Board coffee house was using when we took him there to sing a guest shot, and Len Domler will remember when they were using that location. I just don't think it's all that critical, since what we are really trying to do here is give folks a sense of the artist and the person we knew, admired, and loved.

Walt had just left some editing/writing job at a newspaper, I think, at that time. My antiquated memory says that it might have been down around Vancouver, Washington, but I'm far from confident of that recollection. He told me that he hadn't been performing much recently, but if he was rusty it didn't show. No one at the Sounding Board had ever heard of him, but they certainly enjoyed his contribution that evening. I wasn't in a position to offer Walt a new recording then (no money!), and he allowed as how he had too little new material to think about making another record at that time. He left for the west coast, and I didn't hear of him again until I was notified of his death by Deckman, who knew that I would want to know. I regretted having to miss the gathering in celebration of his life, and still hope, someday, to take my bride of forty-three years out to introduce her to the wonders of the Pacific Northwest, including many of it's wonderful residents. Someday, that chance will come. Until then, thanks, guys, for everything you did for Walt, and also for all that you did for me.

Sandy