Walker reflects on long life

At 90 years old, reading a newspaper and waiting for lunch to start at the Thermopolis Senior Center, Frank Walker has seen and done plenty in his life. A Thermopolis resident since 2016, he and his family were born in Lucerne. He recalled growing up in the second house across the tracks on the right side and going to school in the red brick school house that has since been torn down.

"There used to be a white post office right at the corner," he further recalled, "and Mrs. Allen ran the post office."

Walking to school weren't always pleasant, as Walker and his sister would often find themselves in temperatures registering at negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit. He's been often asked how he knew it was so cold, and his testing method was simple. "You spit, and it bounces."

Walker went to high school in Worland and studied to be a farmer, taking FFA and every agriculture class he could. Life went a different way for him though, as upon graduation he worked for Davis Lumber in Worland for three years before joining the National Guard.

He was activated at 30 days and sent to Seattle for training, preparing to serve in the Korean War. "I developed boils all over my body from the military food," he said. "I spent two weeks in the hospital across from a guy who had just come back from Korea who was shot in the head. He sang 'Good Night, Irene' for two solid weeks. I couldn't face my sister Irene."

Though he joined as a private, after six months in Korea he was a master sergeant with 86 men and 14 sergeants under his command. "I was the solo commander in combat for Battery C. I was the one in charge of combat, at age 20." Walker further noted they were in the 300th armored field artillery battalion, and the soldiers from Wyoming gathered praise as the toughest bunch because they were extremely accurate and would never give up firing.

After returning stateside, Walker attended at the University of Montana - two years in Billings, two in Missoula - and graduated in 1955. He was offered a job directly from Boeing Aircraft for his creative mind, but declined it and stated he wasn't interested because it rains too much in Seattle, and the city and company were too big. "It's impersonal, and I'm a very personal guy."

Walker instead bought a hardware store in Hettinger, N.D., only owning it for a few years before buying a bigger hardware store in Grand Forks N.D. He was also in the motel business in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and was a builder and developer. He later sold his hardware store and went to seminary in Sioux Falls, S.D., becoming a Baptist pastor in a suburb of Detroit.

Using his creativity, Walker developed what came to be known as a "portable chapel." He described it as a mobile home converted into a trailer with a pulpit, pews and restrooms. The trailer was brought to different locations, where it remained until a church was built.

The years would also see Walker move to Akron, Ohio at the request of his friend who had accepted a job as the head of the Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. Having remarried after his first wife passed in 1979, Walker noted his second wife also took a position with the school, answering all of the calls that came to the chapel.

After 15 years in Akron, Walker returned to Florida. At the time, he was doing different building jobs. "I built homes in Florida, but not many, but I was a builder in Florida."

Walker's second wife passed in 2013, and Walker started getting the urge to return to this area of Wyoming; he came to Thermopolis in 2016. Prior to that, he had visited for three summers, six months each time. Though he planned to stay at Red Lane during those visits, a friend, Darlene Skelton, had him stay at her place instead.

He arrived permanently in Thermopolis on May 16, 2016, and has since been residing at the Wyoming Pioneer Home, though the journey had a few hiccups. He was packing his trailer and struck his head on a corner cabinet, developing a concussion. He passed out and went off the highway in Kansas, and had to go to a farmhouse to recharge his truck to get back on the road.

Another day, he passed out again in Blue Springs, Mo., He was on his way up an exit ramp on the interstate and three highway patrol units stopped him. They had him stay at a hotel and call his nephew, Drew Baumner, who flew up from Florida to drive him the rest of the way.

"I've been here ever since. I love it here, and the people here."