Walter, Melvin (1929-1935)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1935 Jan 23 p. 1

Birth date: 1929

text of obituary:

Two Little Boys Frozen To Death in Dust Storm in S. Dakota.

Huron, South Dakota. — Lost in the darkness of a dense, cold dust storm from the northwest, two boys, Edwin Walter, 11 years of age, and Melvin Walter, 6 years, froze to death on January 2, while on their way home from neighbors. The two boys were sons of Mr. and Mrs. Paul J. R. Walter of this community.

Edwin and Melvin had gone to the neighbors, Joe J. Tschetters, to spend the evening playing with their children. As the storm from the northwest increase in intensity around nine o'clock, the two boys decided to rush home in spite of Mr. Tschetter's questioning whether they will find the way home. "Yes, I can see the light," the older of the two replied.

Evidently, while but a short distance from home, they were overtaken by a dense dust cloud and instead of going a quarter of a mile northeast, they followed a course nearly one mile across a field in a southeasterly direction.

At ten o'clock in the evening their parents decided to go after them, and upon coming to the Tschetter home were shocked to find that their sons had left nearly an hour ago. Immediately arranging a community wide search, the parents and others spent the entire night looking for the boys. At sunrise they were found in a field, frozen to death, but a few feet apart. Both were lying face downward, their faces tightly covered with their hands.

According to the parents, their sons must have been but a short distance from home when they lost their way in the storm.

The weather reported the following temperature readings during the night: 10 o'clock, 25 above zero, 11 o'clock, 16; 12 o'clock, 6; 1 o'clock, 3; 4 o'clock, zero; 7 o'clock, 2 below zero.