Uncle Fred

My dad remembers Uncle Fred Walts, a tall elderly man, who wore a suit and tie to family picnics at Griffith Park in the 1940s. Uncle Fred was married to Aunt Edith, my great-grandmother Maud's sister. Fred was born in New York and met Edith in Iowa. They moved to California about 1907 and Fred worked as a carpenter building film sets in Hollywood. Fred and Edith had two children, Claude and Viva. In 1918, when Claude was 22, he became ill during the influenza pandemic and died. During the epidemic, young adults were especially vulnerable as their bodies over-reacted to the virus. Claude was buried in the Hollywood Cemetery. Edith and Fred were close to Maud and James throughout their lives, and can be seen in many family photos.

Uncle Fred is in the back row, middle, and Edith is next to him, looking at her nephew Gerald Campbell. Taken about 1933, this photo also shows (L to R) James and Maud Weaver and their daughter, Evelyn. The woman next to Edith is her sister Eva Campbell. Eva's grandson Bruce is wearing the white shorts.