After finishing high school in Chatham, Walter works in his father’s cooper business, then attends the Canada Business College in Chatham in 1906.  Later that year, he works as a book-keeper in Detroit.  After working at various jobs throughout 1910, he returns home in 1911 and moves with his family to Angus in April where he takes up farming the acreage his father had purchased for a new mill.  His original diaries contain accounts and addresses. He enlivens his entries with a sense of humour as he finds his way in life.