16 February 2015 Paul McRee, SurfKY News
CENTRAL CITY, Ky. (2/15/15) Muhlenberg County native Walter Creager passed away in 1988. But there are still many people with fond memories of the man, who never let cerebral palsy slow him down. Unable to walk, Creager's mode of transportation was his sturdy wagon. Walter made a three-mile trip from his home in Cleaton to Central City almost daily.
According to Walter’s nephew, Bobby Creager, who is now the mayor of Powderly, there is hardly a week that goes by that someone doesn't share a fond memory of Walter.
“It seems everyone has a story about Walter,” Creager said. “He was an inspiration to everyone he came in touch with. Every morning, his family would help him get ready and he would make his trip by wagon down Highway 431 to Central City. The inspiring thing to me was that more often than not people would give him a ride to town. That says something for the people of our county. Rain or shine, Walter would make the rugged journey to Central City by pushing his wagon up and down the highway with his legs. I will tell you this. He had the strongest legs of anyone I ever knew. Nothing stopped Walter.”
Creager said that Walter would sell pencils outside Central City banks and other businesses, stop by the local barber shop to enjoy a game of checkers, and he always had a smile on his face.
“You would be hard pressed to find anyone who could beat Walter at a game of checkers,” Creager said. “Some people have the misconception that CP causes mental problems, but I can tell you, Walter was as sharp as a tack. He had no problem remembering at all. Some people would have trouble understanding him talk, but I knew him from when I was 4 or 5, and I could understand every word he said.”
Central City businessman Hugh Sweatt told SurfKY News that he and Walter had a fun game they would play when Sweatt worked at the First National Bank location in Central City.
“Back in the 1960s, Walter and I liked to have a daily friendly wager,” Sweatt said. “Back then the Coke bottles had the original location of where the drinks were bottled. Walter and I would bet on whose bottle came from the farthest locale. We had a Coke machine in the break room. The loser would pay for the Cokes for the next day. I suspected our maintenance man, Harry Austin, was ‘stocking’ Walter’s odds by finding a faraway bottle and loading it in a pre-arranged spot for Walter to pick the next day. Walter won those bets about 75 percent of the time. One day I loaded the machine and ran across a bottle from British Columbia. Naturally I put it in a spot where I could pull it out the next day. When I pulled that British Columbia bottle out Walter looked like someone who had struck out in the bottom of the ninth inning. I finally broke down and confessed to what I had done. We had a good hard laugh. No one could laugh like Walter. I’ve talked to Bobby Creager and one of Walter’s relatives has one of his last wagons. We have been talking about a way to display the wagon along with a memorial in honor of Walter. No one deserves to be honored more than Walter,” Sweatt said.
Paul McRee
SurfKY News
SurfKY News
Photo 1: Walter with family (courtesy of Bobby Creager)
Photo 2: Walter's wagon (courtesy of Bobby Creager)
Photo 3: Walter in downtown Central City (courtesy of Theresa Creager)
Photo 2: Walter's wagon (courtesy of Bobby Creager)
Photo 3: Walter in downtown Central City (courtesy of Theresa Creager)
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