Nothing new has come to light regarding Will's education. In 1913, and probably
before, he was a clerk in the flour mill owned by his father. By 1917 he was a secretary.
He was said to have been interested in the theatre; in fact, according to newspaper articles,
he had been a stockholder in Cumberland’s Majestic Theatre, which failed after three
months. I gained the impression over the years, through adult overtones, that bad luck
seemed to be his lot in Cumberland. In 1923 he was a travelling salesman and by 1925 he
had left town permanently. During his years away from Cumberland he worked behind
the front desk at various hotels.
Will married Claribel Shuck
around 1890 and by 1896 they had three
children. In 1900, L. D. bought the house
at 6 Fulton Street, where he had lived
before the big house was built, and Will
and Claribel moved there with their three
children. In 1917, L.D. sold the house to
Will for ten dollars. This was undoubtedly
a financial maneuver, for on the same day
Will took out a mortgage on the property;
then he defaulted and in 1918 lost the
property. It was probably then that Will
and family moved in at 16 Baltimore
Avenue.
When L. D. Rohrer died in 1932, it
was necessary that Will be contacted in
connection with the settlement of the
estate. The family did not have his
address. Remembering that he had always subscribed to Billboard, the theater
industry magazine, they inserted a personal ad in it and sure enough he saw it and
returned to Cumberland.
There was not much of an estate to settle. The property on Baltimore Avenue
had been lost to the bank in May 1931. The proceeds of L. D.’s one insurance policy
were only about five thousand dollars. After bills, commissions and taxes, a balance
of about one thousand dollars was split between Will and his deceased sister’s son,
John Neff.
While my grandfather was in Cumberland, I saw him only two or three times,
not really enough to gain much of an impression of him or even to be sure if I liked
him or not. One day I went for lunch at Ma and Jeanette’s apartment, where he was
staying, and the only thing I remember about the occasion was a rebuff from him! We
were having pancakes and I accidentally (of course) poured on a lot of syrup
11
Will & Claribel Rohrer, CWR’s grandparents
