Walter Arnette – The Most Visible City Official / A Face In the Crowd at Every Pubic Event

By Pauline Masson –

This week the community lost a former city officials who for 87 years was the voice and the face of a community that in his view was steeped in small town roots where knowing your neighbor meant more than what other communities thought of our town.

No pubic figure in my years of reporting on Pacific activities was more public than Walter Arnette – always with his wife Doris at his side. The couple attended every parade, flag raising, dedication, street fair, and community event.

When Pat Smiley dedicated his veterans walk at Liberty Field Park, standing at the front of the crowd were Walter and Doris.

When Gina and Mark Pingleton decided to establish A Dad and Mom’s (ADAM’s) memorial garden for parents who had lost a child, in memory of their son Adam, Walter and Doris worked to help establish the West Osage memorial park at the base of Sand Mountain. They added a memorial brick to their son Scott who died in 1982, and were there in the front of the crowd for every brick laying ceremony when other grieving parents added their child’s name to the collection of engraved bricks.

When the late Don Hazelwood led the Boy Scouts in the annual Veteran’s Day placing flags at the graves of veterans in the city cemetery, Walter and Doris were often on hand just to celebrate the moment.

“You know,” he once said to me, “We need to do more to recognize Memorial Day,”  the May 31 federal holiday for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States armed forces. When Walter was ten years old his brother Oliver Payne was killed in WWII. He never forgot his brother and didn’t want others to forget him. Walter spoke often of Oliver and was pleased when the city named seven streets after men who had died in service and Payne street was named for his brother,

“We need to remember these WWII guys,” he said.

He was also a great supporter of the young and living. He loved high school athletics. As his sons grew up and later his grandson, he attended every Pacific High School game and every practice session, and knew the names and athletic skill of every member of the team.

When I said aloud in front of a group of officials that I had just learned there were some homeless families in our community and I was going to raise funds to make sure the kids got everything they need in school Walter was the first person to reach in his pocket and pull out a one hundred dollar bill. Others quickly followed suit and on the first day of the Pacific Safety Net committee for homeless students we raised $1,000.

For his day job, he worked his entire career for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 513 as a crane operator and for the last seven years as business agent for the local.

“My whole family was in it,” he said.

The thing some of us know him most for is the 22 years he served in Pacific city government. He was appointed to the Pacific board of adjustment in 1993, serving until 1998. He served on the Pacific Planning and Zoning Commission from 1998 until 2006 when he was appointed to the board of aldermen to fill the unexpired Ward 3 term of Ron Mueller. He was elected to the board of aldermen in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. 

He also left his mark on many city public places. As aldermanic liaison to the Meramec Valley Genealogical Society and Historical Society, Walter helped the organization erect the King William Adams memorial in Resurrection Hill Cemetery and the Civil War marker on East Osage. He also served as the aldermanic liaison to the Pacific Tourism Commission and was a member of the U.S. Silica public relations committee.

He is considered the driving force in the movement to expand the outgrown city hall growing the building into a full-blown government center.

While an alderman, he served two terms as president of the board of aldermen. He was a no-nonsense alderman who placed hometown values above all other considerations when new bills were presented.

He told me in 2013 that he took the most pride in reconstruction of the city hall turning it into a state of the art government center, with a council chamber that is the envy to other Franklin County cities. He also has pressed for infrastructure improvements like the much needed sidewalks to and from Riverbend School on South Highway N. If it was good for the community, he wanted it.

At the end of his fourth term, he did not seek re-election. But he and Doris were still seen everywhere at every important community event was taking place.  They were always among the first residents to attend new businesses. After Doris died in November 2020, Walter was bereft of his constant companion.

The Arnettes were members of the Catawissa Union Church, where they were married. They had three children, Chris, Greg and Scott, who was killed in an accident in 1982. All attended Pacific High School. They had seven grandchildren and now, numerous, great-grandchildren.

Walter Arnette died May 9, at age 87. His greatest legacy for our community is that he was always there.