Michael Broggie's Ward Kimball Memories
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Betty and Ward Kimball
Remembering Ward
By Michael Broggie
My first recollection of Ward was seeing him in the cab of his Emma Nevada steam locomotive at his home in San Gabriel in the mid 1940s. This was no miniature live steamer; it was a full sized, snortin' and puffin' steam driven monster of a locomotive. Fact is, the 1881 Baldwin mogul was completely out of scale for the backyard of Ward and Betty Kimball.
But, we learned that's how Ward approached everything in life-by a scale all his own. He loved to punch holes in puffery. He delighted in teasing the cast members at Disneyland, who weren't too sure when he was kidding with them. When they were hesitant to give him clear direction as to what he should wear to a planned event, he showed up in red shorts like Mickey wears.
His penchant for practical (nee impractical) jokes is the stuff of legends. One early morning he stocked all the restroom stalls in the Animation Building with pants filled with newspaper padding to make them appear occupied. It took several anxious hours for someone to figure out they'd been duped by Kimball.
When Walt would call him, sometimes at home early on Sunday, Ward would say, "Walt who?" Walt would yell back, "Disney!" Ward then explained he knew several Walts and wanted to be certain to whom he was talking. Of course, Ward was just putting on the Boss, who always fell for the gag.
Due to Ward's prodigious ability to draw, he often had extra time to wander around the lot-sometimes getting into trouble. When the freight cars were under construction on one of the sound stages, Ward walked in to see how things were progressing. He noticed the slats on the cattle car were being placed rather close together, actually like they are on a real cattle car as directed by Walt. Ward told the carpenter doing the work he thought they should be farther apart to allow for better viewing of Disneyland. The carpenter complied as Ward returned to his animation desk. In a short while, the phone rang in Ward's office. It was a very hot Walt, demanding to know who in the hell Ward thought he was to give orders on how Walt's freight cars were to be constructed?!
After chewing on Ward's ear for several minutes, Walt then placed a call to Roger Broggie, who was responsible for building the Disneyland Railroad equipment. Walt told Roger that Ward had a good idea about expanding the spacing of the slats on the cattle car, but, under no conditions, was Roger to tell Ward he was right.
The only vacation Walt ever took with anyone outside his immediate family was with Ward. In 1948, Walt invited Ward to accompany him to the Chicago Railroad Fair, celebrating one hundred years of the railroading industry. It was a grand affair set on the shore of Lake Michigan where McCormick Place is now situated. As honored guests, Walt and Ward enjoyed several days of running some of the nation's most valuable and historic railroad equipment. Ward said later, "Running that old equipment like the Clinton and No. 999 was equivalent to shaking hands with Thomas Jefferson."
Ward also told of the time they were passing through a backstage area where pageant cast members were relaxing in the heat of a Chicago summer. The women were mostly topless. Walt was in a hurry to get to their next appointment when Ward complained he wanted to take his time to enjoy the view. Walt turned around and admonished Ward, "You've seen two, you've seem ‘em all! Now let's get going."
Ward remembered the long rides on the Santa Fe to and from Glendale and Chicago. The first night, they visited the dining car where Ward ordered his favorite Santa Fe stew. "I liked the way they seared the prime beef before putting in the vegetables. It was the best darn stew in the land!" Walt had a different idea. "Good gosh, Ward, you don't want stew!" Walt turned to the waiter and ordered medium rare filet mignons for both of them. It was clear to Ward who was boss.
"During the trip, Walt relaxed and told me his life story. I doubt he ever had shared it before. He would look out the large picture window and marvel at the wide-open spaces. He commented that he could never understand why anyone would want to live in a city." Walt told Ward his happiest childhood memories were of the family farm in Marceline, Missouri, where he also discovered trains. The small town was build by the Santa Fe and trains rambled and chuffed through its center every thirty minutes. Occasionally, Uncle Mike Martin, an operating engineer, would stop by the farm for a visit, bringing Walt and Roy a sack of rock candy. Ward said Walt got a special look on his face when thinking about those warm, happy place memories.
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