Walter P. "Wally" Wachter, a newsman with The Herald for more than seven decades and whose weekly column "The Way We Were" rekindled warm memories for readers throughout the Shenango Valley for more than 25 years, died Wednesday night, Feb. 18, 2015, in Nugent's Continuing Care and Retirement Community, Hermitage. He was 95. Wally, a Hermitage resident, was born June 28, 1919, in Farrell, one of 14 children of George W. and Katharine Schink Wachter. He graduated from Farrell High School in 1937. In 2008, he was inducted into the Farrell High School Alumni Hall of Fame. Wally began his newspaper career while a freshman in high school, covering high school sporting events for The Sharon Herald and News Telegraph, the two daily newspapers in the valley at the time. He often told of covering football games from the sidelines, walking yard line to yard line in a time before there were press boxes. He was hired full time as a reporter for the Herald in 1940, the start of a career that ended with his retirement as managing editor in 1983. Upon that retirement, he agreed to write "The Way We Were" for one year, but its popularity led him to continue it - until he decided on complete retirement in 2008. To the end, readers sought out Wally - in earlier days, they stopped in stores and on the streets - to thank him for the columns and the memories they brought back, and, more recently, to tell him how much they miss it. Some offered him column ideas about the bygone era, many of which he accepted and put into print. Along the way, he also wrote an occasional "Sunday Brunch" column on matters of the day. For many of his working years with The Herald, he was active elsewhere in the profession. He served for seven years as director of Pennsylvania Society of Newspaper Editors. For several years, he was president of United Press International Editors of Pennsylvania, with which he had an early role in helping to shape what is now the state's open-meetings law. He took a four-year leave of absence from The Herald to serve in World War II. He served with Army newspapers in Honolulu, Hawaii - the first a weekly paper, The Midpacifican, which he helped develop into the Pacific edition of The Stars and Stripes, with which he rose to associate editor. During that time, he became friends with and did ghost writing for baseball great Joe DiMaggio, who was stationed with him in Honolulu. Wachter often told of lending $1 to DiMaggio, who he said still owes him. It was Wally's Stars and Stripes assignment that led to his appearance nearly 60 years later on a History Channel television special about World War II. He was contacted by channel representatives because he had been an editor when a Stars and Stripes columnist, known only as Hotel Street Harry, worked undercover in the seedy areas of Honolulu nightlife frequented by the troops, and "Harry" would then write columns about the exploits. Wally's THC interview provided background on that situation, and his Army photos and memorabilia, as well as a note of thanks, were featured in the show's closing credits. Wally returned to The Sharon Herald after the war and served in several positions, including Farrell reporter and wire editor, before his promotion to managing editor. He was a regular reviewer of the Kenley Players summer-stock plays in Warren, Ohio, and, as a result, established friendships with many of the TV/movie stars who appeared there. In the 1960s, he was also the voice of the Noon News on WPIC radio, which was broadcast from The Herald's newsroom. Wachter also served as advisor to the staffs of area high school newspapers, when those pages appeared in The Herald. In 1995, he was honored by the establishment of The Herald's annual Wally Awards, which were presented to staff members for outstanding performance. Despite his accomplishments, Wally liked to say his best contributions to journalism were the two generations of his family that followed him into the profession - daughter Debbie, a reporter with the New Castle News; and son Skip, an editor, and grandson Derek, a graphic designer, both with The Patriot-News in Harrisburg. Wally was a former member of the Herald golf and bowling leagues and the Hickory Rotary Club. On June 12, 1948, he married Katherine Bochu of Youngstown. She survives him at home. For many years, the two sang with the Concordia Chorus in Youngstown and made two concert tours in Europe with the group. Wally served six years as president of the Saegerbund, an association of Transylvanian Saxon choirs in the eastern United States. Wally was a former member of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Farrell and, most recently, a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hermitage. In addition to his wife, Wally is survived by two daughters, Kathie Wachter and her companion Mate Curic, Sharon; and Debbie Wachter, New Castle; a son Walter J. "Skip" Wachter and his wife Patty, Harrisburg; and three grandchildren, Courtney Wachter, Lancaster; and Derek Wachter and his wife Brooke, Dauphin; a sister, Esther McGrath, Farrell; and many, many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, Wally was preceded in death by his brothers George, Frederick, William, Albert, Carl, Richard, Robert and Bernard; and sisters Klothilda Wachter, Emma Wachter Bauer, Bertha duMaire and Mathilda Wachter. Memorial contributions may be made to Buhl Park Corp., 715 Hazen Road, Hermitage, PA 16148; or Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 3325 Morefield Road, Hermitage, PA 16148. Calling hours: 9 a.m. to time of service Saturday (2-21-15) in Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 3325 Morefield Road, Hermitage. Service: Funeral service at 11 a.m. Saturday in the church, with the Rev. Gary B. Nelson, pastor, officiating. Military honors will be provided at the church, following the service, by West Middlesex Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6233, Wheatland American Legion Post 432, and Farrell VFW 5286 honor guard. Interment: Hillcrest Memorial Park, Hermitage. Arrangements by J. BRADLEY McGONIGLE FUNERAL HOME and CREMATORY Inc., 1090 E. State St., Sharon.