05/27/2026
When the daily stresses of the Disney Studio became too much for Walt Disney to bear, he would disappear to the lower level of the Disney Family backyard on Carolwood Drive to tinker with his backyard railroad. Walt would wear the railroad engineer hat and coveralls with a bandana around his neck while he worked on and ran his locomotive around his property. 😊
Walt wasn't always riding and working on his train all alone. His daughters, Diane and Sharon, were frequent passengers aboard Walt's miniature steam engine, sometimes doing it just to spend some time with their dad. Walt, his wife, Lillian, and their daughters thoroughly enjoyed and cherished their summer weekends on Carolwood Drive. ❤
Of course, Walt's daughters grew up, and as they did (and after an unfortunate steam accident where a young girl was injured by Walt's train), Walt had the train taken down from his yard. Of course, he had plans for a much bigger train just down the road in Anaheim, California. With the train gone, the Disney Family yard soon became a safe space for wildlife. Walt and Lilly had planted all types of fruit in their garden: strawberries, boysenberries, grapes, peaches, etc. Unfortunately for the Disneys, they never really got to enjoy the fruit. The local animals would wander into the Disney yard, making off with most of the fruit that grew there. Squirrels were the worst offenders, constantly stealing ripened strawberries. 😁
The thieving squirrels drove Lillian Disney crazy. She asked the family's gardener, Pete, to set traps to put an end to the squirrels and their stealing. Walt put the kibosh on that idea right away. Apparently you can take the farm boy off the Missouri farm, but you can't take the Missouri farm out of the farm boy! He said that squirrels were God's creatures, and deserved to be treated as such. He absolutely forbade anyone to catch or kill any squirrels on his property! 😎 Walt told his wife, "Lilly, you can go to the market and buy strawberries. The squirrels can't." He was dead serious. ☺️
Unlike the time she signed an agreement to allow Walt to build that railroad in their backyard, Lilly did not sign an agreement saying she would leave the squirrels alone. When Walt went to Europe on business for a couple of months, Lilly borrowed a shotgun from the Disney Studio and gave it to Pete with instructions to shoot and kill any squirrels he saw ON SIGHT! 😬
This story has a happy ending, though! Pete apparently was no good with a shotgun. 😆 He tried, but no squirrels ended up losing their lives during Walt's work trip!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story today! I hope you enjoyed it!! 🙏❤ I've mentioned it before, but the Walt at home stories are my absolute favorites to tell! This one comes from the series of posts Diane Disney Miller and Pete Martin wrote for the Saturday Evening Post in 1956, titled "My Dad, Walt Disney". Those articles were later turned into a book that you can still find online. The quote is from there as well! Thank you again so much for reading, I do really appreciate it, and have an amazing day today!
