Walt Wilhelm

Walt Wilhelm was born February 27, 1893, in Trenton, MO & settled in Yermo, CA. He is buried in the Old Genoa Pioneer Cemetery, Genoa, NV. A civilian blacksmith for the U.S. Marine Corps, Walt was an engaging storyteller, photographer, car builder, welder, amateur archaeologist, and expert on the Mojave Desert & Death Valley.

Walt worked with the Fish and Game Commission, was a friend of Zane Grey, and for many years explored and photographed the Southwestern Desert with the late Erle Stanley Gardner, his close friend for nearly forty years.

An expert archer, Walt, his brother Ken, & nephew Dennis starred in movies for Paramount Pictures & Grantland Rice Productions showcasing off-road driving and archery trick shooting. Walt and Ken were inducted into the California Archery Hall of Fame in 1978.

Their off-road vehicles Prowler & Leaping Lena helped them save lives on the Mojave Desert & were described in Mechanics Illustrated & Popular Science.