The family connection between the Fort and town has had a long term lasting impact on the community’s development. Married senior enlisted personnel at Fort Worden had their own separate neighborhood. On NCO (Non Commissioned Officers) Row the houses, although not as large or well-appointed as those on Officers Row, were a significant upgrade from the barracks with its open rooms lined with bunk beds. For those soldiers who qualified (based on seniority and number of dependents), life on NCO Row was a solid mix of military order and civilian necessity. When the sergeants and corporals went off to muster with the troops on the parade ground, wives went to work shepherding their children off to school in town and for some wives, taking in civilian work to supplement their husband’s Army pay. In many cases, it was the soldiers’ children who helped break the ice between the Army and the civilians in town (“townies”) and opened opportunities to socialize.

Forty five years ago, in commemoration of the opening of Fort Worden as a Washington State Park, the August 30, 1973 Leader published a two-page spread titled, “Fort Worden’s Heyday Recalls Old Friends….and New Families.” Written by the late Daisy Askins, an extraordinary historian on local history, her reminiscences shed light on the lives of some of the soldiers and local women who met, married, remained, or returned to the area and whose descendents are a part of the community today. One of the first arrivals she notes in the article was Sgt. Major Edward McLarney and his wife Margaret Ann (Byrne), who transferred from Fort Flagler to Fort Worden in 1904. Their six children attended school at the old Lincoln Building and according to Daisy, “…were the principle factors in the breakdown of prejudices against the military which led to family friendships, exchange visiting, and most important, communication.” Another early Army family was Sgt. Frederick and Anna Marie Ziel. The old cavalry soldier and his wife had two children Lillian and Leo. Their son returned home after college, married Lillian Grace Eldridge from Chimacum and eventually served as manager of Crown Zellerbach (now Port Townsend Paper).

There is also a personal connection to NCO Row. Two sisters, Caroline and Mary Sofie, met their husbands Sgt. Major John H. Caldwell and Sgt. James O. Daubenberger respectively. In the 1940s, after long careers of Army postings around the country, the two families made their way back home to raise their children. Among the six cousins of the two families was my father Jim Caldwell. Also, Lena DeLeo met and married Pvt. Frederick Gill at the Fort. He gave his life on a French battlefield during WWI. Her niece Betty DeLeo would marry Jim Caldwell and they would raise nine children, most of whom have remained or returned to town. At the last Sofie family reunion held at Fort Worden this summer, over 75 Sofie descendents attended, and the DeLeo Derby family reunion will be celebrating its 100th annual gathering in town next summer.