The Prescott Area Historical Association will be featuring articles for the Pierce County Journal about Prescott residents, alumni and teachers who have celebrated 90+ birthdays. The first article in this series features Prescott’s oldest alumni, Darrow “Buzz” Wehrman. Buzz’s life story was lovingly written by his great-granddaughter, Jessica Ackland. According to Jessica, her grandfather “truly is an inspiration. I count myself pretty blessed to have had him in my life. Not many people I know have the chance to meet their great grandparents."
On May 26, 2025, Darrow “Buzz” Wehrman celebrated his 100th birthday surrounded by his loved ones at his residence in Arizona. Buzz is the oldest living Prescott alumni.
Buzz’s father was a local police officer, and his mother was a home maker. During his childhood, he spent most of his time with his grandfather.
Buzz went to Prescott High School. In his high school farm class, they were to learn how to forge but his teacher was not knowledgeable, so Buzz taught the class how to forge. He graduated Prescott High School in 1943 with a total graduating class of 24 individuals.
In 1944, he was drafted into the US Army to fight in WW2. He did his basic training on horseback. Mickey Rooney, the actor, was on base with Buzz but in a different division. His favorite memory during that time was when he was on a ship that had left the Philippines on route to the southern tip of Japan. While on their voyage to their destination, they were told to turn around because the war was over. He left the US Army on April 11, 1946, after 23 months and 23 days in service.
After the war, he came back to Prescott and began working for his stepfather hauling milk. He would pick up 10-gallon cans of milk from local farms and haul it to the creamery. He did that for seven days a week for four years. One time during a storm, he entered a farm when lightning struck nearby. It caused mud to go all over his windshield. He never saw the flash from the lightning.
Shortly after returning to Prescott, he met his soon to be wife Ann. They married on July 15th, 1946, in Hastings MN. While living Prescott, Buzz and Ann worked together at Hastings State Hospital. While there they took care of individuals who had developmental disabilities.
They ended up moving to St. Paul, MN. Their daughter Sharyn was born on April 11, 1947, which was exactly 1year from when he left the Army. On June 19, 1950, their son Robert was born.
In his spare time, he built a print shop in his basement where he would print pictures and documents as a side job. He ended up selling some equipment to the University of MN. The FBI ended up coming to his house to inquire about the equipment because students at the university had tried to print fraudulent money.
Buzz also enjoyed woodworking so he built a woodworking shop where he built cabinets and pool tables that he would sell.
In 1954, Buzz joined the US Post Office as a mechanic, painter, and body man. The Post Office used to buy used cars to use to deliver mail. Buzz was the first person to paint the postal trucks red, white, and blue that is seen on today’s vehicles. MN Mining company had provided the paint and did the red stripe on the first truck. Buzz suggested that they use a paint roller to paint the trucks to save time. Ultimately the Post Office loved his idea, and he earned $100 reward. During his time at the Post Office, he also built 2 tow trucks and additional trucks in their garages. He retired from the Post Office in 1982.
During his retirement, he enjoyed traveling and became a part time resident of AZ. In 1992, he moved to AZ full-time. Shortly after, his daughter and some of his grandchildren followed. His son stayed in MN working as a US Marshal.
Besides traveling, Buzz also enjoyed gardening and had year-round fruits and vegetables. He also grew many flowers and had a rose garden. He also spent his time doing genealogy and has his family traced back to around 1640.
August of 2015, his beloved wife passed away after celebrating their 69th wedding anniversary. March 3rd, 2019, his son Robert passed away.
Now a days, Buzz spends his time watching tv and spending time with his daughter, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.