Walt Disney

In 1906, fearing the growing rate of crime in Chicago, the family moved to a farm near Marceline, Missouri. Disney later said that these were the best years of his life. Since he and his younger sister, Ruth, were not of suitable age to help at the farm, they spent most of their days playing. They would swim in the pond, play with the farm animals, and lounge around under the trees.

While in Marceline, Disney developed his love of drawing. One of their neighbours, a retired doctor named "Doc" Sherwood, paid him to draw pictures of Sherwood's horse, Rupert. He also developed his love of trains in Marceline. He would put his ear to the tracks in anticipation of the coming train. He would also look for his uncle, engineer Mike Martin, running the train.

In 1909, Elias Disney suddenly came down with typhoid fever and was unable to work the farm, even with his older sons helping him. He reluctantly sold the farm and lived in a rented house until 1910, when they moved to Kansas City. Young Disney was incredibly devastated to leave his rustic paradise. He and his brother Roy even cried when the farm animals were sold at a farm auction.

When the family got to Kansas City, Missouri, Elias Disney purchased a newspaper route for the Kansas City Star. He had his two remaining sons help with the route, waking up at 3:00 in the morning every day (Herbert and Raymond had since left). Disney later recalled that they would deliver the paper in the heat of summer and during the dead of winter.

According to the Kansas City Public School District records, Disney began attending the Benton Grammar School in 1910, and graduated on June 8, 1911, being held back a year so that Ruth could go with him. Disney later enrolled in classes at the Chicago Art Institute. Academically, Walt was not the best student. Because of his early-morning paper runs, he had trouble concentrating and fell asleep in class often. He was also prone to daydreaming and doodling during class.

At 15, Disney took a summer job as a news butcher on the Santa Fe Railroad line. He sold soda pop, candy, and newspapers to passengers of the railroad. He was more fascinated with the train than selling his items. He would constantly leave his box of merchandise alone to go look out the window of the train. He would return and find that most of his items had been taken. His brother Roy loaned him the money to pay back his bosses and told him to call it quits.

During his high school years, Disney was the cartoonist for the school newspaper, The Village Voice. His cartoons were very patriotic and political, focusing on World War I. He dropped out of high school at 16 so he could join the Army, eager to follow in the footsteps of his brother Roy, who had joined the Navy. The Army didn't take him, however, as he was too young to enlist.