The O'Dale Bown family are fairly newcomers to Barber County, Kansas. O'Dale
  was born in Globe, Arizona, but moved from state to state often with his parents.
  His roots were always at Coldwater, Kansas, where he attended school a few years.
  When he was 18, he helped Wilbur May in Woods County, Oklahoma, with farming,
  where he met, later to be his wife, Joyce. He came to work for George and Sam Baier
  in the Union Chapel Community in the fall of 1962. While working for them, he
  bought the 12 1/4 ares of land known as "Lasswell" from Carrie Ott.
     After going their separate ways for several years, O'Dale and Joyce were married
  June 18, 1967, in Hardtner, Kansas. They moved a mobile home on the west side of 
  the Lasswell Store building. It was here three children were born: O'Lynn Wilbur
  on June 28, 1968; Tonya Sue on November 6, 1971; and Hec Lee on September 12, 1973.
  Needing more living room for the family, they started remodeling the inside of the
  Lasswell Store into a three bedroom home which they moved into in September 1975.
  Leaving the windows and doors and the foot thick cement walls intact, then adding
  on a cement block porch on the north end has proven to be a cery cozy house - easy
  to heat and cool for the Bown family. Heating with wood has proved to be quite a
  challenge after being used to the modern "thermostate on the wall," but it has
  been enjoyable. They are still doing a little remodeling each year to make the
  home a little more cozy. They have been very fortunate in having two very good
  water wells that O'Dale witched himself. One well is for household use and the
  other for irrigation of a feed patch, or animal use, and a big garden that is
  planted every summer.
     O'Dale continued to work for Sam Baier and other farmers in the community until
  1974, when he decided to venture out on his own doing carpenter work. He is still
  involved in carpenter work full time and enjoys doing it. Joyce keeps busy being
  a housewife, taking care of goats, calves, chichens, rabbits, pigs, or whatever
  they have on hand that needs tending to. She spends most of the summer canning
  out of the family garden and dressing fryers to store for winter use. The winter
  for her is spent mending clothes, sewing new clothes, and whatever else need to be
  done.
     The Bowens are very proud to live in such a nice community, and they cherish
  their friendships with friends and neighbors. They hope to be able to spend many 
  more years in Barber County and meet new friends as their children continue their
  school years in Medicine Lodge.
               
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas,  pg. 111  
     Submitted by: Joyce E. Bowen