Our family moved to Kiowa from Cherokee, Oklahoma, in October of 1955. My wife
  Hazel, one son, and two daughters. Larry was five, Glenda was three, and Nancy was
  one. In 1960 Carolyn was born.
     I was raised on a farm south of Cherokee prior to moving to Kiowa. I attended
  Lincoln Center country school and then Lambert and finished up at Cherokee the
  last three years.
     I joined the Navy in 1945 and served in the Phillipines and Japan. I later
  enrolled in a two year intensive business course at Oklahoma State University at
  Stillwater. After receiving my diploma in accounting and small business management,
  I found that jobs were scarce and low paying. I was unemployed for a while and
  finally took a low starting pay job at $35.00 per week. Back in 1949, $35.00 did
  buy a lot. Our first baby cost only $65.00 in 1950 and that included all doctor
  fees and hospital cost.
     Hazel and I got married in 1949 and made our home on a farm northwest of
  Cherokee. Hazel was raised on a farm northwest of Alva, Oklahoma, her parents were
  Beulah and Clarence Phillips. Hazel graduated from Alva High School and was employed
  by Southwestern Bell Telephone Company and Alva General Hospital as a nurse. My
  wife raised gardens, chickens, milked cows, and we ate a lot of cottontail rabbits
  in our early years of married life; we saved a little money along. I was employed
  at A.B. Hague implement Company at Cherokee for 6 1/2 years as mechanic, parts man,
  salesman, and bookkeeper.
     When we moved to Kiowa we bought half interest in Ohlson Implement Company which
  was owned  by Elmer Ohlson. We sold Minneapolis Moline machinery and other lines of
  farm equipment. In August of 1958 Elmer Ohlson passed away. I managed to get enough
  backing from banks and individuals to take over the business.
     As our family was growing up, so was our business growing, and we added several
  lines of farm equipment. In 1962 we started manufacturing bulldozer attachments for
  farm tractors and sold them nationwide and even in several foreign countries. Since
  then we have developed other farm equipement, such as dual plow hitches, landleveler
  scrapers, post hole diggers, field cultivators, and rear blades. Employement has
  been as high as 68 people at one time. Economic conditions in the agricultural field
  fluctuates over the years and effects sales, production, and employment.
     Our son Larry attended 2 years at Hutchinson Jr. College and graduated at
  Northwestern College at Alva with a degree in Business. Nancy attended Northwestern
  Oklahoma State University at Alva for 2 years also. Larry, Glenda, and Carolyn are 
  married, ad we have four grandchildren and are expecting another soon. Barber County
  is a goodd place to live and is made up of a lot of nice people.
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas,  pg. 142 
     Submitted by: John Coontz