It took three attempts for the Eaton Family to migrate from Iowa to Kansas.
  The fore-runner was Grandfather George and Grandmother Ida B. Eaton who by
  the slow progress of a covered wagon crossed Kansas to homestead about 60
  miles south of Lamar, Colorado, near Springfield. His early stories of prairie
  fires, drouth, and hauling cedar posts to Lamar were one of the earliest
  memories. But the elements won, and, after proving up his claim, caused him 
  to return to Iowa - possibly not broke, but badly bent.
     My first memories of Kansas were about 1909, as at the age of 4 1/2 I was
  started to school at old Liberty School, 4 miles north of Nashville. I
  graduated from Zenda High School in 1924 and Friends University in 1928.
  Vesta graduated from Anthony High School in 1926.
     I returned to Redding, Iowa, after graduation, to be Principal, coach,
  and teach in the high school there. This was the winter of 1928-29. Snow was
  on the ground from Thanksgiving until May 1. Dislike for the weather caused
  me to come to Kansas, where I started teaching and coaching at Spring Township
  High School, the fall of 1929. This tenure lasted three years, during which 
  time I met and married Vesta Randels of Anthony, August 16, 1930. We have
  two boys: Horace D., born November 19, 1933, and Harold W., born December 22,
  1936.
     We moved in the fall of 1932 to Isabel, where we remained for six years as
  Super-intendent of Schools. This was our first residence in Barber County,
  although we both had lived in adjoining counties.
     In the fall of 1938 we took employment as educational adviser with the
  Civilian Conservation Corps. This duty terminated in 1942. We lived in Mays-
  ville, Springfield, and Neosho, Missouri.
     Our next move was to Wichita, where I worked in the Education Department
  ofPersonnel at Boeing Airplane Company. Duties there consisted of organizing
  off-the-job training for employees. This consisted of securing insturctors,
  meeting places, furnishing source materials, and monitoring classes. At one
  time we had over 4,500 students in training.
     March, 1944, we were informed by W.W. (Whitey) Stout of Medicine Lodge 
  that the Cooper Variety Store was for sale. Tired of living in a big city
  and wanting to educate boys in a smaller town, we bought the Cooper Store
  with "Whitey" as partner. We moved to Medicine Lodge the same week that
  Vesta's parents, the J.M. Randels, moved here from Oklahoma. We lived several
  years at 218 South Spring, then moved to our present residence.
     The summer of 1944 we secured a franchise to operate our business as a Ben
  Franklin Store and continue now under that franchise. In 1950 we purchased
  the W.W. Stout interest. In early 1972 we sold our store to our son, Harold,
  he contines its operation.
     Our son Horace married Jo Anne Stone. They have one daughter, Debra, and
  two sons, Steven and Lane. They live in Guymon, Oklahoma. Both our sons
  graduated from Wichita University, and the granddaughter Debra graduated from
  Panhandle State University, Goodwell, Oklahoma.
     Our sojourn in Barber county on this rocky road called "Life" has been
  very pleasant. Two communitites stand out in our wanderings - Isable and
  Medicine Lodge, both in Barber County. We like it here.
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas,  pg. 164 
     Submitted by: Sandy Eaton