I do not work 19 hours on Saturday any more. I do not put in 14 hours on
    a weekday either as once was the case. And customers no longer resist the
    self service concept of grocery buying.
       These are among the many changes as owner of the Howard Food Store I
    have experienced in a career that spans 45 years. A native of Fairview,
    Oklahoma, I was born March 16, 1910 to John W. Howard, a rural mail carrier,
    and the former Alice Green, who was a Barber County girl. She lived 7 miles
    south of Lake City. My father was from northern Kansas originally.
       I graduated from Fairview high school in 1928 and then attended North-
    western Teachers College at Alva, Oklahoma. At the same time, a Watonga,
    Oklahoma, educational major, Lorene Cox, was also attending the Alva college.
    We were wed in 1934. I did not stay in school long enough to receive a 
    degree, but Lorene did.
       We have four children, Mrs. Don (Ann) Johnson, a speech pathologist; Mrs.
    Leroy (Jane) Horn, works for Kennedy Rehabilitation Center; Mrs. Creag (Mary)
    Pestagord, speech pathologist; Dr. John Howard, dentist. There are four
    grandchildren. 
       While Lorene, whose parents, H.H. Cox, Missouri born farm people, continued
    to work on her bachelor degree, I went to work for O.O. Simms, an Alva grocer.
    His stores were under the name of Double O Markets. In 1937 Mr. Simms bought
    the Trice Mercantile in Medicine Lodge and sent me to manage the business.
       This was the first self-service establishment in Medicine Lodge. There
    were no carts. Instead, customers picked up arm baskets for their grocery
    selections. I remember the hourly scale of retail sales clerks ranged from
    15 to 20 cents an hour, and the store was open weekdays from 7 AM to 7 PM,
    except Saturdays, when the doors remained open until midnight. As manager,
    I would spend an additional 2 hours doing book work after the store closed. 
    These, of course, were the days of the Saturday night holidays for residents
    across the county. Most people came to town on Saturday to attend the movies,
    and many waited until after the show to shop.
       My entry into business for myself came in 1940 with the 1st National Bank
    having ownership of a store in the present Western Auto Building. The bank
    sold me the store for only 100 dollars a month.
       In 1943 I closed the business and bought the Roy Travis Grocery at the
    present library location. I was 34 years old at this time and the father of
    three children, when I received notice of being drafted for military duty.
    I was given 60 days to dispose of my business. I sold to Clyde Simmons.
       Donning the uniform of the U.S. Army, I took training in California,
    and joined the 147 infantry for tour of New Caledonia, Iwo Jima, and
    Okinawa.
       My family remained in Medicine Lodge until my discharge in 1946, when I 
    returned and bought a store in Cherokee. This venture ws to last 6 months
    while Lloyd Davis was building a new store in Medicine Lodge.
       This store has all of the conveniences of a supermarket. I try to retain
    some of the features of pioneer food stores, such as bulk vinegar and old
    fashioned bulk Christmas candy.
       This span in Medicine Lodge has survived such things as 5 burglaries, a
    car running through the front window, and the ceiling collapsing, in addition
    to a tornado.
       An associate of the AG grocery line, I belong to the Chamber of Commerce
    and have been active in 4-H and Chairman of the First Christian Church Board.
       My wife, Lorene, was a long time church worker and Sunday School teacher
    and a member of the Medicine Lodge Garden Club. As a gardener, her yard was a 
    profusion of beauty from 700 varieties of Iris flowers, along with 200 mums
    and 180 rose species.
       Our long adventure in Medicine Lodge has been a rewarding one.
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas,  pg. 242