Wheat harvest drew many young men to Barber's farming area. L.A. Jester was 
  one of these. Lew and wife, Ann E. (Gorden) were born in Polk County, Missouri.
  They grew up on adjoining farms, attended Schofield School, and married in 1895.
  They farmed a small acreage. Lew walked five miles and worked for fifty cents
  a day.
     Bessie's cousins, Gus and Parthena Henson, were living at Kiowa, Kansas, and
  encouraged Lew to come to Kansas for harvest in 1906. The promist of better wages
  and a more progressive community proved true. Lew contacted his young family in
  Missouri to prepare for the move to Kansas in the fall. They loaded possessions
  in two covered wagons with two extra drivers; and children Owen, Dlla, Inez, and
  Opal - ages ten years to twenty months - began the two week trip.
     Lew fed cattle for Shklar ranch south of Kiowa that winter. In the spring the
  family moved to farm Allison land near Gerlane. The children attended Glenco
  school. Later a brother, George, sisters, Addie McMillen and Ida Eastburn, with
  their families, joined them and secured homes of their own.
     The family lived near Liberal, Kansas, from 1909 - 1912. Alva was born there;
  and that fall they returned to Barber County and purchased the J4 Ranch 5 1/2
  miles northwest of Medicine Lodge. The youngest child, Mary, was born, the only
  birth of six assisted by a physician.
     Lew was an expert stacker of wheat with header crews in the area. Owen served
  in WWI. The farm was sold, and the family moved into town and purchased the Motor
  Inn Garage. After Armistice, Owen, a mechanic, returned and helped operate the
  garage. They had a jitney service, and Lew drove fro Dave Gordon, Veterinarian,
  treating livestock in the area.
     During the war years, Bessie, with other women, was given Red Cross courses in
  Home Nursing. They rolled bandages, knitted garments for the armed forces, and
  during the influenza epidemic, used skill as practical nurses to care for the ill.
  Her quiet calm assurance as she served neighbors as midwife gave many courage.
     In 1920 the Jesters purchased the Jarvis Farm 2 1/2 miles southwest of town,
  moving there in 1921. Diversified farming, cattle, sheep, swine, and Ancona
  chickens were their livelihood. Watermelon, popcorn, garden, fruit, and flowers
  were grown for family and for sharing. Ducks and geese produced food and feathers
  for featherbeds and pillows. The summer of 1934, Lew cut trees that his cattle
  might eat the leaves to survive the drouth.
     Owen became a steel structural foreman for Union Pacific Railroad out of Kearney,
  Nebraska. He married Clara Voelker who died in 1923; he then married Violet 
  Congleton, a dedicated teacher. Owen died in 1971, and Violet in 1979.
     Della married a neighbor, Roy Phillips (deceased 1968). They established their
  home in the Amber-Grandview area. Inez taught school at North Star. She met and
  married Newton Wilson, who lived in the district. She developed tuberculosis and
  died in January , 1924. A few days later the Jester's farm home was destroyed by
  fire. this was a difficult year, but strong faith, true friends and neighbors
  like the Fred Moomaus helped them through. Newton died the following year.
     Opal married Manly Huff. They lived in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma, later moving
  to Barber County. Manly died in 1978. Alva married Alma Shellenberger, and Mary
  married Burl Gaunt (deceased 1971). Both couples made Barber County their home.
     In 1933 the big red barn burned. Two fine horses and Lew's hunting dogs perished.
  Hay and grain were destroyed.
     The Jesters always had room for an outsider. Lew's wit and songs delighted and
  entertained friends and family. Bessie's good cooking was anticipated by harvest
  and silo crews, as well as the many who filled their home on Sundays and holidays.
  Chautauqua and tent shows were summer entertainment. Tent revivals were attended
  by most residents. The family enthusiastically participated in the Indian Pageant.
  Lew drove a covered wagon, and Bessie carded wool in Settler Scene.
     Quilting, sad irons, washboard, kerosene lamps, incubators, cream separators,
  horse drawn machinery, the path to 'outdoor plumbing', cowchips, woodsplitting
  are all family heritage.
     Jesters worshiped at First Baptist Church, though Lew retained his Protestant
  Methodist membership. Their strong faith saw them through many discouragements.
     There was an annual trip in a stripped down Model T to visit relatives in
  Missouri, until, in the New Model A, they made the trip in comfort. Ticks and
  chiggers in Missouri and responsibilities of the farm always brought them back
  to their Chosen Land of Barber.
     Lew passed away in 1941, and Bessie in 1948. The family farm was sold in 1973
  to Melvin Cunningham. Della, Opal, Alva and Mary still live in Barber County.
               
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas,  pg. 252 
     Submitted by: Mary Jester Gaunt