My father, Sam Schrock, was born at Bern, Kansas, in 1891. He attended
     a country school that his father built near Bern. At the age of nine, 
     many days were spent working in the field with a team of horses and a
     walking cultivator. At corn shelling time he would hire out help for
     twenty-five cents a day.
       Sam's father, John, and his wife, the former Rosa Wittmer, purchased a
     section of land six miles east of Kiowa for $8.45 an acre. Sam came to
     Kiowa with his father to farm and help build a home for the family. Three
     months later the rest of the family joined them and moved into the new
     seventeen room house. Sam had three brothers and four sisters.
       Going to church on Sunday was always a big day, as they had 13 miles to
     travel by horse and buggy. In the cold winter months bricks were heated
     and wrapped and put in the buggy to keep their feet warm.
       The following year fire completely destroyed their home. Neighbors and
     friends were there to lend a helping hand, and it wasn't long before a
     new home was completed. There was always work for everyone on butchering
     day. Rendering the lard and making soap was always a big project. Fruits
     and vegetables were also canned and preserved.
       Most of the trading was done at Hazelton, as roads to Kiowa were very
     sandy and in poor condition. Straw was spread on the roads to make it 
     easier for travel by car. Where the roads crossed over the hilltops the
     ruts became so deep from erosion they had to be plowed in. In 1913 the
     family bought their first car.
       Sam went to the Army in 1917 and served two years.
       In 1928 he married the former Minnie Hodel of Roanoke, Illinois. I was
     born the follwoing year and lived on the farm until 1935, when my folks
     and I moved to a new home in Kiowa.
       I attended the Kiowa schools, graduating in 1947. I enjoyed being in
     FFA, and atheletics. I served in the Army for two years. When I returned
     home, I resumed my farming and cattle operation which I enjoy very much.
       In 1954 I married the former Kathleen Gudeman of Francesville, Indiana.
     Our daughter, JoAnn, was born in 1956 and our son, Robert Ryan, in 1966.
     Jo attended grade school and high school at Kiowa and will graduate from
     Kansas State University in the spring of 1979 with a B.S. in Elementary
     Education. She participated in an eight-week student teaching assignment
     at the American School in London in the spring of 1979. Robert attended
     grade school at Kiowa and is now in Junior High.
       Our family has enjoyed traveling and seeing different parts of the world,
     but we all agree there's no place like home in Barber County.
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 405  
     Submitted by: William Schrock