My family, the Likens C. Strother family, came to Barber County in 1917.
       My father, born in Corydon, Indiana, in 1872, came to Kansas with his 
     mother and family at an early age.
       My mother, Sallie Patton Strother, was born in Sweetwater, Tennessee in
     1877. She came to the Coldwater, Kansas, area with her family when a young
     girl. She attended Kansas State NOrmal School in Emporia, then taught for
     a number of years in Oklahoma at the "Patton" school, then at "Old Kiowa"
     school.
       In 1900, they were married at the Patton School, where Church was held
     on Sundays. They lived on the 160 acre farm that my father took at the
     opening of the Cherokee Strip in 1893. He had built a 4-room house, but as
     children came he enlarged the house to a comfortable 11 room home. He also
     bought a "School Quarter," 160 acres, that adjoined the original farm, and
     farmed the 320 acres, mostly wheat.
       In the fall of 1917, we started spending the winters in Kiowa, so we could
     attend Kiowa High School, first in a rented 2-story house on South Seventh
     St. In 1918, Father bought a house on South Seventh St. from Riley Meredith.
     Summers were spent back at the farm.
       My father had a good singing voice. He sang in the choir at the Methodist
     Church, and sang in a quartet for many funeral services. Others in the
     quartet were Mrs. Chris Olson, Mrs. Fred Alberding and Charlie Fisher.
       There were six children in our family who graduated from KHS. The boys
     played football; ran the mile at the Track Meet with Medicine Lodge, and
     won; sang in male quartets and two were on debate teams.
       James (Jim), the eldest graduated in 1920; I, in 1921; Ralph in 1923;
     Richard (Dick) in 1923 and Howard and Herbert, the twins in 1926.
       Being the only girl for years, I had plenty to do, helping mother to keep
     everyone fed and clothed - we dressed and fried many, many chickens, baked
     many pies and cakes, shelled peas and snapped lots of green beans. I taught
     school for 2 years, one at the Glendale School south of Kiowa and one at
     Hackberry School, 10 miles west of Hardtner, then worked at Singleton's
     Department Store until 1928. Some of the boys worked in grocery stores,
     Bottkins, and McGee's.
       In 1928, we decided to move to California and Father sold the farm to 
     Harry Crouch. We settled in Hemet, California. The four younger children
     graduated from High Schools in California. Robert and Mabel from Hemet
     High School; Kenneth and Charles from Hoover High School in Glendale.
     Kenneth became a glider pilot during the war, and Charles a dentist in the
     Navy.
       Charles is the only Jayhawker in the family, having been born in Kiowa
     in 1919.
       My father worked in Real Estate in Glendale, California, until his death
     in 1955.
       After Father's death, Mother made her home with my husband, Lloyd Archibald,
     and I in Riverside, California, until her death in 1962.
       The twins, Howard and Herbert are both deceased. The other eight children
     and families all live in Southern California, except Kenneth, who lives in
     Bellevue, Washington.
       From the 10 children in the family, there are 18 grandchildren, 25 great-
     grandchildren and 4 great-great-grandchildren.
       Many family gatherings are held, and many wild stories of life on the farm
     and events of Kiowa High school are relived.
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 447 
     Submitted by: Phyllis Strother Archibald