The Mackey-McBrayer Lumber Co., a part of the Kiowa business community
     for 35 years, was established i 1895 by Wm. D. Mackey. W.E. and Mary E.
     Mackey and their daughter, Rena, came to New Kiowa in 1889 when Mr. Makey
     replaced J.W. Metz as manager of Long-Bell Lumber Co. In 1895 he and Geo.
     Bacon of Aetna founded the W.D. Mackey Lbr. Co. They also bought wheat
     and an old photograph of the company office shows a large sign, "Free
     Silver for Wheat." Mr. Mackey bought Bacon's interest in the business
     and opened a branch at Corwin about 1900. When he closed the Corwin yard,
     he established others at Hazelton and Hardtner.
       He made the Run into the Cherokee Outlet in 1893, mounted on a race
     horse. His goal was land five miles from Kiowa, but he was thrown from
     his horse soon after the race began and staked a claim where he fell. This
     land, plus an additional quarter section, remains in the family.
       Mr. Mackey was a city councelman for several years, a charter member of
     the Sons of Veterans, a Mason, and a member of the Workman (AOUW) and
     IOOF lodges. He was president of the Cornet Band, and was often called 
     upon to organize fairs, race meetings and Fourth of July celebrations
     held in Kiowa.
       Mrs. Mackey, referred to by a Kiowa paper as "that queen among fashions,"
     was a milliner. Ladies traveled many miles to purchase a hat trimmed by
     Mrs. Mackey with birds, feathers, or whatever else was in vogue. She was
     an active clubwoman and devoted to the work of the Congregational Church.
       Following Mr. Mackey's death in 1911, the lumber yard was known for a
     short time as the M.E. Mackey Lumber Co. while under the management of his
     widow. Chas. H. McBrayer, the Mackeys' son-in-law, became a partner in the
     firm in 1912 and the name was changed to the Mackey-McBrayer Lumber Co.
       Mr. McBrayers' father died when he, the eldest child, was sixteen,
     leaving him the sole support of his mother, sister and two brothers. He
     taught school in Kentucky for several years, then brought the family to
     Hazelton in 1898. He moved to Kiowa in 1901 and spent four years as a
     grain buyer and as a bookkeeper for such businesses as a grain company,
     Wells-Fargo Express, Standard Oil, and the Commercial State Bank. He
     managed the Mackey lumber company from 1904-1909, then opened a bakery
     and confectionery. After he resumed management of the lumber company in
     1912, the firm expanded with hardware stores at Hazelton and Kiowa, an
     implement store and the Overland-Willys Knight auto agency at Kiowa, and
     a grain elevator built on the Missouri Pacific in 1916.
       Mr. McBrayer was city clerk for ten years, a councilman, and president
     of the Kiowa school board for 25 years. Active in the Masonic Lodge, he
     was also, Grand Patriarch of the Grand Encampment, IOOF of Kansas, for
     three years. He was a champion marksman, an orator and a history buff.
       Rena McBrayer attended a school of music and elocution in Kansas City
     before her marriage, and was often called upon to "give readings" at
     social functions. She was a charter member of the Progress and Delphi
     clubs and Rebekah. The McBrayers had three children: Mrs. Carl (Mary)
     Brattin of Colorado Springs; Mrs. Ken (Jean) Brown and C.D. McBrayer of
     Kiowa.
       Mr. McBrayer bought a 3200 acre ranch northwest of Hardtner in 1928. 
     He sold the three lumber yards in 1930 and the implement company in 1933
     to devote more time to farming and raising cattle. After he became less
     active, the ranch and farm were operated by his son, C.D. McBrayer, and
     his son-in-law, Ken Brown. After Mr. Brown's death in 1962, C.D. assumed
     full management of the properties until the ranch was sold in 1976.
                 
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas,  pg. 309 
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