Person:Richard Dowell (13)

Richard is a third generation Kiowa Countian, the grandson of Robert A. Dowell, who came to Kiowa Co. in 1884, and Shirley is a fourth generation native, the great-granddaughter of Paris and Lydia Newlin, who came here in 1885. Richard was born south of Wellsford, Kansas. He attended Wellsford Grade School and remembers when Mrs. Ethyle Meisel pulled his first tooth. One of the delights of his childhhod was going hunting with his good friend, Earl Slief. Shirley is the daughter of Charles and Isabel Asher, and the granddaughter of A.D. and Etta Asher, and Lincoln and Ruth Elliott. She attended Haviland Grade School, riding to school in a model T Ford with the principal, Mr. Sieg. County spelling contests and county examinations for 8th grade graduation are vivid memories. Richard and Shirley were both active in school events in Haviland High School, and began dating on debate trips. They both recall the black sand blizzards and the extended drouth of the thirties. Richard graduated from high school in 1935 and Shirley in 1936. As a youth of the depression, Richard worked at an NYA job for 35 cents an hour, and laid out 2 semesters to help his father farm while attending Wichita University. He graduated in 1940 with a B.A. degree in political science. Shirley attended Friends University 2 years, then transferred to Wichita U. and graduated with Richard in 1940. Shirley taught school at Cimarron, Kansas, for $100 a month for one year, while Richard farmed, then in May 1941, they were married. Richard bought his first flock of sheep in partnership with Dude Hannan. This was January 1942. Temperatures of 17 below zero were not conducive to lambing, but Richard liked the challenge, and sheep became a part of the life of the Dowells. Richard raised sheep for the next 35 years; producing thousands of pounds of wool and lamb. The family's favorite meal is a roast leg of lamb, and wool clothing has a special significance for them. Their several sheep dogs have almost been members of the family. A history wouldn't be complete without naming Buddy, Nipper, and Perro I and II. The tragedy of Shirley and Richard's life happened in 1948, when a scoop on a Ford tractor being operated by a hired man released while their oldest son, Mike, was riding in it. His injury caused him to be a paraplegic. He handled the handicap with courage and the help of his family and friends, but at age 21, his kidneys failed and they lost him. All the Dowell children attended Haviland Grade School, and then they transferred to Greensburg High School. As they grew older and went off to college, Shirley began to teach school, and Richard expanded his farming endeavors by becoming a pioneer irrigator in 1957. As a political science major, Richard was always interested in good government. He served as a member of the Haviland Coop Board for 15 years, and was a member the the Haviland Grade School Board. He was a director of the Greensburg Rotary Club, and was on the executive committee of the Farmer's Union. Richard was always active in Democratic politics. He was chairman of the Kiowa Co. Democratic Party, and a member of the State Committee. Richard had a great appreciation for music and indulged a stereo hobby, as well as artistic welding. Shirley is the author of a children's book and is chairman of the Kiowa Co. Library Board. She is a member of the Kansas Author's Club, and served as Treasurer of the Wellsford Church. She has also worked with the American Cancer Society and the Grand Valley EHU. In the past 38 years, the Dowells have have met the elements of weather and time with the help of nearly 50 different hired men, who have shared their youthful exhuberance and mature experience in tilling the soil, irrigating and harvesting the crops, and feeding the sheep. One of them, Bob Burns, spent the last 15 years of his life showing almost as much interest in the farm as the owners. (Shirley A. Dowell)