Memories from Longwood Township

In 1927 Lenard and Mabel Bower moved from Montana into a small house with a loft in Longwood Township with their four daughters and four sons. The oldest daughter, Margret, was in the first Owen High School graduating class. the Bower children were the only farm children in the Grade School classes, the other children lived in the Owen city limits.

The Grade School consisted of eight classes - rooms of about 25 children each. Albert Schulze was the Grade School principal and the custodian who kept the furnaces and cleaned the classrooms was "Steve". The Bower children walked to school; later when there was transportation for high school students from surrounding ome room county schools the students rode in a covered wagon on sleight runners in winter and wheels in spring.

The high school had classrooms, a study hall, library and gym.

During recess in the grade school play yard there were swings, teeter totter and baseball was played.

No smoking was permitted on school grounds by teachers or students.

Sandwiches on home-baked bread were wrapped in newspaper and eaten in the classroom; city children went home for lunch.

Principal of the High School was Mr. Doonan.

Other farm children in Clark County attended one room schools in outlying areas for grade school, transferring to Owen High School from Longwood, Moody, Bright, etc.

Farmers went to Owen once a month to pick up their "milk check" and purchase 100# of flour, sugar, oatmeal, etc., needed to combine with the home-butchered meat and vegetables grown each summer - potatoes, cabbage, carrots, etc. Quilts were made from sheep's wool.

There was a garage, filling stations, grocery store, drug store, funeral home, newspaper office, post office and Protestant and Catholic churches.

The Bowers arrived in Owen, Clark County, by railroad. I do not know when the other businesses arrived.

Neillsville, Wisconsin, was the County Seat. In later years a 4-H County Fair was held.

Homes were heated by a wood burner; food cooled in the basement. Electricity arrived in 1940 from the Rural electric Association.

submitted by Gina Bower 2004 (great-niece of Ginger Reynolds) Lenard Bower was born in Hancock County, Iowa in 1888. He and his wife Mabel moved to Saugus, Montana, in about 1913 and homesteaded there. After fire took their home a second time, they moved their family (Margret, Edythe, George, Shirley, Albert, Harry, Lorabel and Leroy) to Longwood Township. The Bower homestead is located at what is now W14110 Fairground Ave., off Cty Rd. N.