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Note: About Our Father..By Myrna Bowen In this picture dad or daddy as he was known to all of us,was a very gentle,quiet man.He did not like confrontation and was for the most part a "peacemaker".
He received very little schooling due to the fact he was the eldest son in his family and had to work along side his father to help carve out a living for the ever increasing family.He spoke little about his childhood until his later years.It was then I understood why he never spoke of his childhood,the fact of the matter is he never had one.He worked very hard all his life and was always willing to help.He had an uncanny ability to repair machinery of every description and was always called up on to fix every ones machinery in the community because no one could afford to take their machinery to the repair shops.This,of couse meant he often left what ever he was doing at home to go to help others.He was a very brave man and I was always amazed that he was never afraid of anything.He was very fond of his children and did all he could to make life easier for them.He had a ferocious appetite for knowledge,I am reminded when I attended school at Grassland and had access to the school library.I would bring books home for him to read.He could almost always concoct a remedy for almost any illness that did not require surgical intervention. Reese Bowen married Ladell Carothers March 21/1927 at Donaville Alberta.They had eight children,the last which was stillborn.Mom was a community minded person and always aspired to higher goals..She was a strict diciplinarian, and knew the value of hard work.Mom was most hospitable and fed any one who walked through the door..there was always seemed to be enough for some one else.She too was denied the priviledge of attending school.having instead to work at home and help care for her younger siblings.We are all indeed grateful for parents who instilled in us the desire to work hard and to always strive toward higher goals.Dad passed away sept.6 1977 at the age of 78 yrs.at the Parkland Nursing Home in Athabasca Alberta.Mother passed away December 10 th 1966 at the age of 59 yrs.at the Royal Alex, hospital Edmonton Alberta.
The following Written by Vernon Bowen
Reese Bowen first son of Willis Bowen Sr. was a quiet,patient, thoughtful man,who was never in a hurry.He farmed one half mile from Grandpa Bowen's homestead site pratically all his life.He retired and moved to Edmonton Alberta in.1965 where his wife Ladell passed away in 1966.He made frequent trips back to Amber Valley to visit Grand Pa Bowen,his daughter Joyce,and Obadiah, prior to passing away. As a kid, my brother Oliver and I loved teasing uncle Reese about driving so slow as he often took us with him in the old Pontiac sedan he drove at that time in the late 1940's and early 1950's.We would hold the gear shift in place for him as it was faulty and would slip out of gear.(We Loved it).Uncle Reese was gifted mechanically and could repair and fix mostly all farm type engines or machinery.He performed all the repair work on the Tractors Thrashing Machines Combines etc. I remember my dad Obadiah sending Oliver and I to get uncle Reese when there was a breakdown of any type or a problem with the farm equipment.I remember a team of horses running away with uncle Reese and I as we were coming down the hill from Lester Mapp's place.When it was clear that he had lost control of the team Uncle Reese told me to Jump out,fortunately I landed in the snow and no harm was done.Eventually the team broke away from the sled and uncle Reese who landed in a snow bank survived with out Injury .Since Uncle Reese remained on the farm and we saw him pratically everyday and since My dad Obadiah worked so closely with uncle Reese as children growing up my Brothers ,Sisters and I ,were fortunate indeed to have such a thoughtful kind uncle play such a prominent roll in our early life experiences.
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