In The Family 100 Years . . .

One hundred years ago, February 18, Burley Bowler and his wife Maud purchased the two yearold Daniels County Leader. On February 23, 1924 he published his first Leader issue.

It kind of sneaked up on us, and without much fanfare, we very quietly celebrate the Leader having been owned over 100 years by three generations of the Bowler family.

Larry, Burley’s eldest son, moved back to Scobey with his wife Beth and young family in 1945 after having served in the Marine Corps in Okinawa during WWII and became partners in the firm. They bought his dad out in 1948.

In 1996, Burley, “Burl” and wife Roz became owners and continue to own and operate the publication.

Each generation had children who grew up around ink, each expected to pack their weight especially if they planned on living at home. Some stayed in the newspaper business, but elsewhere. Burley’s youngest, Duane “Doc” Bowler ended his career at the Billings Gazette where he was the managing editor for many years. His son Mike was an editor with the Baltimore Sun for years.

Larry’s oldest son, Printer, became an accomplished author and wrapped up his career as a adjunct professor at the University of Montana journalism school. He was christened, Larry Chester Bowler but as an infant Larry and Burley took him to the print shop and pressed his feet in ink and stamped his foot prints onto several birth announcements to send to family and friends. Burley from then on called him his little Printer, to which he later legally changed his name.

The current operators . . . who skipped traditional secondary education, attended the University of the Daniels County Leader, and have nev...