Former cattleman serves as gate-keeper at reservoir
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff reporter
Joe and Wanda Brown are new gate house keepers this season at Marion Reservoir. They are stationed at Cottonwood Point and also work Wednesdays and Thursdays at Hillsboro Cove. This is the first time they have been to Kansas.
Joe spent many years as a cattleman at Bridgeport, Texas. He ran cows and traded them, buying and selling. He once owned a bull which originally came from Harris Angus Farm at Marion.
Joe also raised wheat for pasture and baled hay grazer and coastal Bermuda grass for cash.
In more recent years, Joe managed a full-service gas station in Wichita Falls, Texas, until it was closed.
Wanda was born and raised in Missouri. Her 15-year marriage to Joe is her second. Between the two of them, they have six children. All of them live at Bridgeport.
The couple has 18 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
They both agreed that Marion Reservoir is the nicest one they've seen.
"I've never seen one with so many camping spots on the water," Wanda said.
She said one of the first things they noticed when they arrived was the tie-downs provided at their camping site. They knew they were in tornado country. Already they have had to go to a shelter when storms were threatening this summer..
Joe travels around the camping area about three times a day to check for anything broken or out of order. He also posts reservation dates at various sites and collects "occupied" signs.
Wanda uses the computer in the gate house to check campers in and out and make reservations. Joe is learning to do it, too.
They work Sunday through Thursday each week and are off Friday and Saturday. They said they have been checking out some of the towns and sights in the area.
The couple ownS a motor home which is located across the way from the gate house. They brought along a 19-year-old cockatiel and a three-year-old Chihuahua named Midget.
They became interested in gate keeping through a nephew who works as one. They became acquainted with others through their travels.
Wanda said they had been discussing the idea for a while.
"It took me two years to convince Joe to do it," she said.
He has health problems which make it difficult for him to work at a strenuous job, but his work at the reservoir is light enough that he can enjoy it.
Joe said their children hardly ever came to see them at Wichita Falls but now that they are in Kansas, several of them have visited and more are planning to visit. Joe's 80-year-old mother recently spent three weeks with them.
The Browns have a one-year contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with an option to stay an additional two years. Wanda said they wanted to try it first to see if they would like it before committing to a longer term.
"You couldn't find a nicer bunch of people to work with," she said of their fellow employees. "Everyone has told us they want us to stay, so I suppose we will."
The season runs from May 20 to Oct. 10.
