Okel Harrison Boylan

In the spring of 1926, Okel Harrison Boylan came from Brimson, Missouri to Grand county. Known by his friends as Casey or Doc, he came at the age of 23 to break out the sod and began a farming operation in partnership with his older brother, Guy Boylan of Macksville, Kansas. Much of the land in the area surrounding Guy's land was owned by others at Macksville, and this too was "put to the Plow" by Casey, and subsequently farmed on a rental basis.

Casey lived alone in a small wooden building built on 4 x 4 skids. To earn extra money he did custom "sod-bust-ing' for .25 per acre for neighbors. If the field needed to be plowed was quite a way from a home, he would fill a five-gallon cream can with fresh water, chain his "house" behind the plow which was hitched to a McCormick-Deering 22-36 gasoline tractor, and move slowly across the prairie, setting up a temporary residence at the field to be plowed.

In June, 1931, Casey traveled to Buterfield, Missouri, for his marriage to Theresa Johnson, to whom he had been engaged for several months. They immediately returned to Grant county.

The newleyweds set up housekeeping in his one-room shack and lived there for several months, until a small three-room house could be built.

Their home and farming operation was located five miles east and six miles north of Hickok, where John Fletcher and Patricia Ann were born.

In 1942, Casey and Theresa purchased a quarter of land two and one half miles east and one mile north of Hickok and moved there with their family into a roomy concrete basement dwelling. In 1947 they built a modern home on top of the basement. The family lived there until Casey's death in February of 1950. The home and land was later sold, and the partnership with Guy Boylan and his bride Eula Brewer daughter of Eual and Mary Brewer of south Grant county, continued to farm six quarters of land being rented. Daughter Patricia married Don Bradkley of Moscow, Kansas and they made their home in Grant county and reared four children.

During his lifetime, Casey was active in community affairs, particularly education, as he had to quit school in the sixth grade when his father died. He served on the school boards of Rock Ilsand in the thirties, and Pioneer in the early forties. He was instrumental in the consolidation of several on-room school districts to form what is presently the Red Rock school, constructed in 1947 and served on that board until his death.

In 1953, Theresa married H.A. Rideout of Hobbs, New Mexico, and spent eighteen years in many parts of the United States and Canada as he was in the gas filed contruction business. After his death in 1971, she bought a home in Ulysses and presently resides there.

In 1963, John and Eula built their present home on the northeast quarter of 30-28-25 which they purchased in 1959. In 1973 they incorporated the farm operation known as Boylan Farms, Inc. They still farm much of the land broken from sod by Casey in the twenties. During the fifties they began irrigating, and presenly 2500 acres of the farm is being watered from nine deep wells.

John and Eula have three children. Jana Sue, Dana Lyn, and Kelly Craig. Jana Sue is married to Anthony Lee Leddy and they are engaged in farming with Boylan Farms, Inc. They have a duaghter, Molly Tenille.

Dana married Rod Kreie of Ulysses, and resides in Garden City, where he is an accountant. Kelly graudated from Kansas State School of Architecture in May, '81.

Jana and dana are both graduates of Southwestern College of Winfield, Kansas, and are teaching school in Grand and Kearny counties.