Gilbert J. Bower was born April 11, 1884, in Wisconsin and when a small boy moved, with his parents, to Milbank, South Dakota, where they farmed. On June 2, 1907 he married Emma Bohn. The couple came to Foster County in 1911 and bought a farm near Melville. Mr. Bower operated a farm and was also the manager of an elevator. He retired from farming in 1919 and was a partner in a farm machinery business until 1930.
Mr. Bower was elected a County Commissioner in 1932 and served as chairman of the Board in 1940. In 1935, when the Foster County Welfare Board was organized, he was the first chairman.
Mr. Bower died in January 1940.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 83B