DORTHY BROWN WAS MY FRIEND, MY TEACHER AND OFTEN MY CHAPERON. I LIVED ON CAMPUS STREET, AND DORTHY  LIVED JUST DOWN THE STREET. WHENEVER MY GIRL FRIENDS AND I WANTED TO GO SOMEPLACE SPECIAL (LIKE THE MID-NIGHT MOVIE AT THE JEFFERSON THEATER), DORTHY WAS ALWAYS WILLING TO BE OUR CHAPERON.

WITH THE HELP OF DORTHY BROWN AND MY MOM, I LEARNED TO COOK, CLEAN AND TO SEW, AS DORTHY WAS THE HOME ECONOMICS TEACHER AT SOUTH PARK HIGH SCHOOL FOR MANY YEARS.

DORTHY BROWN WAS BORN IN BARBERS HILL, TEXAS AND IN 1936 GRADUATED FROM BARBERS HILL HIGH SCHOOL.  IN 1938 HER FAMILY MOVED TO SOUTH PARK IN BEAUMONT, TEXAS. SHE ATTENDED LEE JUNIOR COLLEGE FOR 2 YEARS, LAMAR JUNIOR COLLEGE FOR 1 YEAR, AND RECEIVED HER DEGREE IN 1940 FROM STEPHEN F. AUSTIN COLLEGE.  IN SEPTEMBER, 1940 DORTHY BROWN BEGAN HER JOB AS HOME ECONOMICS TEACHER AT SOUTH PARK HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE SHE TAUGHT COOKING AND SEWING.

 ALVIN "SHORTY" BOWEN WAS BORN IN BRONSON, TEXAS, WHERE HE GREW UP AND ATTENDED HIGH SCHOOL.  IN 1940 SHORTY ENTERED THE  MARINES TO  SERVE  HIS COUNTRY DURING WORLD WAR II, AND UPON HIS DISCHARGE FROM THE MARINES IN SEPTEMBER, 1942, HE JOINED THE MERCHANT MARINES.

HOW DID THE PATHS OF THESE TWO YOUNG  PEOPLE CROSS?  DURING WORLD WAR II, THE USO CLUB FOR OUR SERVICE MEN WAS LOCATED IN THE BASEMENT OF THE EDSON HOTEL  IN BEAUMONT. EVERY  FRIDAY  NIGHT DORTHY BROWN WORKED AT  THE  USO  CLUB, PLANNING THE MENUS AND HELPING TO SERVE THE YOUNG SERVICEMEN AS THEY CAME IN.

ON  A SPECIAL  FRIDAY NIGHT, ANOTHER SOUTH PARK YOUNGSTER, GERALD UPSHAW BROUGHT ALVIN BOWEN INTO THE USO CLUB, AND WORD HAS IT FROM VERY RELIABLE SOURCES THAT WHEN ALVIN BOWEN SAW DORTHY FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME, HE INFORMED HIS FRIEND, GERALD THAT DORTHY WAS THE GIRL HE WAS GOING TO MARRY.  NO WAY, SAID GERALD, BUT TIME WOULD TELL THE STORY.

AT FIRST DORTHY REFUSED ALVIN'S INVITATIONS - BUT "SHORTY" WAS VERY PERSUASIVE, AND EVEN HAD TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS WITH MAMA BROWN - AND MAMA BROWN PERSUADED DORTHY THAT SHE SHOULD GO OUT WITH THIS YOUNG SERVICE MAN SINCE HE WOULD SOON BE LEAVING. THUS BEGAN A SEPTEMBER TIL DECEMBER COURTSHIP, WITH LETTERS AND PHONE CALLS, AND IN DECEMBER, 1944 ALVIN BOWEN AND DORTHY BROWN WERE MARRIED - AND GERALD UPSHAW HAD TO PAY OFF THAT FIFTY CENT BET.

  AL ALWAYS ENJOYED WORKING ON EQUIPMENT, AND REPAIRED HIS FIRST RADIO AT THE BROWN'S RESIDENCE ON CAMPUS STREET.  WHILE IN THE MERCHANT MARINES, HE TOOK A CORRESPONDENCE COURSE ON RADIO AND TELEVISION REPAIRS THROUGH NRI FROM WASHINGTON, D.C. - AND EVEN TODAY AL IS ALWAYS STUDYING ABOUT REPAIRS AND "THE BEST WAY."

UPON LEAVING THE MERCHANT MARINES, AL BOWEN WOULD TAKE A JOB WITH GULF STATES UTILITIES, WHERE HE REMAINED FOR 34 YEARS UNTIL HE RETIRED IN 1977.

IN 1945 DORTHY AND AL BUILT THEIR FIRST HOME AT 165 E. THREADNEEDLE, AND IN JANUARY, 1946, AL DECIDED IT WAS A GOOD TIME TO START A BUSINESS, AND WITH VERY LITTLE MONEY, BOWEN  RADIO BEGAN-WORKING OUT OF THE BOWEN'S HOME ON THREADNEEDLE.  THE GARAGE WAS THE SERVICE  DEPARTMENT,  AND  DORTHY MANAGED THE OFFICE, THE TELEPHONE AND SALES. SINCE AL HAD A FULL TIME JOB WITH GULF STATES UTILITIES, EVENINGS AND NIGHTS FOUND HIM REPAIRING RADIOS. LATER A FULL TIME SERVICEMAN WAS HIRED.

IN FEBRUARY, 1947 AL AND BOWEN RADIO BECAME A DEALER FOR PHILCO PRODUCTS, AND HAD THE FIRST PHILCO RADIOS TO COME INTO BEAUMONT. BY 1948 BOWEN RADIO HAD  TWO  FULL TIME SERVICEMEN, AND BUSINESS WAS BEGINNING TO THRIVE.

ON SEPTEMBER 4, 1948, AL BOWEN WOULD ADD TELEVISION SALES AND SERVICE TO HIS BUSINESS.  TV CHANNEL 2 OUT OF HOUSTON, TEXAS WOULD BE BRINGING TELEVISION TO BEAUMONT, AND AL BOWEN AND BOWEN RADIO WOULD BE THE FIRST TO BRING TELEVISION SETS TO BEAUMONT,  ALTHOUGH HENSHAW AND SPARKS RADIO BOTH CLAIMED TO BE THE FIRST TELEVISION DEALERS IN BEAUMONT.

THE FIRST TELEVISION SET SOLD BY AL BOWEN WAS PURCHASED BY MR. BREWER, WHO OWNED QUALITY GROCERY (WHICH WAS LOCATED IN THE BUILDING NOW OCCUPIED BY OUR SOUTH PARK POLICE SUB-STATION), AND WAS SET UP IN MR. BREWER'S HOME IN JULY, 1948, TWO MONTHS BEFORE TELEVISION ACTUALLY CAME INTO BEAUMONT. IN FACT, AL BOWEN HAD 5 TV SETS OUT BEFORE CHANNEL 2 EVER WENT ON THE AIR.   DO YOU REMEMBER THOSE SNOWY PICTURES AND TEST PATTERS WE FIRST RECEIVED ON OUR TV SETS?

1950 WOULD BRING THE BIRTH OF AL AND DORTHY'S FIRST CHILD, A SON, ALVIN BOWEN, JR.  ALSO IN 1950, BOWEN RADIO WOULD BECOME BOWEN TV AND APPLIANCE AND WOULD BECOME A DEALER FOR WHITE APPLIANCES, SELLING   REFRIGERATORS, WASHERS AND DRYERS.  IN THOSE DAYS REFRIGERATORS WERE VERY HARD TO GET, AND QUITE OFTEN AL WOULD COME HOME FROM WORK TO FIND THAT DORTHY HAD SOLD THE REFRIGERATOR OUT OF THEIR KITCHEN, AND ORDERED ANOTHER ONE FOR THEM.

IN 1954 A DAUGHTER, DELMA BOWEN, WAS BORN TO AL AND DORTHY, AND BY 1957 BOWEN TV AND APPLIANCE HAD GROWN SO LARGE, IT WAS NECESSARY FOR A LOCATION OTHER THAN THEIR HOME AND GARAGE AT 165 E. THREADNEEDLE TO BE FOUND TO OPERATE THEIR BUSINESS.

THUS THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 3655 HIGHLAND AVENUE WAS PURCHASED, AND CONSTRUCTION  BEGAN  ON  THE  NEW LOCATION FOR BOWEN TV AND APPLIANCE, WHICH OPENED IN FEBRUARY, 1957. ALSO, IN 1957 BOWEN TV AND APPLIANCE BECAME THE FIRST DEALER IN BEAUMONT FOR CURTIS-MATHES PRODUCTS. (I STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL CURTIS-MATHES CABINET WITH RADIO, TURN TABLE AND REEL TO REEL TAPE PLAYER WHICH WE PURCHASED FROM BOWEN APPLIANCE - WHICH STILL WORKS.) IN 1973 A 4,000 SQUARE FOOT ADDITION WAS ADDED TO THE MAIN BUILDING AS A WAREHOUSE AND SERVICE FACILITY. AL BOWEN, JR. WOULD EVENTUALLY JOIN HIS DAD AND MOM AT BOWEN TV AND APPLIANCE, WHERE HE STAYED UNTIL 1992 WHEN HE LEFT FOR DALLAS, TEXAS.  THE COMPANY GREW TO 12 EMPLOYEES IN ADDITION TO DORTHY AND AL, AND THE SHOW ROOM OF BOWEN APPLIANCE HELD MANY APPLIANCES ON DISPLAY, AND THE WAREHOUSE WAS ALWAYS FULL OF INVENTORY, AS THEY BECAME DEALERS FOR MANY MAJOR APPLIANCES. BUT TODAY, THE DELIVERY OF APPLIANCES IS QUICKER, AND IT NO LONGER IS NECESSARY TO RECEIVE A FREIGHT CAR OF APPLIANCES, OR FOR THE WAREHOUSE TO HOLD A FULL ASSORTMENT.

SINCE HIS RETIREMENT IN 1977 FROM GULF STATES UTILITIES, AL BOWEN VOTES HIS FULL ATTENTION TO BOWEN TV AND APPLIANCE, AND DORTHY STILL MANAGES AND OPERATES THE STORE. BOTH AL AND DORTHY SAY THEY HAVE NO PLANS TO RETIRE AS THEY ENJOY THEIR BUSINESS AND WORK.

DURING THE YEARS AL AND DORTHY HAVE OPERATED THEIR TV AND APPLIANCE BUSINESS, THEY HAVE RECEIVED MANY AWARDS  AND CITATIONS FOR  THEIR OUTSTANDING SERVICE AND SALES.  FEDDERS AIR CONDITIONING AWARDED THEM WITH A CITATION FOR THE TOP 10 AIR CONDITIONER DEALERS IN THE 40 COUNTY EAST TEXAS AREA, AND PHILCO AND FRIGIDAIRE AWARDED THEM WITH "MASTERS  DEGREES  IN SALESMANSHIP."

BOWEN APPLIANCE HAS THE OLDEST OPERATING DISHWASHER, A 1956 KITCHEN AID WHICH IS STILL IN USE IN THEIR BUSINESS, AND HAS WON 3 CONTESTS IN RECENT YEARS. AND AL AND DORTHY ALSO RECALL THE DAYS WHEN WASHING MACHINES HAD TO BE BOLTED TO THE FLOOR, AND THEY WERE SO HEAVY IT TOOK 2 MEN TO DELIVER A WASHING MACHINE.

BOWEN APPLIANCE STILL SUPPLIES MANY BUILDERS, HOMOWNERS AND APARTMENTS WITH APPLIANCES.  68% OF THEIR BUSINESS IS KITCHEN AID APPLIANCES, AND 32% OF THEIR BUSINESS IS HOME APPLIANCE SERVICE. THEY  ARE  INDEPENDENT SERVICE CONTRACTORS FOR 5 COUNTIES, JEFFERSON, ORANGE, HARDIN, JASPER AND TYLER, AND SHIP REPAIR PARTS ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES TO DEALERS AND INDIVIDUALS. THEY ARE ONE OF THE FEW  SERVICE  COMPANIES  THAT THE FACTORY REFERS CUSTOMERS TO, AND THEIR FAX MACHINE STAYS BUSY WITH ORDERS FOR PARTS TO BE SHIPPED OUT.

REX AND KATHY JOHNSON  HAVE PURCHASED THE PROPERTY AND ARE TRAINING TO BECOME FUTURE OWNERS OF BOWEN APPLIANCE. THE WORK OF AL AND DORTHY HAS BEEN A LABOR OF LOVE - AND WE APPRECIATE AND THANK THEM FOR BEING A PART OF SOUTH PARK!