TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: The following news article is being posted in Ringgold County, Iowa because Darold Blauer, a native of Tingley, Iowa is a subject in the article. The news article, when found, was neither dated nor sourced but it is believed by this writer that it would have been in the early 1980s and most likely in a local newspaper servicing the Alton Bay, New Hampshire area.

Darold Blauer, an obituary of his is on the Ringgold County, Iowa web site, was adopted as a youth by John and Dolly Blauer, farmers south of Tingley, Iowa. Darold grew to manhood, married Rosemay Baker of Tingley and they farmed for several years with John Blauer on the family farm. later years were spent in Minnesota, Florida, and eventually retired in Des Moines, Iowa.

A man's lifetime quest for his family has led to a tearfully joyous reunion with two brothers that he hadn't seen in 54 years.

The three brothers, along with their three sisters, were abandoned by their parents in Ottumwa, Iowa in 1928, placed in an orphanage, then driven apart by adoption.

But last August, the oldest of the brothers, Virgil Bowen, 62, realized his dream of finding his long-lost family when he came face to face with younger brother Leslie Lawrence, 55.

"I was overcome with emotion," said Virgil, of Alton Bay, N.H., who was only 6 when he last saw his brothers and sisters. "For over 50 years I had dreamed of this moment.

"But when it actually happens you can only stand there and a voice inside you saying: 'This is your brother, this is your brother!'

"I looked him in the eye, thinking: 'His eyes look a lot like mine,' and I said, haltingly: 'Hi Leslie, I think I'm your brother.'"

The emotional reunion took place at Leslie's home in Gresham, Oregon., a continent away from Virgil's home in New England.

"I threw my arms around him," recalled Leslie, who was 6 months old when he was placed in the orphanage and who was the first of the Bowen children to be adopted. "Tears rolled down my cheeks and I hugged him."

After the two brothers and their wives talked excitedly for several hours, comparing a lifetime of memories, they called up a third brother Virgil had traced, Darold Blauer, 59, of Key West,Fla.

"I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming," Darold said. "I was near tears. Sitting there talking on the telephone to my two brothers was something that I only dreamed of before.

"My whole family suddenly just came back to me - like a fairy tale."

In February, Virgil and Darold were reunited when Darold was hospitalized and Virgil traveled to Florida to visit him.

"He came in to see me twice a day for two weeks and we just talked and talked and talked," Darold said.

Virgil - the only brother who wasn't adopted - is also the only one who still has his original last name, Bowen. He stayed in the orphanage for two years, then was raised in a foster home in Iowa.

In 1941, haunted by memories of his brothers and sisters, he began trying to trace them. He wrote letters to the orphanage, but got little information in return because of strict adoption laws.

Last April he telephoned the orphanage again - and learned that Leslie, too, had begun the same kind of search for his own past. The orphanage director revealed to each of them the identities and whereabouts of the other, and the brothers arranged to meet in Oregon.

Enroute to Oregon to meet Leslie, Virgil stopped off in Iowa to search for records of his family - and was overjoyed when a banker revealed to him that Darold was living in Key West.

The three brothers now say they are determined to track down their sisters: Beatrice Zola, born Oct. 21, 1914, in Shell Rock, Iowa; Beryl Viola, born June 14, 19165, in Shell Rock, and Viola May, born April 15, 1919, in Oelwein, Iowa. Their parents were Edward and Merle Bowen

Any Enquirer reader who has information about the sisters should write to Virgil Bowen at P. O. Box 23, Altond Bay, N.H. 03810.

~ Article written by Steve Coz

Transcription and submission by Ken Baker, May of 2014