Jim and Daurice Bowmer

Along the banks of the Lampasas River in West Bell County, native plants and trees grow in Profusion in their natural habitats, attracting all manners of birds and animals, and together, they create a place of beauty and of peace.

Daurice and Jim Bowmer have enjoyed this pastoral setting on the Bowmer Ranch for many years. Through generous hearts, they decided to share it with chronically ill children, and, thus, the Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children was born.

It is for this unselfish act of generosity and the dedicated work that it took to see their vision take physical form that the Bowmers are named the recipients of the first Frank W. Mayborn Humanitarian Award.

For the many generations to come, children who have been stricken with dreaded diseases will be able to commune with nature and enjoy the wonders of the great outdoors under conditions that give them a sense of freedom while the care they need is at hand.

The Bowmers' ranch is near Youngsport, and it was there they created the Cen-tral Texas Natural Laboratory several years ago to promote interest in native plants and animals. They also donated land for the Peaceable Kingdom Baptist Church, and Mrs. Bowmer was in charge of the remodeling of the building. The church since has been the subject of artists and photographers.

After the death of the Bowmers’ grandson, Charles Bowmer Schreiner V, from a heart problem when he was nearly a year old, and after two other grandchildren developed childhood diabetes, the Peaceable Kingdom Baptist Church was asked by the Bowmers to start the Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children, a retreat for chronically ill children. Working with Scott & White Hospital, the Church brought chronically ill children and their families to the Bowmer Ranch to fish, hike and picnic there. Plans were developed for the church to build a retreat for the children, their families and medical personnel on a tract of more than 100 acres donated to the retreat from the ranch. The first building, completed in 1990, is stone, air-conditioned structure of some 3,500 square feet. It will accommodate up to 20 children and medical personnel. Since that time, a storage building and a tree house have been completed, and the planning has not stopped.

Mrs. Bowmer, who has chaired the retreat project from the beginning, already is making plans for the next building. Within five years, she hopes the retreat will accommodate at least 80 people at a time (including children, medical personnel and families or support groups) in continuous summer sessions, and have retreats and training sessions through the remainder of the year.

Mrs. Bowmer's daughter, Mary Helen Schreiner, wrote of her mother: "She is enthusiastically planning trails she can never walk, for children to be using not only now but through the years to come."

Mrs. Schreiner also pointed out that Mrs. Bowmer has carried on the work at the retreat while in poor health, crippled with arthritis and I bad back, and was 71 years old and using a wheelchair when the first building was begun.

"At an age when most people consider themselves 'retired' or 'senior citizens,' she is engaged in full-time humanitarian work. Of course, she is doing all this without compensation and contributes not only their time but also what she can materially," Mrs. Schreiner added.

Mrs. Bowmer also has been active in many other pursuits in Bell County over the years. She has taught children's Sunday school and was active in PTA, Girl Scouts and other children's activities. She and her sister, Charlene Sewell, started the first art gallery in Salado, sending the Bell County village on its way to be-coming an art center. After the Texas Film Commission was started, she also was active in promoting Central Texas as a site for filming movies.

Jim Bowmer, a Temple attorney, has been deeply involved in civic and service work in the area. He has taught a Sunday school class at First Baptist Church in Temple for more than 40 years, has been president and a longtime member of the Temple Junior College board of trustees, and has been a constant advocate, and supporter of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and of Baylor University in Waco. He has been an active member and held leadership roles in the Kiwanis Club, is a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas and has received the DAR Medal of Honor. He is a former president of the State Bar of Texas. As a practicing attorney, he has spent many hours in uncompensated legal work for thousands of people.

While Mrs. Bowmer serves as the chairman of the Peaceable Kingdom Retreat for Children, Jim Bowmer serves as a member of its board and devotes much time to its development.

Of course, the Bowmers are not paid for their services, but their “payment” may be explained in this comment from Mrs. Bowmer after initial visits to the Bow-mer Ranch from chronically ill children and when the announcement was made that the retreat would be built:

“Scott & White brings out children with cancer, leukemia, heart problems, mus-cular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and similar chronic health problems. They also bring their parents and friends. We usually can’t tell the sick ones from the well ones. Even the sickest have climbed into the tree house, paddled in the spa and pool, caught some fish, and once even petted a little fawn.”

So, the Bowmers’ gift of the land, the time and energy spent on establishing the retreat and the continuing efforts to see the retreat grow in its field of service is rewarded each time a child–a critically ill child–catches a few minutes of happi-ness in that “peaceable kingdom” on the Lampasas River.

- - from award program Wednesday, October 16, 1991