Eminent Farmer
County: Fall River
Ivan L. Barkley was born in Cherokee County, Iowa, April 12, 1886. His education includes two years of prep school at Morningside College and one year of pharmacy at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
Barkley apparently had no plans as a young man of becoming a South Dakota rancher. He needed money to finish his pharmacy studies so he went to Fall River County and filed a homestead claim. He planned to prove up on the claim, sell out and return to school. That was 50 years ago. He is still on the homestead which has now grown to more than 7,200 acres.
Ivan Barkley and Esther Swanberg were married in 1913. The Barkley’s raised a family of four boys and two girls. Three of them are college graduates and all have been educated beyond high school. Two of the boys, Lester and Leland, are now ranching on their own, Edwin is in the insurance business, and Raymond is a geologist. One daughter, Berggren, resides in Scottsbluff, Nebraska; and Agnes Brimmer resides in Hot Springs. There are 13 grandchildren.
He has a commercial beef herd of about 600 herefords and 100 head of sheep. Although Barkley never went into purebred breeding he maintains a high type of commercial herefords and sells his calf crop on the feeder market.
Barkley has always taken his part in local government and community activities. He has been a member of the local school board over 40 years. In the early days he taught school for several years at the salary of $40 to $50 per month. He is now a member of the County School Reorganization Board.
He has served on the County ASC Committee, has been on the County Extension Board for 26 years and has been a supervisor of the Soil Conservation District for 10 years. He has been a 4-H Club Leader, County Weed Board member and member of the County Livestock Improvement Association. He is a member of the Ardmore Community Church.