Longtime appraiser bids county farewell

It was a hot summer day when Steve Brown interviewed for Franklin County’s appraiser position.

“It was a day similar to today,” Brown said at his retirement reception Wednesday.

It was 1985, a time when the commission chambers were housed in the Franklin County Courthouse.

“You didn’t have much room to turn around,” he said of the chambers.

Needless to say, Brown got the job — a position he held for nearly 24 years.

“It worked out pretty well for me,” Brown told a group of family, friends and fellow employees who attended the reception.

Commissioners gave Brown a framed picture of the courthouse, a thank-you gift for his years of service.

“Hey, I’ve seen that building before,” Brown said as he opened the present.

And, indeed, he has.

“The courthouse was built in 1893, so it’s close to 120 years old,” he said. “I’ve spent 24 years there, which I think is a pretty good percentage of the life of the building.”

When Brown moved to Ottawa, Ed Taylor — now the commission chairman — was his neighbor on Maple Street.

“One of the first things I remember about his house was a low chain-link fence,” Brown said.

The fence was for Taylor’s basset hound.

“One time when I came home [the dog] was on my side of the fence, and he was crying because he couldn’t get back over,” Brown said, laughing.

In May, the county commission hired Philip Dudley, Osawatomie mayor, to succeed Brown.

“I look forward to seeing you all around the community in the coming months, years, maybe decades,” Brown said.

Jenalea Myers can be e-mailed at jmyers@ottawaherald.com.