Joe migrated with his siblings Mildred (Mrs. A.J. Hand), Ralph and Harry to Portland, OR after his parents sold their farm in Indian Creek Township, Iowa. His father moved to Oregon to start a fruit-ladder construction business, but it was not profitable. Joe's mother, a teacher and strong Methodist, died when he was 13 and Joe went to work selling newspapers, doing odd jobs and selling shirt collars in the Northwest. For a time he worked for the NW Steel Co. He was first married to Pearl Mae Ryman ca. 1917. Joe received a default judgement for divorce June 27, 1928. (She married his one time good friend and golf buddy Henry B. Shofner in March 1929). Joe married Mrs. Dorothy L. Smith 1/1/1929 and adopted her daughter, Marilyn. As a youth he got jobs as a caddy at the golf clubs where he met numerous business owners. Joe was able to learn the game and developed a 2 handicap. His skill made him a sought out golf partner with customers after he became the sales manager in Nov. 1923 for the Howard Covey Motor Car Company. They sold Pierce-Arrow, Cadillac, Chalmers and Maxwell brands. He often related that he sold more cars on the golf course than in the sales room. Because of his position at the company he was selected to organize and provide vehicles for the 1926 visit by Queen Marie of Romania to Maryhill Estate in Washington. By 1927 he was in the real estate business. When the 1929 depression hit, Joe was asked by the local bankers to help them liquidate distressed properties. A few years later and just months before the end of "Prohibition", he was requested to carry money to NY on behalf of the banks who were prepared to finance the boatloads of San Miguel Beer which were due to arrive in U.S. ports on the day that the law permitting the sale of malt beverages was approved by Congress. From his vantage point Joe saw an opportunity in the reawakened alcohol beverge industry. He first worked for Mr. J. B. Cella as his Control State Manager in the Roma Wine Co., then joined with the Menzies brothers in Parrott and Co. in San Francisco and finally started his own company, J.W. Brown and Assoc. The territory originally included all of the Liquor Board Control States but was later concentrated in the Northwest. 1962 proved to be a pinnacle year for Joe and his company. In anticipation of the opening of the Seattle's World Fair he rented two penthouses in the just completed Panorama House. From these residences and at the fairgrounds he entertained his many national business associates who were employed in the alcohol beverage industry. In the early 40s he and his family were the summer guests of the Sweet family in one of their cabins on the Flying Cloud Ranch in Montana. He loved the fishing and riding and and on July 30, 1945 he purchased the 320 acre Joe & Anna Samal Ranch which lay to the north and next to the FCR on the Wise River. He combined his property with that of Mr. "Shel" Sweet, and started the construction of a Richard Sundeleaf designed lodge. The partners purchased other homesteads in the Wise River Valley so that the ranch eventually encompassed approx. 2,000 acres owned & under federal lease. During the mid 1950s due to the derth of qualified cowhands after WWII, pieces of the ranch were divested down to the main homestead. Joe bought out Shel in 1955 and he as host and Dorothy as hostess transformed the place into a guest ranch first with Western Hotels and then independently for clients and friends. His neighbor, John Sconfienza, took the job as Foreman by 1961. John, "Chick", was the glue that held the place together. He built bridges, jack leg fences & ponds & looked after the horses & maintained the irrigation and buildings for decades. Joe loved Teacher's Scotch, Cadillacs, "Husky" football, gin rummy, fishing, bird hunting and sat tall in the saddle. He was well known in the beverage industry for decades. It was said of him that he could charm anyone when he put his mind to it. He had several favorite stories & phrases, one of which stands out: "Think well of me if you can, ill of me if you must, but for God's sake don't forget me!"
Joe migrated with his siblings Mildred (Mrs. A.J. Hand), Ralph and Harry to Portland, OR after his parents sold their farm in Indian Creek Township, Iowa. His father moved to Oregon to start a fruit-ladder construction business, but it was not profitable. Joe's mother, a teacher and strong Methodist, died when he was 13 and Joe went to work selling newspapers, doing odd jobs and selling shirt collars in the Northwest. For a time he worked for the NW Steel Co. He was first married to Pearl Mae Ryman ca. 1917. Joe received a default judgement for divorce June 27, 1928. (She married his one time good friend and golf buddy Henry B. Shofner in March 1929). Joe married Mrs. Dorothy L. Smith 1/1/1929 and adopted her daughter, Marilyn. As a youth he got jobs as a caddy at the golf clubs where he met numerous business owners. Joe was able to learn the game and developed a 2 handicap. His skill made him a sought out golf partner with customers after he became the sales manager in Nov. 1923 for the Howard Covey Motor Car Company. They sold Pierce-Arrow, Cadillac, Chalmers and Maxwell brands. He often related that he sold more cars on the golf course than in the sales room. Because of his position at the company he was selected to organize and provide vehicles for the 1926 visit by Queen Marie of Romania to Maryhill Estate in Washington. By 1927 he was in the real estate business. When the 1929 depression hit, Joe was asked by the local bankers to help them liquidate distressed properties. A few years later and just months before the end of "Prohibition", he was requested to carry money to NY on behalf of the banks who were prepared to finance the boatloads of San Miguel Beer which were due to arrive in U.S. ports on the day that the law permitting the sale of malt beverages was approved by Congress. From his vantage point Joe saw an opportunity in the reawakened alcohol beverge industry. He first worked for Mr. J. B. Cella as his Control State Manager in the Roma Wine Co., then joined with the Menzies brothers in Parrott and Co. in San Francisco and finally started his own company, J.W. Brown and Assoc. The territory originally included all of the Liquor Board Control States but was later concentrated in the Northwest. 1962 proved to be a pinnacle year for Joe and his company. In anticipation of the opening of the Seattle's World Fair he rented two penthouses in the just completed Panorama House. From these residences and at the fairgrounds he entertained his many national business associates who were employed in the alcohol beverage industry. In the early 40s he and his family were the summer guests of the Sweet family in one of their cabins on the Flying Cloud Ranch in Montana. He loved the fishing and riding and and on July 30, 1945 he purchased the 320 acre Joe & Anna Samal Ranch which lay to the north and next to the FCR on the Wise River. He combined his property with that of Mr. "Shel" Sweet, and started the construction of a Richard Sundeleaf designed lodge. The partners purchased other homesteads in the Wise River Valley so that the ranch eventually encompassed approx. 2,000 acres owned & under federal lease. During the mid 1950s due to the derth of qualified cowhands after WWII, pieces of the ranch were divested down to the main homestead. Joe bought out Shel in 1955 and he as host and Dorothy as hostess transformed the place into a guest ranch first with Western Hotels and then independently for clients and friends. His neighbor, John Sconfienza, took the job as Foreman by 1961. John, "Chick", was the glue that held the place together. He built bridges, jack leg fences & ponds & looked after the horses & maintained the irrigation and buildings for decades. Joe loved Teacher's Scotch, Cadillacs, "Husky" football, gin rummy, fishing, bird hunting and sat tall in the saddle. He was well known in the beverage industry for decades. It was said of him that he could charm anyone when he put his mind to it. He had several favorite stories & phrases, one of which stands out: "Think well of me if you can, ill of me if you must, but for God's sake don't forget me!"
