Charles E. Gapen was born on November 13, 1886 and grew up in Monroe, Wisconsin. He
graduated from Monroe High School, and then the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1909 with
a Bachelor's in Agriculture. From there he worked as a factory laborer and farmer until he
started writing and editing for multiple publications. These included the Indiana Farmers'
Guide, the Country Gentleman magazine, and during World War I, the Red Cross. In 1921 Gapen
began working as a press writer for the US Department of Agriculture, and was then promoted
to the chief of the Department of Agriculture's press service in 1925. He worked in that
position for 11 years, then transferred to the USDA's Agricultural Engineering department,
where he worked as the Chief of Information. Gapen eventually retired in 1956 at the age of
70; at that time he was working as an Information Specialist at the USDA's Agricultural
Research Service. Throughout his career and retirement Gapen wrote poetry and prose in his
free time, some of which was published. Charles Gapen died in 1965 at the age of 79.
