George F. Rowe is noteworthy for his service as staff member to two Wisconsin politicians and for his activities in the agricultural field on the national and international level. Born and educated through high school in Menomonie, Wisconsin, Rowe attended Northwestern College at Watertown and received his B.A. in 1932 from the University of Wisconsin. He taught high school for three years in Kewaunee and Appleton prior to taking an M.A. in political science from the University of Chicago.
From 1937 to 1940 Rowe was on the staff of Senator Robert M. La Follette, Jr., first as a research assistant, then a speech writer and finally as the Senator's secretary. He assisted in the formation of the National Progressive Party of America.
Rowe began his involvement in agriculture with an appointment as a special assistant to the Director of Information of the U.S.D.A. in 1940. Responsible for promotional campaigns for wartime food canning, victory gardens, emergency farm recruitment and the prevention of forest fires, Rowe won a Silver Anvil award from the American Public Relations Association for outstanding achievement in public relations for his 1945 campaigns. In 1946 Rowe moved to the staff of Dairy Industries Supply Association and became secretary within a year. He was also a pioneer in the formation of the Dairy Society International, and as its first secretary played a key role in promoting dairy technology and progress in fifty foreign countries.
In 1953, Rowe was appointed secretary to Wisconsin Congressman Merlin Hull. Shortly thereafter Hull died; and in the special election of September 1953, Rowe ran as a Progressive for the vacant House seat. He lost in the primary to Democrat Lester Johnson.
Rowe subsequently returned to agriculture. At the time of his death in 1965, he was a staff assistant for the general sales manager of the Foreign Agricultural Service which was created in 1930 “to encourage and promote agriculture of the United States and to assist American farmers in adjusting their operations and practices to meet world competition and demand for farm products.”
Rowe was married to Mary Stilip and had two children, James and Mrs. Norman Hampton of Washington, D.C. His published writings include “The Common Defense,” a booklet on the development of the national economy, and numerous articles.
