In 1911, Charles Daniel Brown was born in Kansas City, Missouri.  He was the youngest of five children born to D. Arthur Brown and Martha Amy Crouch.  Charles’ three oldest siblings, Bill, Rebecca, and Art were each born in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Charles’s father attended seminary at William Jewel College in Liberty, Missouri and ministered to a Baptist congregation in Salt Lake City.  The Browns returned to Kansas City in 1909.  Less than a year after Charles was born, his mother died.  At the time of her death, Charles’ father was employed as a partner in the Charles E. Brown printing company.  The Browns lived at 3218 Olive Street and attended the First Baptist Church in Kansas City. 

In 1915, Frances Cecelia Wunderlich was born in Kansas City, Missouri.  She was the older of two children born to Edward Albert Wunderlich and Frances Cecelia Mayer.  Frances’ father was raised on a farm near Leavenworth, Kansas.  As a boy, Edward taught himself to play the guitar and fiddle.  He performed at country-dances.  Edward also pitched for a minor league baseball team in Kansas.  He was employed as a linesman for Atlantic Telephone and Telegraph and retired from Southwest Bell.  Frances’ mother never worked outside the family’s home at 3416 South Benton Street in Kansas City.

Charles attended South West High School in Kansas City.  He was senior class president and editor of the school newspaper.  Charles graduated from South West in 1929 and matriculated at the University of Missouri in the fall.  At Mizzou, Charles was a member of Beta Theta Pi.  Subsequently, Charles briefly attended William Jewel College before enrolling at the University of Kansas.  At UK, Charles was elected editor of the school newspaper, The Daily Kansan.  Frances was also on the staff at The Daily Kansan.  She enrolled at UK after graduating from Kansas City Junior College in 1934.  Previously, Frances attended Central High School in Kansas City.  She was a member of the Aristotelian Literary Society and she graduated from Central in 1932.  Charles and Frances left UK and returned home to Kansas City in 1935.

In 1936, Charles got a job as a temporary editor for a newspaper in Perry, Iowa.  Charles’ father had learned of this vacancy through his contacts in the paper business.  In Perry, Charles was filling in for a man that had a long-term illness.  Frances joined Charles in Perry and they were married in Desmoines on February 24, 1936.  When the job in Perry ended, Frances and Charles both worked as reporters on a newspaper staff in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  This paper fell on hard times and their jobs were unexpectedly terminated.  Thus, after a brief return to Kansas City, Charles and Frances learned of work with The Daily Bulletin in Martinsville, Virginia.  For roughly two and a half years, from 1937 to 1940, Frances and Charles worked for The Daily Bulletin.  Charles was an editor and reporter and Frances was a proofreader.  The jobs in Martinsville provided valuable experience but their employment ended when the paper was sold.  They subsequently returned to Kansas City and lived with Charles’ parents while they searched for further work.

After some time searching, and equipped with a down payment from Charles’ father, Frances and Charles purchased a small weekly newspaper in San Marcos, Texas.  Putting their experience from The Daily Bulletin to work, Frances and Charles ran The Hays County Herald from 1940 to 1942.  Making ends meet at the Herald was always a struggle and, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the draft was imminent.  As the war sucked up men, money, and everyone’s future, Frances and Charles tried in vain to sell the Herald.  Eventually, they just closed the door, returned the keys, and walked away.  Frances returned home to Kansas City and Charles enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942. 

Charles was inducted into service at Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas.  Following basic training, he was assigned as a clerk in a training squadron at the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center (SAACC).  While at SAACC, Charles ran the base newspaper, the Yardbird.  From SAACC, Charles was transferred back to Randolph Field where he worked in the historical section.  In 1943, Frances gave birth to their first child, Frances Gay Brown, in Kansas City, Missouri.  By 1944, Charles was again transferred to Headquarters, Army Air Forces at Bolling Field in Washington, DC.  In 1945, SSgt. Charles D. Brown was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army Air Corps at Andrews Field in Maryland.

Prior to being discharged from the military, Charles secured a job with Trans-Radio Press.  This job was located in the Press Building in Washington, DC.  At Trans-Radio, Charles prepared wire news reports for radio broadcast.  After leaving service, Frances and Charles moved into an apartment in Suitland, Maryland.  Charles remained at Trans-Radio for approximately one year before being hired by NBC.  At NBC, Charles covered Capital Hill and wrote newscasts for live broadcast.  NBC was located in the Trans-Lux building on 14^th Street in Washington, DC.  Eventually, Charles and Frances moved from Suitland to another apartment on C Street in South East, Washington, DC. 

In late 1947, Charles was hired to work in the radio and television division of the Veterans Administration (VA).  At the VA, Charles wrote and produced a radio show called “The Veteran Wants to Know.”  This show was aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System at a time when many Americans looked to the VA for relief.  A regular feature of the show was to bring on important guests.  Living in the same apartment complex on C Street as Charles and Frances was a new U.S. Senator from Wisconsin.  Charles used this access to invite Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy to appear on the VA radio show.  Senator McCarthy gladly accepted this opportunity to be heard on “The Veteran Wants to Know.”

In 1949, Charles and Frances bought their first home on Quintana Street in Arlington County, Virginia.  In 1951, Frances gave birth to their second child, Daniel Wilson Brown.  About this same time, Charles was selected for a politically appointed position with the U.S. Postmaster General.  While at the VA, Charles had actively supported the Democratic National Committee.  Through this affiliation, Charles was offered appointment as the Confidential Assistant to the Assistant Postmaster General for Transportation.  Charles worked for the Assistant Postmaster General for Transportation, Jack Redding. 

With a Republican administration taking the reins of government in 1953, Charles used his understanding of the postal service to secure employment handling public relations for the Regular Common Carrier Conference.  The Regular Common Carrier Conference is a trade association for the trucking industry that is licensed by the government to do business with the public.  In 1960, the Browns moved to Maxwell Court in Mclean, Virginia.  Charles retired from the Common Carriers in 1976.   

In 1974, Frances became an original member of the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia.  By pursuing her artistic interests with the Mclean Art Club, Frances became acquainted with local art enthusiast, Marion Van Landingham.  As the first Director of the Art Center, Van Landingham was instrumental in soliciting Frances’ participation with the printmakers.  Frances made silkscreen prints for 12 years at the Torpedo Factory.                 

After retiring, Charles and Frances traveled to Poland, Peru, and China.  Additionally, Frances made numerous trips to Europe with her daughter, Gay.  Charles has remained active with the Mclean Citizens Association and as an advocate of Value Engineering.  In 2000, Charles and Frances moved from Mclean to their current residence in Fairfax, Virginia.