Across the Arkansas River, a stones throw from Wichita prestigious and law-abiding families, sat the much vilified but lucrative businesses in the township of Delano. Saloons and dance halls, Brothels with their half-dressed prostitutes, fanning themselves on a thick August nights…Men looking for a reprieve from cattle herding, with money in their pockets and fun on their minds. This is how Delano became to be known as Wichita’s little sister.

Paramount characters in this scandalous scene were two dance hall owners by the names of Joe Lowe and Edward Beard; Rowdy Joe and Red Beard, as they would later be known.

Standing about five feet seven inches and heavy set, Joe may have appeared less menacing than the red-haired, six foot Red. Sworn enemies, their establishments were similar in appearance and simple functionality, but the characters of these two men were different as they could be. The trouble between the two arose, allegedly, because of Red’s dislike of Joe’s frontier reputation and success in the saloon business, which Red deeply resented. Red’s dream was to get Joe out of the way, thus crowning himself “King of Delano”.

While Joe ran his own business with his wife, Rowdy Kate, Red relied upon his mistress, Josephine DeMerritt, and Walter and Carrie Beebe to manage his saloon. Like most establishments in Delano, the “facilities” were crude and placed in the rear, next to rooms for customers who wanted more than a drink or a dance. The two dance halls carried on in a relatively peaceful manner until a showdown occurred between Joe Lowe and Red Beard on the night of October 27, 1873.

Many tried to retell the events, but the full story has never been told. Indeed, it does seem as Red was jealous of Joe’s reputation for his ownership of the “swiftest place in Kansas” and no cowboy could say he had lived until he had visited Joe’s. This, then, was the gnawing at Red. On that fateful night, while tragically drunk and temperamental, Red went to his room and returned with a shotgun and a pistol. He went to the window of Joe’s and shot at him, creasing his neck but not fatally wounding him. A sniper exercise ensued between the two until a wounded Red retreated across the river. While Joe later turned himself in, Red lingered in agony in his home for three weeks until he passed away on Tuesday, November 11 at the age of 28.

The Wichita Eagle reported that Red had been well educated. and raised Christian. His family knew nothing of his western life. Though divorced, his former wife Deborah, an intelligent and refined lady, came to Wichita to take charge of his affairs. Jo DeMerritt continued to run the saloon and there had been no diminution in attendance as a consequence of his death. Joe escaped jail and fled west. Once safe in the knowledge that Joe was long gone, Mayor Hope claimed he once marched down to the rivers edge and told Rowdy Joe and his crew to get lost. It is highly doubtful. Joe Lowe died in a Denver Saloon in 1899 at the age of 72 after insulting the Denver Police Department and was shot by a former policeman. Seven years after Joe left town, the prostitutes, gamblers and pimps were shipped out and Delano was incorporated into Wichita.

One man was, Young, tall and envious. The other middle aged. short in stature and temper and charismatic. Both were legends in the Wild and Woolly days of Wichita and Delano.