Wallace Zachariah Nolyar Bowers was born on October 23, 1867 in Bascom, Florida, the son of Edd and Basha Hunter Bowers. He and his wife, Annetta Davis Bowers, had five sons and four daughters. Nolyar owned a farm and a small grocery store in the Liberty Hill Community. He organized the first Bowers Family Reunion on the second Saturday in July 1914 as a meal with his family and later invited his eight brothers and sisters. The tradition has continued each year, with reunions held throughout the U.S., primarily in Florida, and it has expanded to a three day weekend of cultural activities. Bowers family descendants have been business owners, educators, and productive citizens in various professions due to the strong bond of family unity, lineage, and heritage as an African American family.