[9] Dow was discharged after the Armistice ended the war in November 1918 and subsequently returned to the Burlington Daily News as the paper's city editor.

[10] In addition, he acquired his initial political experience as secretary of the Burlington Republican Committee's 1921 mayoral nominating convention.

[13] As an adult, he maintained an interest in sports including golf and tennis, participated in numerous tournaments, and won several amateur championships.

[14][15] Dow was also active in social and charitable organizations, including the Ethan Allen Club and the advisory board of the Burlington-area Salvation Army.

[1] Dow later left the newspaper business for a career in public relations and advertising and was president of his own agency, Dow-Peterson, Inc.[16] In 1932 he was a successful Republican candidate to represent Burlington's Ward Five on the board of aldermen.

[25] In March, Dow defeated incumbent mayor James Edmund Burke by 222 votes, 3,143 to 2,921 and took office for a two-year term.

[1] Dow was later active in the financial services industry, and served as vice president of Edward E. Mathews, a Boston-based mutual funds specialist.