 Beginning in 1935 he served as an assistant to three of Oklahoma's U.S. congressmen, Percy Lee Gassaway, Robert P. Hill, and Gomer Griffith Smith.In 1938 he returned to Oklahoma and became managing editor of the "Shawnee News-Star".After the outbreak of World War II, Steed enlisted in the U.S. Army on October 29, 1942, and was assigned to the Anti-aircraft Artillery.