· Sheriff Fay F. Brown's Badge: Pearl and Delbert· It’s September 7, 1927, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Downtown’s Fall Festival Frolic begins with a parade. * Pearl Albrecht, 15, hurried three doors east from her house on Ave A. west, to visit her friend, Delbert Wright, 14. Even though he had promised everything would be ready in time, she had to see for herself. As Pearl walked into Delbert’s open-door garage, she said, “Hello Delbert. I hope you’re as excited as I am about tonight.” Delbert … [Read more...] about Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Pearl and Delbert
Behind the Books Blog
Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Line-of-Duty Deaths
· Sheriff Fay F. Brown's Badge: Line-of-Duty Deaths· It’s September 1, 1927. Reno County Sheriff Fay Brown is driving to Wichita to attend a funeral service for a Wichita motorcycle officer who was killed in a pistol battle with bandits. * Fay understood death, or at least the ramifications of death. When both his parents died while he was a young child, his life drastically changed. Fay was farmed out, adopted by George Gorman, an elderly farmer, and raised with the help of George’s grown … [Read more...] about Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Line-of-Duty Deaths
Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Wilkinson’s Watermelon
· Sheriff Fay F. Brown's Badge: Wilkinson's Watermelon· (Conclusion - Part 2 of 2) It’s Sunday night, August 21, 1927 in Hutchinson, Kansas. Earlier, two boys were caught by Old Man Wilkinson as they were attempting to steal a prized watermelon from his melon patch. Reno County Sheriff Fay F. Brown was called and responded to the scene from his home. He contacted Wilkinson and collected the boys. * The boys were eager to leave Wilkinson’s property. When ordered, they jumped into the … [Read more...] about Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Wilkinson’s Watermelon
Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Wilkinson’s Watermelon
· Sheriff Fay F. Brown's Badge: Wilkinson's Watermelon· (Part 1 of 2) It’s Sunday night, August 21, 1927 in Hutchinson, Kansas. Cora and Fay Brown are having a conversation while Pal, their one-year-old German shepherd, is lying on the floor, dreaming. * Pal’s asleep. He’s no Rin-Tin-Tin, but he’s an intelligent and handsome German police dog. However, Pal can be fiercely protective of Cora, matron and cook of the Reno County Jail, and every prisoner knows it. “The farmers can stop … [Read more...] about Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Wilkinson’s Watermelon
Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Rin-Tin-Tin the Police Dog
· Sheriff Fay F. Brown's Badge: Rin-Tin-Tin the Police Dog· It’s Friday night, August 19, 1927, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Fay and Cora Brown are home with their German police dog, Pal. The temperature is unseasonably mild. * “There’s another Rin-Tin-Tin movie coming to town next month,” said Cora. “I think Old Pal heard you say Rinty’s name,” replied Fay. “He’s looking around.” “Rinty must be getting up there in age,” said Cora. “Do you think he’s slowing down? Those movies require a lot of … [Read more...] about Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Rin-Tin-Tin the Police Dog
Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Martin E. Jolliffe and Oil Hill
· Sheriff Fay F. Brown's Badge: Martin E. Jolliffe and Oil Hill· It’s Wednesday, August 10, 1927. Reno County Sheriff’s Deputy Martin E. Jolliffe is returning to Hutchinson, Kansas, on the Hutchinson Southern Railway after picking up an alleged automobile thief in Ponca City, Oklahoma. * Reno County Deputy Martin E. Jolliffe, 64, and his prisoner, Ralph Fleeman, 26, were preparing to board the train at Ponca City, Oklahoma, when Jolliffe struck up a conversation with Tom Slick, a highly … [Read more...] about Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Martin E. Jolliffe and Oil Hill
Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Kansas City Monarchs Baseball
· Sheriff Fay F. Brown's Badge: Kansas City Monarchs Baseball· It's Friday, July 29, 1927, in Hutchinson, Kansas. The day is heating up. It will be a scorcher. * The past week had been a challenge for Sheriff Fay Brown, 36. He was skilled at catching criminals, but having them behave and keeping them locked up in an old jail, was another matter. Every day, prisoner Bill Coyle was acting crazier; like a bad virus, Roy Jones was mimicking Coyle’s destructive behavior; and Truman Reynolds was … [Read more...] about Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Kansas City Monarchs Baseball
Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Bad Boy of Arlington
· Sheriff Fay F. Brown's Badge: Bad Boy of Arlington· * It was July 19, 1927. Truman Reynolds, 18, had rubbed Reno County Sheriff Fay F. Brown the wrong way ever since the boy was fifteen-years-old. The youth, who the local paper had dubbed the “Bad Boy of Arlington,” (located 15 miles SW of Hutchinson) was pure trouble. * Sheriff Fay Brown was sick in bed on the second floor of his residence when, shortly before midnight, he heard a noise on the west side of the jail building. He peered … [Read more...] about Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Bad Boy of Arlington
Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Ralph Galpin
· Sheriff Fay F. Brown's Badge: Ralph Galpin · On the morning of July 14, 1927, Ralph Galpin, 13, was attempting to escape an abusive step-father in Belpre, Kansas. * Ralph, 13, begged his mother, Vesta Mae, to leave Sam. Instead, she chose to remain with her husband and other children. She told Ralph to hop a freight train to Galesburg, Illinois, which used to be home—a marriage ago—and for him to stay with her mother. At his departure, Vesta reached into her purse and handed her son fifty … [Read more...] about Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: Ralph Galpin
Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: The Influenza Epidemic in 1918
· Sheriff Fay F. Brown's Badge: The Influenza Epidemic in 1918 Fay Forrest Brown and his wife, Cora May Phares Brown, are asleep in their bedroom. Fay is the Reno County, Kansas, sheriff; Cora is the jail matron and cook. It’s July 6, 1927. * “Cloe! Cloe!” screamed Fay. “Hold on!” “Fay, wake up!” said Cora, firmly touching his shoulder. “You’re safe. You were dreaming.” “I saw her turning blue, then purple,” said Fay, his body sweating and hyperventilating. * Cloe Marcia Brown Young, … [Read more...] about Sheriff Fay F. Brown’s Badge: The Influenza Epidemic in 1918
