Gravedigger's Daughter: Vignettes from a Small Kansas Town by Cheryl Unruh Book Review Gravedigger’s Daughter: Vignettes from a Small Kansas Town is Cheryl Unruh’s latest masterpiece, a memoir written in prose poetry that transported me to my childhood. I can smell the Folger's coffee that gave Mom an extra spark. I too, grew up with bottle caps, firecrackers, collecting stamps, and reading wanted posters at the P. O. This memoir, dedicated to Cheryl’s father, Elgie Unruh of Pawnee Rock, is … [Read more...] about Gravedigger’s Daughter: Vignettes from a Small Kansas Town
Behind the Books Blog
31 Days (Nights)
31 Days (Nights): Memoir of Living Black in America by Reginald D. Jarrell Book Review Can you tell a book by its cover? This is a question that author Reginald D. Jarrell addresses in his just published book, 31 Days (Nights): Memoir of Living Black in America (Blue Cedar Press, 2022). The question is a theme in Jarrell’s memoir as he revisits his life as a Black man growing up in a country where the color of a person’s skin causes people, mostly Caucasian, to prejudge. Jarrell also makes … [Read more...] about 31 Days (Nights)
I Care Too Much to Watch
I Care Too Much to Watch By Jim Potter My friend told me he was going to end the call and watch the news. “Ukraine is being invaded,” he said. I was silent, knowing I would not watch the news. I care, I hurt, but I can’t hurt enough to help another. Out of my control, unable to cope with the deep, personal suffering. Instead, I help others where and when I can. Until next time, happy writing and reading. … [Read more...] about I Care Too Much to Watch
Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market
Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market I’ve just completed reading the best book ever about understanding slavery. Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market (1999) isn’t a new book, but it’s a classic. The author, Walter Johnson, brilliantly examines the slave market in New Orleans, the largest in North America during the nineteenth-century. Through exhaustive research using primary resources, Johnson shares the words of enslaved Africans or descendants of Africans, … [Read more...] about Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market
The Antebellum “Persac Map” of 1858
The Antebellum "Persac Map" of 1858 Can you love history? Am I exaggerating when I say, I do? I especially enjoy learning about history and seeing how events connect with one another. If you’re my age, you can remember traveling cross-country by automobile with your parents (or parent) on interstate highways. When we stopped for gasoline at service stations, we used the bathroom, and sometimes we’d pick up a free road map. How many of you still have a road map stuck away in a junk drawer … [Read more...] about The Antebellum “Persac Map” of 1858
In Search of “Grandfather” Collins: Kilkenny to New Orleans
In Search of "Grandfather" Collins: Kilkenny to New Orleans Charles C. Collins, also known as “Charlie,” (1845-1906) was of Irish ancestry, his grandfather having immigrated from Ireland to Louisiana before the War of 1812.[1] Jody Johnson Buck on horseback pdf Jody Johnson Buck, great-great-granddaughter of Charlie, has identified the county of Kilkenny, Ireland, as the birthplace of her Collins ancestors.[2] (Kilkenny is located seventy-five miles southwest of Dublin.) Polly Collins … [Read more...] about In Search of “Grandfather” Collins: Kilkenny to New Orleans
You Don’t Need to Know Everything Before You Start Writing
You Don't Need to Know Everything Before You Start Writing * Charles Collins gravestone pdf I’ve been researching and researching, and I still have unanswered questions. I’d like to learn more about Charles C. Collins and his ancestors before I write his story, but I can’t wait forever. I’ve been down so many research rabbit holes that I’ve become comfortable living underground. I don’t think it’s covid related. Now, I must surface and write. The U. S. Census, findagrave.com, … [Read more...] about You Don’t Need to Know Everything Before You Start Writing
Never Waste Dreams Book Review
Never Waste Dreams Book Review by Jim Potter * Author Gloria Zachgo reminds me of a professional juggler who flawlessly keeps a half-dozen balls rotating in a perfect arc. The performance appears effortless. Zachgo’s sequel novel, Never Waste Dreams, is exceptionally well-written. The literary Kansas characters I encountered could have been my ancestors, fighting drought and loneliness while raising a family on the treeless prairie. Gloria Zachgo is an expert on planning and plotting. Her … [Read more...] about Never Waste Dreams Book Review
Sheriffs of Reno County: Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff
Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff * One day a newly elected sheriff, a bachelor, asked the retiring sheriff if he could give him any advice on running the jail. The veteran sheriff replied, "Yes, get married as soon as possible." * In its first 150 years, Reno County has elected thirty-two of its thirty-three different sheriffs. This book will introduce each one of the lawmen chronologically, in separate chapters, beginning with Charles C. Collins. Running the sheriff’s office has always required … [Read more...] about Sheriffs of Reno County: Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff
Sheriffs of Reno County: 1872-2022
Preface * Books don’t just happen. While growing up, I heard stories that triggered my imagination. Stories are seeds to an author. When planted and nourished, they can become a bountiful harvest. In my case, there are several reasons why I wanted to research and write about the sheriffs of Reno County, Kansas. When I was growing up, I regularly watched weekly westerns on television. My favorites were The Lone Ranger, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, and Gunsmoke. The first show was … [Read more...] about Sheriffs of Reno County: 1872-2022
