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Reno County: Looking Backward to Go Forward

July 28, 2021 by Jim Potter Leave a Comment

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Looking Backward to Go Forward

•

Carolyn “Carrie” Norman Sprout. From group photo by McInturff Studio, Hutchinson, KS. Unknown date.
Walter “Scott” Sprout. From group photo by McInturff Studio, Hutchinson, KS. Unknown date.

It’s Wednesday, October 29, 1930, at Sprout Ranch, 12 miles south of Mullinville, Kansas. Carolyn “Carrie” Norman Sprout, 49, and her husband, Walter “Scott” Sprout, 55, are moving into their son’s house.

A week earlier, on October 22, Carrie and Scott’s daughter-in-law, Thelma Barrick Sprout, 23, gave birth to a second child, Thelma Lorraine Sprout. But the euphoria of a baby was soon countered with grief. Mother Thelma died three days later from an embolism due to complications of the birth.

Now, the two children have no mother. Their father, Thelma’s husband, Clarence Sprout, 28, is grief-stricken and overwhelmed.

*

“Clarence must feel like his world has been shattered,” said Carrie.

“He needs time,” said Scott, “He and the children all need time and loving care.”

“My number one concern,” said Carrie, “is Baby Thelma accepting nutrition so she can get stronger.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” said Scott.

“It’s hard to accept they were only married three years,” said Carrie. “Do you remember when Clarence came home from Manhattan and told us he’d met someone special?”

“The Kansas State Agricultural College was worth the tuition,” said Scott. “Clarence was captured by Thelma’s sunny disposition, charm, and ability to make friends. She reminded me of you when you were a school teacher near Turon and I was farming northeast of town.”

“Those were the days when it seemed like every other person I met was a relative of yours,” said Carrie, as she burst into a laugh and shed a tear, cutting the tension of the past week. The round-the-clock care of Thelma and Beverly was wearing Carrie down.

“That happens when your parents have ten children,” said Scott.

*

Carrie thought of how death could change a family. After Thelma’s mother, Bertha May Barrick, died in 1918, Thelma, just eleven, was raised in the home of her grandparents.

“Clarence and the girls can do this,” said Carrie. “Thelma turned out to be the perfect lady. My mother, Harriet “Hattie” Eliza Smith Norman, 40, died of typhoid fever in 1887 when I was five years old. Despite her early, sad death, she’s remembered as one of the first teachers at Sherman School, the first school in Hutchinson. She made a difference to others and to our family.”

“Even though your mother left this world too early,” said Scott, “she gave you a profession to strive for which led to college.”

Captain Ephraim Augustus Smith (1815-1910). Drawing by unknown artist. The Hutchinson News, August 7, 1902.

“With five children, my father needed help after mother’s death,” said Carrie. “Being raised in Hutchinson by our grandparents, meant that all of us kids got to meet a lot of people and hear many pioneer stories. Grandfather, or ‘Captain Ephraim Augustus Smith’; and Grandma, Phoebe Root Smith; lived long, fruitful lives, and raised all of us to do our best.

“I recall the Old Settler’s Reunions when Grandfather led the Grand March,” said Carrie. “I heard stories of Hutchinson growing from a handful of dwellings and business houses with a population of 250 residents to what it is today. Grandpa and Grandma arrived in Hutchinson in the spring of 1872 when buffalo herds would occasionally disrupt outside work. Grandpa soon became the first county surveyor. I met his friends, including Houston Whiteside, Henry Hartford, and Eugene Meyer.”

“People deserve second chances,” continued Carrie. “When I was fourteen, Grandpa Smith had been nearly blind for several years. He could barely distinguish daylight from darkness, until Dr. Barton Pitts, of St. Joe, operated and removed the cataracts from both of Grandpa’s eyes. After that, he was able to see well enough to read.”

“Our country is a place for starting new lives,” said Scott. “I never heard Eugene Meyer speak French, but he was born in France. He was a pharmacist before he helped organize the first bank in Hutchinson in 1876.”

“Pet Nation and the First National Bank of Hutchinson have been a blessing in our life,” said Carrie. “When Pet invited us to run this ranch a few years after we left the sheriff’s office, I didn’t know if Kiowa County would ever feel like home the way it did in Reno County.”

“Yes, Pet’s done us right,” said Scott. “He’s a real cowboy and knows the cattle business from the bottom up. His sale of land to us permitted us to develop our Sprout and Son Ranch, and it’s given us precious time with Clarence and Thelma.”

“Life’s a mystery,” continued Scott. “Your Ephriam and Phobe were together for sixty-six years; Clarence and Thelma had but three.”

“Like relatives before us, we’ll step up and make a difference,” said Carrie. “We’ll help Clarence show Beverly and Thelma what it feels like to be a member of a big, happy family.”

*

Research for this essay began in 1985, when Beverly Carolyn Sprout Graves (1928-2008) and I corresponded about her family, including her father, Scott Sprout, who was sheriff of Reno County from 1917-1921, and her mother, Carrie Sprout, jail matron and cook. Beverly shared pleasant memories and photos with me. She was helpful and kind.

*

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

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Terrific story relevant to today’s social issues . . . well written . . . likable characters . . . insightful perspective from an insider in law enforcement.

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Jim Potter displays ethnographic skills in Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery, creating vivid scenes and fascinating characters. The Greeks had a word for subcultures and people’s behavior: ‘ethos,’ or ‘ways of being.’ In colorful, sometimes marvelous detail, this novel captures various people and settings . . . the ethos of rural Kansas: a… Read more “Larry Kruckman, anthropologist”

Steve Becker

I’m impressed. It was an excellent read. . . . I hope you continue with more projects in the future.

Morgan Penner

Taking Back the Bullet is a novel that provides the reader with a window into the world of law enforcement. As the novel unfolds, the reader is able to see how split-second decisions alter the lives of the main characters in the story. Taking Back the Bullet also explores how humanity is impacted by mental… Read more “Morgan Penner”

Sean McArdle, Winchester, England

Retired police officer Potter’s novel centers on very disparate characters and through the tried and tested means of gradually introducing each one, builds a sense of anticipation about what is going to happen to them. This often used methodology is not easy to do well but is superbly handled by Potter who knows how to… Read more “Sean McArdle, Winchester, England”

Jane Holzrichter

I finished it last night around midnight. What a great piece of work. It kept me intrigued all the way to the end.

Deb Theis, LSCSW, clinical therapist/hypnotherapist

Jim Potter has done it again! After his book, Cop in the Classroom: Lessons I’ve Learned, Tales I’ve Told, Jim has written another great work. In Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery, Jim Potter takes us on an insightful journey into the lives and relationships of numerous characters. Jim is such a talented storyteller… Read more “Deb Theis, LSCSW, clinical therapist/hypnotherapist”

Diana Dester

Good story line, building the characters along the way. Great job!

Wynona Winn, PhD, retired school superintendent

Three main characters walk different paths but with the same destination – each coping with his or her self-discovery, self-identity, and self-realization. Much like their earlier counterparts – Huck Finn and Holden Caulfield – their journeys are often joyous, often tedious and often tragic.

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. . . I was impressed with the Native American information as well as the depth of character development . . . .

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I enjoyed your book. When I am looking for a new read, I always read the first page, last page and choose a random page somewhere in the middle before I decide to buy it. You had me on all three pages. I also like reading a book where you can relate to the characters… Read more “John & Cindy Morrill, 20 years Air Force retired, 17 years law enforcement”

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I enjoyed the different stories of this book because Tom, James, and Suanna, the three main characters, represent in their own way the different struggles with themselves and society’s idea of what is normal.

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As a former law enforcement officer, I found the story very relatable as it details the life of a law enforcement officer and the struggles some face throughout their careers. . . Taking Back the Bullet is a journey of understanding, respect, and forgiveness . . .

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Masterful storytelling, exquisite character development, so real as to HURT and HOPE, a real page turner. Begs for stage, screenwriters, and visual episodic development a.k.a. TV series . . . Thanks Jim Potter for telling it like it is AND providing us visions of how it could be. Well done!

Rebecca from Proud Police Wife

Taking Back the Bullet is an emotional, yet captivating novel. Jim Potter does a superb job of intertwining each character and putting their individual identities on display. All law enforcement storylines are a true reflection of Potter’s years as a police officer because they are realistic and relatable. This is a book I highly recommend.

Denise Low, author of Jackalope (Red Mountain Press)

Jim Potter is a cop, retired, but he brings deep understanding of this job to his novel Taking Back the Bullet: Trajectories of Self-Discovery. This layered novel has literary dimensions as characters explore crisis situations. Congratulations to this fine writer for his debut novel.

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