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Reno County: What Happened to Morality?

August 11, 2021 by Jim Potter 6 Comments

http://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Reno-County-What-Happened-to-Morality.mp3

What Happened to Morality?

•

Reno County Courthouse, SE corner of Main St. & Ave B, Hutchinson, KS. The building to the immediate left (east) is the Reno County Jail & jailer’s/sheriff’s residence. Postcard published by Marion W. Bailey. No copyright date. Author’s collection.
The Reformatory Herald (Hutchinson, Kansas), June 6, 1924.

It’s Friday, June 6, 1924, outside the Reno County courthouse in Hutchinson, Kansas. Reno County Sheriff Jesse Langford, 45, and his wife, May Burkhalter Langford, 42, are walking to their sheriff’s residence next door, east of the courthouse.

*

“He thought he could get away with murder,” said May to her husband, Jess, referring to Dr. Kenn B. Uhls, 31, of Overland Park. Uhls had just been convicted of second degree murder in the brutal slaying of William E. Gibbs, 77, a local, wealthy recluse, who was found in a pool of blood at his cottage home in Hutchinson on December 30, 1923.

“Like others before him, Uhls thought he was too smart to get caught,” replied Jess.

“And he’s a doctor, no less,” said May. “I know he was desperate with the financial failing of his narcotic sanitarium, but how could he do such a thing? Mr. Gibbs was a Civil War veteran.”

“Uhls couldn’t afford to have Gibbs, his heaviest shareholder, sound the alarm, to tell everyone that the promises of a quarterly return of 8% were a lie,” said Jess. “The Uhls Clinic was sinking fast and Uhls wasn’t willing to lose his investment.”

“But for a person to beat another to death over money is beyond reason,” said May. “What’s happened to morality in our country?”

“We personally experienced depravity first-hand when Harvey was shot in the back while he was trying to escape the auto thieves,” said Jess, remembering three years earlier when their son Harvey, just 16, had nearly been killed when a bullet narrowly missed his vital organs. “Because of their age, the criminals were only sentenced to the reformatory, not the penitentiary.”

“The more I read about the kidnapping and murder of poor Bobby Franks in Chicago, the more I question what is happening to our young people today,” said May. “Bobby was only 14; our Harvey, 16. However, the motivation of Leopold and Loeb, so-called intellectuals at the University of Chicago, wasn’t about stealing a car or ransom money. Their families are wealthy beyond our dreams. Those privileged boys, just 18 and 19, have confessed to planning and committing the heinous murder as an adventure!”

“It’s worrisome all right,” said Jess. “A few years ago, Uhls was a tennis star at the University of Kansas, and now look at him, a convicted murderer.”

“And to think,” said May, “our Harvey is attending the same university.

“No need to fret,” said Jess. “Our boy has his head and heart in the right place.” 

“Kenn Uhls’ parents were respected,” continued Jess. “It was Dr. Lyman Uhls who opened the sanitarium in 1913 after being in charge of the state hospital at Osawatomie for 14 years. He had a reputation of being a splendid citizen and always interested in the public welfare.”

Front: Jesse E. & May Burkhalter Langford. Back: Harvey Horace, their son. Photo 1928. Thanks to Laura Lee Langford Pearn (1985), daughter of Mary & Harvey Langford, granddaughter of May & Jesse Langford.

“Of course, Harvey’s above reproach,” said May. “I’m just thinking about what causes people to go down the wrong path, the evil path. Surely, while in college, Kenn Uhls didn’t dream he’d be beating an old man to death with the handle of a revolver until an eye popped out. At one time, he must have had compassion and empathy, don’t you think?”

“I would hope so,” answered Jess.

“The ladies at the church have discussed this during the Jesus Our Counselor group. Billy Sunday says that ‘civilization and society rests on morals. Morals rest on religion. Religion rests on the Bible and faith in god and Jesus Christ. The Bible doesn’t condemn any man because of his wealth.’”

“Yes,” agreed Jess. “Billy also says that America needs a title wave of the old-time religion.”

“Besides the surviving relatives of William Gibbs,” said May, “I also think about Dr. Uhls’ family. His mother, Anna; his wife, Charlotte; and his seven-month-old baby girl, Mary Lou, the cute thing. She was crying out after the verdict was read, when her father started weeping.”

“The minimum sentence for Uhls’ crime is ten years at the State Penitentiary, but he he could get up to 25,” said Jess. “It’s up to Judge Fairchild.”

“I’m a doubter about him ever spending much time in prison,” said May. “His clinic may go bankrupt, but he still has political influence. He could win an appeal or he could be paroled.”

“Or he could escape,” said Jess, knowing first-hand how elusive the man could be when not in jail. “His attorneys can appeal to the State Supreme Court, but that decision could take a long time. No matter what happens in court, every day, Uhls will need to live with his despicable act. Eventually, his family will need to cope with his absence.”

“I’m still puzzled at how our country has experienced a shift in public morality,” said May. “In a majority of people’s minds, prohibition is only a suggestion. Colleges offer our youth a culture of self-indulgence rather than one centered on work, discipline, and self-denial. This German philosopher, Nietzche, says god is dead.”

“It’s a changing world,” interrupted Jess, “not all for the better.”

As May and Jess reached the steps of their East Avenue B residence, May said, “Some people follow a dead philosopher, rather than religion. Too many people are influenced by a belief that the world is better with no rules, no absolute values, and no certainties. In my opinion, that’s a recipe for disaster.

 *

 Until next time, happy writing and reading.

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Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Bobby Franks, Dr. Kenn B. Uhls, Dr. Lyman Uhls, Friedrich Nietzche, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jesus Our Counselor, Jim Potter, Kansas Authors Club, Kansas University, Lansing State Prison, May Burkhalter Langford, Nathan Leopold, Osawatomie State Hospital, Reno County Sheriff, Richard Loeb, Sheriff Jesse Langford, Sheriffs of Reno County, Uhls Narcotic Sanitarium, University of Chicago, William E. Gibbs

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nancy Julien Kopp says

    August 11, 2021 at 10:21 am

    Almost a hundred years ago, and we’re still in the same ‘lack of morality’ boat. Disheartening for sure!

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      August 11, 2021 at 3:07 pm

      History does repeat itself, or human choices don’t change.

      Reply
  2. Alex says

    August 11, 2021 at 11:35 am

    History keeps showing the same thing — things just don’t change that much.

    Reply
    • Jim Potter says

      August 11, 2021 at 3:08 pm

      We have the takers and the givers.

      Reply
      • Marilyn Bolton says

        August 12, 2021 at 1:35 pm

        I wonder what Jesse & May would have thought about the Tennessee parents in their protest re masks this week. Or Jan 6?

        Reply
        • Jim Potter says

          August 18, 2021 at 9:19 pm

          Mind-boggling. How many people were prepared for the last 18 months?

          Reply

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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.

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.

Dennis Perrin, educator

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 Schillaci

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 . . .

Sheryl Remar

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.

John & Cindy Morrill, 20 years Air Force retired, 17 years law enforcement

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 and the settings in which they live and work. It makes a story more realistic if you can say, I am familiar with the area; I know where that town is or I have traveled that street. It was easy to relate to the characters. In one way or another, I have met them all somewhere in my journeys.

Judy Hawk

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

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.

Diana Dester

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

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 that the reader quickly becomes immersed and has a ‘bonding experience’ with each of the characters, feeling their joy, fear, passion and pain. Jim’s novel speaks to the empowerment of persistence with the characters as they work through their trials. As a therapist, I appreciated the heartfelt struggles from each of the characters and their diversity. I also found value in the novel’s understanding of society’s misunderstanding of both mental health and other conditions in which people struggle. The novel contains rich exposure to various realities that many of us do not know about . . . but should. When I finished this captivating novel, I was wanting to read the sequel! It was an honor and a wonderful, mesmerizing experience reading this book. Congratulations, Jim!

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.

Sean McArdle, Winchester, England

Retired police officer Potter’s novel centres 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 give enough detail to bring the characters to life, yet not too much so as to slow down the pace of the developing story. A climactic event affects the main characters and it is at this point Potter’s deep knowledge of people and police procedures really hits home; page by page we read how a seemingly simple, though terrible occurrence, can have huge consequences. To Potter’s credit the story does not have a completely conclusive or simplistic ending. Instead it leaves the reader thinking about how the events of a single minute can affect lives forever. I would whole heartedly recommend this book not as a crime novel or even as a novel about crime but as a beautiful and positive affirmation about what it is to be human and how ultimately it is relationships which matter more than events.

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 illness. One of my favorite quotes from Taking Back the Bullet is “We’re all just a critical moment from being disabled or mentally ill, and we don’t want to think about it.” The novel also provides the reader an opportunity to gain a better understanding of how mental illness impacts the individuals, their family, friends, and society. Taking Back the Bullet is a story of forgiveness and overcoming life’s struggles and tragedies.

Steve Becker

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

Larry Kruckman, anthropologist

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 jail, art fair, powwow, rehab center, courtroom, albinos, and even someone in the throes of postpartum depression. So detailed are the descriptions that they must be drawn from the author’s personal experience. Besides the artfully created characters such as the struggling jailer and husband Tom Jennings, local artist Jesse Thomas, and Native American Joe Morningcloud, there is a tight story line that grabs your attention and won’t let go. Human tensions, love, conflict, joys and sorrows are all there. Magically, all the many pieces come together in a final crescendo, giving hope that even when we find ourselves in big trouble we can survive. This is a novel I highly recommend!

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Karleen Wilson-Moon

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

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