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Sheriffs of Reno County: John LaFayette “Fay” Smith

October 7, 2020 by Jim Potter Leave a Comment

https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Sheriffs-of-Reno-County-6-Fay-Smith.mp3

· John LaFayette “Fay” Smith (1852-1926)

Sheriff 1884-1888

·

John LaFayette “Fay” Smith & Alice B. Lewis Smith with Susie Louise & Harry Lewis. Author’s collection

Julia Whiteside, 59, is at Smith’s Flower Shop, 414 North Main Street, Hutchinson, Kansas. She strikes up a conversation with Harry “says it with flowers” Smith, son of the late Fay Smith, a well-known city and county leader. It’s Tuesday, October 11, 1927.

*

“I saw your gorgeous window display and just had to come in to smell the fragrances,” said Julia Whiteside to Harry and Hilda Smith, local florists and owner-operators of Smith’s Flower Shop.

Harry, with a freshly cut red rose on display in his suitcoat’s button-hole, asked, “How are you, Mrs. Whiteside?”

“Worn out from Houston’s 81st birthday celebrations,” replied Julia, “but these flowers will rejuvenate me.”

“I hope Ada and Houston, Jr. are well,” commented Hilda.

“Yes, they’re fine,” answered Julia, “thanks for asking.”

Julia studied the colorful chrysanthemums, leaned over, closed her eyes, and inhaled the tantalizing aroma. “You sure look like your father,” she said. “Has it been a year now, since his passing?”

“Lost him a year ago last month,” said Harry. “Miss him every day.”

“Fay was a remarkable man,” said Julia. “Reno County was lucky to have him. He was a man of strong purpose and untiring energy.”

“Thank you, Julia,” said Harry.

“Houston knew him better than me,” said Julia. “He still tells me about Fay’s parents—your grandparents—dying when Fay was fourteen years old, about Fay living with an older brother for a time, and then, when he was twenty, following his pioneer spirit to go west.”

“I used to get tired of hearing dad tell the same stories over and over again,” said Harry, “but if he was alive now, I’d welcome him reliving his trip from Independence to Reno County with a newly purchased yoke of oxen.”

“How’s your mother and Susie getting along in sunny California?” asked Julia.

“They relish the weather,” said Harry.

“Mom was more than a wife and mother. She still recalls her work renting out rooms, and especially her time helping people with their aches and pains by offering them cure baths.

Advertisement in the Hutchinson News, July 28, 1897

“Do you remember her involvement in the late 1890s of promoting and giving baths for health? I was about ten years old. The compound vapor fuming and liniment bathing was advertised as a cure for rheumatism, asthma, eczema, and nervous troubles. Mom would ask people, ‘Why go to Hot Springs for your rheumatism? Why go to Colorado for your asthma? You can save money right here in Hutchinson. It’s cheaper than a physician.’”

*

As Julia arranged her fresh chrysanthemums on the dining room table, she said to Houston, “Harry says his mother and sister are doing well in California.”

“Will Alice and Susie be visiting anytime soon?” asked Houston.

“Harry didn’t say,” replied Julia. “Hilda was awfully quiet, but she asked about you.”

“Fay was a change from the earlier sheriffs,” began Houston. “The others; Collins, Hartford, Hedrick, and Jordan; they were all Civil War veterans, members of the G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic), but by the end of the war, Fay was still too young to even be a patrol guard.

“Another thing about Fay, back in Iowa, he had gone to college at Clinton. He and I had that in common, a formal education.

“But, like the others who served as sheriff, he was a pioneer. At Independence, Kansas, he purchased a yoke of oxen which he drove over the prairie until he arrived here and decided to locate, taking up a claim.”

Julia considered telling her husband that she had already heard that story many, many times. Then she remembered her mother’s advice. ‘If you find a man that talks, don’t discourage him, for that way you’ll know what he’s thinking.’

“The country was sparsely settled, there being no railroad nearer than Newton,” continued Houston, “and the buffaloes were so abundant they could always be seen in droves on the prairie, and their meat was very plentiful.

“After Fay built a sod house, he began the task of breaking the open prairie with his team of oxen and planting some corn, but his main source of revenue was derived from buffalo hides and bones.

“After losing his crops of corn and wheat in 1874 and 1876, he welcomed the invitation by Sheriff John Hedrick to become his deputy sheriff. Fay moved to town and rented out his land. This allowed him to become engaged in political circles, being elected sheriff twice, first taking office in 1884.

Reno County courthouse, South Main, Hutchinson. Built between1872 and 1874 by W. E. Hutchinson. Kansas State Historical Society photo.

“I believe Fay was the first and only sheriff to be elected as a bachelor but who got married once he was sheriff. He must have taken the advice of another top lawman, ‘If you want to run a jail right, get a wife.’ Now, I’m not saying that was his priority when he and Alice Lewis of Troy Township were wed.”

“I understand, Houston,” replied Julia. “If you want to be successful in life, find the right woman.” Then she winked and grinned.

Houston smiled at his wife and nodded. “Thanks for all your support for so many years. How long has it been?”

“Thirty-eight years,” replied Julia, “but who’s counting?”

“Where was I?” asked Houston. “But Fay was more than a constable and sheriff. His honorable career as a public servant continued while serving as clerk of the district court for four years and as a county commissioner for eight years.

“Knowing Fay was once a sheriff of our county, I heard a boy ask him one time if he’d ever been shot. Fay replied that he’d never been shot, but he could sure recall the most unbearable pain he had ever felt in his life. It was then that Fay recalled the morning he slipped on some ice on his way to the Popular Café. He and his family were living in rooms over the Star clothing store. He had just reached the sidewalk when the accident occurred.

“Fay said the pain he felt was unimaginable and he welcomed the chloroform the doctor gave him during the examination. The doctor concluded that Fay had broken his hip.”

“Houston,” said Julia, “Would you help me in the kitchen? You can tell me all about Fay while you peel potatoes for dinner.

*

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

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Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Alice Lewis Smith, Civil War, Fay Smith, Harry Lewis Smith, Harry Smith, Houston Whiteside, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jim Potter, John LaFayette Smith, Julia Clementine Latimer Whiteside, Kansas Authors Club, Lincoln Township, Reno County, Reno County Sheriff, Sheriff Fay Brown's Badge, Sheriff Fay Smith, Sheriffs of Reno County, Susie Smith

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What People Are Saying

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!

Larry Kruckman
Anthropologist
Karleen Wilson-Moon

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

Karleen Wilson-Moon

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