Death Ditch • It’s Thursday, July 22, 1920, at the home of Harriet “Hattie” Moore Jennings, 220 Sherman East Avenue, Hutchinson, Kansas. Living with widowed Hattie, 52, are three of her five children: Don, 31; Mack, 29; and Beulah, 20. Hattie’s still holding a $3,500 check when Beulah enters the room carrying a cup of coffee. * “Is it hot in here?” asked Hattie. Before Beulah could reply, Hattie placed the check on her desk and began unfastening the top button of her … [Read more...] about Reno County: Death Ditch
Anti-Horse Thief Association
Sheriffs of Reno County: Konrad C. Beck
· Konrad C. "Koon" Beck (1876-1947) Sheriff 1911-1915 · It’s Thursday, October 20, 1927 in Hutchinson, Kansas. Julia and Houston Whiteside are making plans to attend a Saturday show on the south end at Riverside Park. The Wallace Bruce Players will be performing on stage. * “As much as I enjoyed Buster Keaton’s masterful performance in the 1916 movie, The Bell Boy,” said Julia, “years earlier, before his silent movie, the musical-comedy stage production at Riverside Park was … [Read more...] about Sheriffs of Reno County: Konrad C. Beck
Early Reno County (KS) Settler
· James Chamellis Potter (1865-1955) · My great-grandfather, James Chamellis Potter, participated in the Cherokee Outlet land run, was a blacksmith and marshal in Nickerson, and suffered a debilitating stroke years before his death. “Mellis” or “J.C.” was born prior to the end of the Civil War—just barely. As a little kid, five years old, I recall meeting him. A year later, in 1955, he died at age 90. It’s mind-boggling for me to grasp that I knew someone, anyone, who was … [Read more...] about Early Reno County (KS) Settler
