(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) Sequel Last week I met several friendly members of the Hutchinson Kennel Club (HKC) and their well-behaved canine companions. We gathered at the Reno County Museum during Third Thursday activities. The club volunteers shared with the public a great deal of educational information about dog care and training. They even had a dog breed parade! It was an enjoyable time. Alex and I set up our vendor table and … [Read more...] about Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Sequel
Reno County Museum
Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Promotion
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) Promotion I’m chomping at the bit to get K-9 Kudzu: Observations of a Working Dog Who Loves to Play, published, but all good things take time. Here’s my bad news: It’s tough watching so many great opportunities to sell my children’s book pass by because the book’s not ready for publication yet. Here’s the good news: For the sake of my sanity, I choose to believe that most of my sales opportunities aren’t … [Read more...] about Publishing My Children’s Book in Six Months: Promotion
Reno County: Searching for Alice
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) · Searching for Alice, Finding Elizabeth: Alice Elizabeth Thomas Hartford * It’s Tuesday, February 12, 1935, at 108 E. 14th Street, Hutchinson, Kansas. Alice Elizabeth Thomas Hartford, 80, is on her death bed. * “Ethel, Ethel,” Elizabeth cried out, “stay with us, we love you.” Elizabeth was talking to her eldest daughter who was dying of typhoid malaria on a Saturday night, September 8, 1894, … [Read more...] about Reno County: Searching for Alice
Sheriffs of Reno County: John W. Hooper
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) · John W. Hooper (1855-1936) Sheriff 1903-1907 · * It’s Monday, October 17, 1927, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Reno County Sheriff Fay Brown is parked in his new—actually, the county’s new–1927 Standard Six Dictator automobile. He’s parked near the northeast corner of 1st Avenue and Main Street, in the shadow of Hutchinson’s tallest skyscraper, the Wiley-Rorabaugh building, which opened in 1913. Sitting … [Read more...] about Sheriffs of Reno County: John W. Hooper
Is This Man Elmer Swanson?
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) · Is this man Elmer Swanson? Photo Postcard from the Past · Is this man Elmer Swanson? Morgan Williams, collector and expert on exaggeration postcards, sent me another postcard challenge. As I examined the image of the front and markings on the back, I thought, Boy, there isn’t much information here! The photograph had the feeling of early 1900s but the clues were sparse: a man, sharply dressed, was … [Read more...] about Is This Man Elmer Swanson?
The Joy of the Hunt
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) · The Joy of the Hunt: Wade Photographer When Morgan Williams, known far and wide for his amazing collection of exaggeration postcards, sent me a postcard image to examine, I was hooked! The advertising postcard showed a side-view of an early model car, a convertible, with a smiling driver, parked on a brick city street. Photos of thirteen babies or infants had been added to the picture to give the … [Read more...] about The Joy of the Hunt
Talking Tombstones
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) · Henry Hartford in Two Worlds · If you’ve heard of Talking Tombstones then you probably know that real people, now deceased, have their stories brought to life in an abbreviated forum. In Hutchinson, Reno County, Kansas, contemporary actors, often affiliated with Stage 9 (run by the Hutchinson Theater Guild), transform into dearly departed residents from a distant era. Thanks to Talking Tombstones, the … [Read more...] about Talking Tombstones