(To listen to the audio of this blog, use the purple play button.) Charles Collins: First Reno County Sheriff September 1, 2022 Sheriff Campbell, I’m sending you two photo files. Both are of Charles Collins who was the first sheriff of Reno County, KS. One is a scan from the original photo. The second is a restored image due to some photo damage. This photo of Collins took me 40 years to locate. Jody Johnson Buck, Kit Carson, Colorado, shared some family photos … [Read more...] about Charles Collins: First Reno County Sheriff
Reno County Sheriff
Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market I’ve just completed reading the best book ever about understanding slavery. Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market (1999) isn’t a new book, but it’s a classic. The author, Walter Johnson, brilliantly examines the slave market in New Orleans, the largest in North America during the nineteenth-century. Through exhaustive research using … [Read more...] about Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market
The Antebellum “Persac Map” of 1858
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) The Antebellum "Persac Map" of 1858 Can you love history? Am I exaggerating when I say, I do? I especially enjoy learning about history and seeing how events connect with one another. If you’re my age, you can remember traveling cross-country by automobile with your parents (or parent) on interstate highways. When we stopped for gasoline at service stations, we used the bathroom, and sometimes we’d pick up … [Read more...] about The Antebellum “Persac Map” of 1858
In Search of “Grandfather” Collins: Kilkenny to New Orleans
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) In Search of "Grandfather" Collins: Kilkenny to New Orleans Charles C. Collins, also known as “Charlie,” (1845-1906) was of Irish ancestry, his grandfather having immigrated from Ireland to Louisiana before the War of 1812.[1] Jody Johnson Buck on horseback pdf Jody Johnson Buck, great-great-granddaughter of Charlie, has identified the county of Kilkenny, Ireland, as the birthplace of her Collins … [Read more...] about In Search of “Grandfather” Collins: Kilkenny to New Orleans
You Don’t Need to Know Everything Before You Start Writing
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) You Don't Need to Know Everything Before You Start Writing * Charles Collins gravestone pdf I’ve been researching and researching, and I still have unanswered questions. I’d like to learn more about Charles C. Collins and his ancestors before I write his story, but I can’t wait forever. I’ve been down so many research rabbit holes that I’ve become comfortable living underground. I don’t think it’s … [Read more...] about You Don’t Need to Know Everything Before You Start Writing
Sheriffs of Reno County: Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff * One day a newly elected sheriff, a bachelor, asked the retiring sheriff if he could give him any advice on running the jail. The veteran sheriff replied, "Yes, get married as soon as possible." * In its first 150 years, Reno County has elected thirty-two of its thirty-three different sheriffs. This book will introduce each one of the lawmen chronologically, in separate chapters, … [Read more...] about Sheriffs of Reno County: Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff
Sheriffs of Reno County: 1872-2022
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) Preface * Books don’t just happen. While growing up, I heard stories that triggered my imagination. Stories are seeds to an author. When planted and nourished, they can become a bountiful harvest. In my case, there are several reasons why I wanted to research and write about the sheriffs of Reno County, Kansas. When I was growing up, I regularly watched weekly westerns on television. My … [Read more...] about Sheriffs of Reno County: 1872-2022
Reno County: She Killed Her Husband
Reno County: Girls in Jail
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) Girls in Jail * It’s Monday afternoon, August 1, 1949, at The Fox theater in Hutchinson, Kansas. Mrs. Sheriff, Ruth Graves Dixon, 54; and her sister, Charline Graves Allison, 60; are talking prior to the start of the picture show, The Barkleys of Broadway, staring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. * “How’s the jail treating you?” asked Charline, as she crunched her buttery popcorn. “After … [Read more...] about Reno County: Girls in Jail
Reno County: “Matty” Mathias
(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.) "Matty" Mathias * It’s noon, Thursday, July 5, 1945, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Harry Smith, 58, owner of Smith’s Flower Shop, 2606 North Monroe, is wearing a freshly cut red rose in his suitcoat buttonhole. * Lulu Morse Stapleton, 51, enters the display room and gravitates to the bell-shaped lilies. She bends over and inhales the sweet aroma. Harry approaches with a greeting. “Welcome, Mrs. Sheriff. … [Read more...] about Reno County: “Matty” Mathias
