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Reno County Sheriff

Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market

February 17, 2022 by Jim Potter 2 Comments

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 primary resources, Johnson shares the words of enslaved Africans or descendants of Africans, … [Read more...] about Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Antebellum South, book review, Hutchinson Kansas, Jim Potter, Kansas Authors Club, Louisiana, New Orleans, New Orleans slave trade, Reno County Kansas, Reno County Sheriff, slave market, slave trade, Soul by Soul, Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market, Walter Johnson

The Antebellum “Persac Map” of 1858

February 14, 2022 by Jim Potter 4 Comments

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 a free road map. How many of you still have a road map stuck away in a junk drawer … [Read more...] about The Antebellum “Persac Map” of 1858

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Antebellum South, Baton Rouge Louisiana, Benjamin Moore Norman, Bois de Flenche Plantation, Charles Collins, Grandfather Collins, Hutchinson Kansas, Jim Potter, Kansas Authors Club, Louisiana, Marie Adrien Persac, Mississippi River, New Orleans, Persac map, Reno County Kansas, Reno County Sheriff

In Search of “Grandfather” Collins: Kilkenny to New Orleans

January 25, 2022 by Jim Potter 6 Comments

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 ancestors.[2] (Kilkenny is located seventy-five miles southwest of Dublin.) Polly Collins … [Read more...] about In Search of “Grandfather” Collins: Kilkenny to New Orleans

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Baton Rouge Louisiana, Catholicism, Chalmette Plantation, Charles C. Collins, Charles Edward Collins, Charles Joseph Staniland, Church of england, Dublin Ireland, E. Percy Moran, Emerald Isle, English Reformation, frontier militiamen, General Andrew Jackson, General Pakenham, Grandfather Collins, Hutchinson Kansas, impressment, Irish-Catholic immigrants, J. L. Bouqueto de Woiseri, Jim Potter, Jody Johnson Buck, Kansas Authors Club, Kilkenny Ireland, Line Jackson, Louisiana, Montgomery Alabama, Montgomery County Alabama, Napoleon Bonaparte, New Basin Canal, New Orleans, Old Hickory, Polly Collins Johnson, Reno County Kansas, Reno County Sheriff, Rodriquez Canal, Second War of Independence, Sheriff Charles C. Collins, Sheriffs of Reno County 1872-2022, The Battle of New Orleans, The British are Coming!, The Great Famine, The Great Hunger, War of 1812

You Don’t Need to Know Everything Before You Start Writing

January 1, 2022 by Jim Potter 15 Comments

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 covid related. Now, I must surface and write. The U. S. Census, findagrave.com, … [Read more...] about You Don’t Need to Know Everything Before You Start Writing

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Baton Rouge Louisiana, General Andrew Jackson, Hutchinson Kansas, Jim Potter, Kansas Authors Club, Loretta McMillan Collins, Mary Collins, Montgomery Alabama, pantser, plotter, Reno County Kansas, Reno County Sheriff, Sandee Taylor, Sheriff Charles C. Collins, Sheriffs of Reno County 1872-2022, War of 1812

Sheriffs of Reno County: Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff

October 13, 2021 by Jim Potter 6 Comments

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, beginning with Charles C. Collins. Running the sheriff’s office has always required … [Read more...] about Sheriffs of Reno County: Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: B. J. Alderman, C.J. McClaine, Calvin Sheppard, Carol Weber Sheppard, Charles C. Collins, Cora Phares Brown, Delia Bach Miller, Deputy George Duckworth, Deputy sheriff Ed Miller, Fay Forrest Brown, Florence Evaline Jordan, Grace Margaret Wells Severson Wendler, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jim Potter, Juanita Mae Chambers Ankerholz, Kansas Authors Club, Loretta McMillan Collins, Odelia Bach Miller, Reno County courthouse, Reno County Jail, Reno County Sheriff, Reno County Sheriff's Office, Robert McClaine, Sheriff Al Severson, Sheriff Allen Jordan, Sheriff Dan Miller, Sheriff Edward Cunningham, Sheriff Fay Brown, Sheriff Guy Ankerholz, Sheriffs of Reno County 1872-2022, The Secret Life of the Lawman's Wife, W. B. Glines

Sheriffs of Reno County: 1872-2022

October 6, 2021 by Jim Potter 13 Comments

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 favorites were The Lone Ranger, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, and Gunsmoke. The first show was … [Read more...] about Sheriffs of Reno County: 1872-2022

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Cherokee Land Strip Run, Cop in the Classroom, Cora May Phares Brown, Dodge City Kansas, Ellsworth Kansas, Fay Forrest Brown, Good News Blues, Gunsmoke, Harold L Potter, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, James C. Potter, Jim Potter, John Moon, Kansas Authors Club, Marshal Matt Dillon, Reno County courthouse, Reno County Jail, Reno County Sheriff, Sheriff Calvin Sheppard, Sheriff Charles C. Collins, Sheriff Charles Heidebrecht, Sheriff Jim Fountain, Sheriff Roy Sheppard, Sheriffs of Reno County 1872-2022, Taking Back the Bullet, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Lone Ranger, Wichita Kansas

Reno County: She Killed Her Husband

September 29, 2021 by Jim Potter 4 Comments

She Killed Her Husband * It’s late Thursday afternoon, October 11, 1951, at the Reno County Jail on the fifth floor of the courthouse. Vera Gambee Frazey, 45, jail matron and cook, hears the metallic sound of heavy jail keys, followed by the forceful clang of a door being shut, and the keys locking the gate. She’s making supper for her and her husband, having earlier helped prepare the two daily prisoner meals served at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sheriff Vic Frazey, 51, walks into the kitchen … [Read more...] about Reno County: She Killed Her Husband

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: All-Nations Pool Hall, Daniel Warfield, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jim Potter, John Alden, John Fontron, Kansas Authors Club, Mary Etta Warfield, Reno County courthouse, Reno County Jail, Reno County Sheriff, Sergeant Amos Cauley, Sheriff Vic Frazey, Vera Frazey, Vera Gambee Frazey, Victor Harold Frazey

Reno County: Girls in Jail

September 22, 2021 by Jim Potter 8 Comments

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 two-and-a-half years, I still surprise myself,” answered Ruth, sipping her Coca-Cola. “How so?” … [Read more...] about Reno County: Girls in Jail

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Charline Frances Graves Allison, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jim Potter, Kansas Authors Club, Reno County courthouse, Reno County Jail, Reno County Sheriff, Ruth Marie Graves Dixon, Sheriff George Tucker Allison, Sheriff Walt Leslie Dixon, The Barkleys of Broadway

Matty Mathias

September 15, 2021 by Jim Potter 4 Comments

"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. While our country celebrated its freedom yesterday, I hope you had an enjoyable … [Read more...] about Matty Mathias

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: C. W. Kelly, David Orville "Matty" Mathias, Harry Smith, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson Larks, Hutchinson Larks baseball team, Hutchinson News, Jim Potter, Kansas Authors Club, Lulu Morse Stapleton, Matty Mathias, McFaddon Rooming House, Okmulgee Oklahoma, Reno County Sheriff, Ruth Ann McFaddon Mathias, Sheriff Guy Ankerholz, Smith's Flower Shop, war rationing, World War II rationing

My Dad, the Sheriff

September 8, 2021 by Jim Potter 6 Comments

· My Dad, the Sheriff It’s Sunday afternoon, January 10, 1943, at the home of Juanita Mae Chambers Ankerholz and Guy Leo Ankerholz, 829 East 6th Avenue, Hutchinson, Kansas. Their daughter, Dona “DeNean,” 10, is writing a school report that’s due the next day. * “Mom,” said DeNean, “my teacher said we should write on something, but not everything.” “She’s correct, you want people to learn about a topic. You’re writing about your father being Reno County sheriff for the last four years. … [Read more...] about My Dad, the Sheriff

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Dona DeNean Ankerholz, Donald Ankerholz, Guy Ankerholz, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jim Potter, Juanita Ankerholz, Juanita Mae Chambers Ankerholz, Kansas Authors Club, Reno County Jail, Reno County Sheriff, Sheriff Fay Brown, Sheriff Guy Ankerholz

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Medical Support of the Fifth Division in World War II-Part 4

Medical Support of the Fifth Division in World War II (Part 4, Conclusion) By Harold L. Potter (1998); Presented to the Sojourners group, near Hot … Read More about Medical Support of the Fifth Division in World War II-Part 4

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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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