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Jim Potter, Author

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Reno County

Reno County: Vice President Theodore Roosevelt

June 23, 2021 by Jim Potter 2 Comments

Vice President Theodore Roosevelt • It’s noon Wednesday, August 14, 1901 in Hutchinson, Kansas, as the Santa Fe train pulls away from the crowded depot, headed east, then north out of town towards Kansas City. Sarah “Sally” Lowber Hooper, 40, and John Walter Hooper, 46, with six of their seven children, are still waving at Vice President Theodore Roosevelt who remains on the rear-end platform as it picks up speed. Veterans and others are rushing after the Pullman car, attempting to … [Read more...] about Reno County: Vice President Theodore Roosevelt

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, Andersonville Prison, Civil War, Dakota Badlands, Governor Roosevelt, Grand Army of the Republic, Henry Hartford, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jim Potter, John Walter Hooper, Kansas Authors Club, Kettle Hill, Lynne Hartford, Marion W. Bailey, Mark Hanna, McKinley-Roosevelt ticket, Reno County, Reno County Sheriff, Sampson Hooper, San Juan Hill, Sarah Sally Lowber Hooper, Sheriffs of Reno County, Spanish-American War, Teddy Roosevelt, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt

Reno County: Diamond Dicks

June 16, 2021 by Jim Potter 6 Comments

"Diamond" Dicks • It’s Tuesday, November 14, 1899, at the Reno County sheriff’s residence attached to the jail, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Sheriff William “Bill” Long, 37, and his under sheriff, Ed Metz, 60, are drinking coffee. Sarah “Cassie” Baker Long, 28, is supervising the feeding of 16-month-old Clella Elizabeth. * Alex Millar, 63, the jail’s turnkey, is waiting for the sheriff and under sheriff to pick up two prisoners. The lawmen will be escorting “Diamond” Dicks and Ed Clark to … [Read more...] about Reno County: Diamond Dicks

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Alex Millar, Clella Elizabeth Long, Diamond Dicks, Ed Clark, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jacob Diamond Dicks, Jacob Shenefield, Jim Potter, Kansas Authors Club, Reno County, Reno County Sheriff, Sarah Cassie Baker Long, Sheriff William E. Long, Sheriffs of Reno County, Under Sheriff Ed Metz, W. C. Clarence Boyd, Western Salt Works

Reno County: 1893 Chicago World’s Fair

June 9, 2021 by Jim Potter 6 Comments

  1893 Chicago World's Fair • It’s Thursday, September 21, 1893, at the Bon Ton Bakery, 15 North Main, Hutchinson, Kansas. Julia “Maria” Bacon Patten, 38, and John Quincy Patten, 38, are celebrating their one-month-old’s birthday, Hiram Burnham Patten. He’s taking a nap while they prepare to order treats. * “It sure is convenient having Bon Ton Bakery and Confectionery so close to Mr. McInturff’s Photography Studio,” said Maria as she smelled the fresh bread, admired the … [Read more...] about Reno County: 1893 Chicago World’s Fair

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Land Run, Elmer Adam Potter, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, J. C. Potter, James Chamellis Potter, Jim Potter, Kansas Authors Club, Mellis Potter, Reno County, Reno County Sheriff, Sheriff John Wesley Jones, Sheriffs of Reno County

Reno County: 1893 Cherokee Strip Land Run

June 2, 2021 by Jim Potter 8 Comments

  1893 Cherokee Strip Land Run • * It’s Saturday night, September 16, 1893, in Hutchinson, Kansas, at the Reno County sheriff’s residence, 15 Avenue East. Roscoe, 3; Ethel, 10; Victor 12; Bud (John Jr.), 13, and Mabel, 15, are in bed. John, 37, and Jennie Jones, 35, take a minute to reflect on the day. * “This would have been a bad day to count noses for a census,” said John. “I wonder how many families we’ll lose to the Strip.” “Those with claims today have a long row to … [Read more...] about Reno County: 1893 Cherokee Strip Land Run

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Adam Potter, Cherokee Outlet, Cherokee Strip, Cherokee Strip Land Run, Dorothy Miller Foster, Eliza Jennie Johnson Jones, Elmer Adam Potter, Ethel Jones, Eva Belle Dix Potter, Harold L Potter, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, J. C. Potter, James Chamellis Potter, Jim Potter, John Jones Jr., Kansas Authors Club, Mabel Jones, Mellis Potter, Reno County, Reno County Jail, Reno County Sheriff, Roscoe Jones, Sheriff John Wesley Jones, Sheriffs of Reno County, The Ancestors and Descendants of Adam Potter and Rosannah Layman, Victor Jones, William S Prettyman

Reno County: “She Jumped from the Train”

May 26, 2021 by Jim Potter 4 Comments

"She Jumped from the Train" • It’s Wednesday, April 3, 1889, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Daniel Miller, Reno County sheriff, 45, returns home to the sheriff’s residence at 15 Avenue East. Cecelia Edmunds Miller—Mrs. Sheriff—41, spots a new gray hair on her husband’s head. * “Hello, honey, how are you and the children?” asked Dan, as he entered the sheriff’s residence, gave his wife a kiss, and hung up his hat. “We’re fine,” answered Cecelia. “How did Sarah respond to the Topeka Insane … [Read more...] about Reno County: “She Jumped from the Train”

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe, Cecelia Edmunds Miller, H. A. Chamberlain, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jim Potter, Kansas Authors Club, Mrs. Sarah Kelley, Osage City, Peterton Kansas, Reformatory, Reno County, Reno County Jail, Reno County Sheriff, sanitarium, Sarah Kelley, She jumped from the train, Sheriff Daniel E. Miller, Sheriffs of Reno County, Suanna Madora Salter, Topeka Insane Asylum

Reno County: The Yellow Wallpaper

May 19, 2021 by Jim Potter 4 Comments

  The Yellow Wallpaper • It’s Monday, June 21, 1897, at 102 East Sherman Street, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Julia Latimer Whiteside, 29, is visiting with Alice Lewis Smith, 36, at Alice’s business of cure baths. * As Alice prepared the cure bath for her first customer of the day, she heard the whistle of the departing Hutchinson & Southern train. Meanwhile, Julia felt like she was on olfactory overload. What are those different smells? thought Julia. Peppermint? Ginger? … [Read more...] about Reno County: The Yellow Wallpaper

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Alice Lewis Smith, Anidrosis, Ben Zuber Swanson, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Charlotte Perkins Stetson, Compound Vapor Fuming, Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell, Frances Benjamin Johnston, Go West Cure, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jim Potter, Julia Latimer Whiteside, Kansas Authors Club, Liniment Bathing, Reno County, Reno County Sheriff, Rest Cure, Samuel Field Conant, Sheriffs of Reno County, Silsbee & Scott's grocery, The New England Magazine, The Yellow Wallpaper, Vapor Baths

Reno County: The Worst Week Ever for Florence Evaline Field Jordan

May 12, 2021 by Jim Potter 4 Comments

  The Worst Week Ever for Florence Evaline Field Jordan • It’s Sunday night, May 13, 1900, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Roy E. Jordan’s body is finally in the ground, buried at Eastside Cemetery. * When Florence read the wire the previous Monday evening, it was hard. She knew that her son, Roy, 24, had been so sick with dysentery that he had been sent back to the US from Manila, where he was stationed in the Philippines.  Stateside, since April 28, he’d been under care at the Army … [Read more...] about Reno County: The Worst Week Ever for Florence Evaline Field Jordan

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Adelbert Jordan, Allen Parley Jordan, Captain Frank Lyman Jr., Chickamauga National Military Park, Eastside Cemetery, Florence Evaline Field Jordan, Grand Army of the Republic, Gus Hamner, History of Reno County, Hospital Corps, Hubert Jordan, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jasper County Missouri Record Center, Jim Potter, John Dalbey, John Dalby, Kalamazoo Michigan, Kansas Authors Club, Lena Jordan, Manila Philippines, Marion W. Bailey, Missouri Pacific, Philippine Insurrection, Philippine-American War, President McKinley, Reno County, Reno County Sheriff, Reverend David Donaldson, Reverend Elmer Ward Cole, Roy E. Jordan, Samantha Field, Samantha Strickland Field, Second Missouri Regiment, Second Missouri Volunteer Infantry, Sheriffs of Reno County, Signal Corps, Spanish-American War, Todd J. Wilkinson, USS Maine, Verne Jordan, Western Union

Reno County: When Two Deaths Make a Marriage

May 5, 2021 by Jim Potter 3 Comments

  · When Two Deaths Make a Marriage * It’s Wednesday evening, January 2, 1901, at the home of Mrs. Mary E. Ingram Wilson, 114 9th Avenue East, Hutchinson, Kansas. Shortly, Reverend Anderson Forbes (A. F.) Irwin will be performing a marriage between a widow and a widower. * Hutchinson has been a good move for me, Belle, and the children, thought Anderson, as he considered the past twelve years serving as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, arriving from Peoria, Illinois, … [Read more...] about Reno County: When Two Deaths Make a Marriage

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Anderson Forbes Irwin, Becky Wolary, Belle M. Anderson Irwin, C. C. Hutchinson, Captain John M. Hedrick, Conrad-Harmon collection, Dollie May Hedrick Wainner, Eastside Cemetery, Ecclesiastes, Edward McKee Hedrick, Eliza Woolery, First Presbyterian Church of Hutchinson, Grand Army of the Republic, History of Reno County, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jamie Wilson, Jim Potter, Joanna Fay Hedrick Wainner, John Asbury Woolery, John Woolery, Kansas, Kansas Authors Club, Kate Kenaster, Kate Kneister, Lindley James Woolery, Lindley Woolery, Marion W. Bailey, Mary May E. Ingram Wilson Hedrick, Reno County, Reno County Sheriff, Reverend A. F. Forbes, Rita Eldridge, Sheridan Ploughe, Sheriffs of Reno County, Smith Wilson, Zachary Phillips

Reno County: Searching for Alice

April 28, 2021 by Jim Potter 6 Comments

  · 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, when Ethel Winter was 15 years old. “You’re our pride and joy, Ethel,” … [Read more...] about Reno County: Searching for Alice

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Alice Elizabeth Thomas Hartford, Ben Decker, David Reed, Eastside Cemetery, Elizabeth Alice Thomas Hartford, Elizabeth Thomas Hartford, Emily Hopkins Thomas, Ethel Winter Hartford, Etta Dale Hartford, First Christian Church, Gettysburg, Grand Army of the Republic, Grandma Martha Hartford, Harry Emmet Hartford, Harry Hartford, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Ida Massingale, Jennie Hartford, Jim Potter, John Henry Hartford, Joseph V. Thomas, Kansas Authors Club, Little River Township, Lynne Hartford, Marion W. Bailey, Martha May Hartford, Nina Daile Hartford, Obee School, Reno County, Reno County Historical Society, Reno County Museum, Reno County Sheriff, Reverend Claude J. Miller, Sheriffs of Reno County, Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Timberlake Cemetery, Women's Relief Corps

Reno County: Grasshopper Invasion of 1874

April 21, 2021 by Jim Potter 2 Comments

  · Reno County Picnic: Grasshoppers · It’s August 3, 1899, at the Old Settlers’ of Reno County picnic in Riverside Park, Hutchinson, Kansas. Loretta McMillan Collins, 51, eating watermelon; Sarah Jane Riddle McMurry, 45, drinking blackberry cider; and Julia Clementine Latimer Whiteside, 31, eating fresh cherry pie; are sitting in the shade. They’re all wearing fancy hats and talking about the good ole’ days. However, at age 31, Julia’s hardly eligible to be considered an old … [Read more...] about Reno County: Grasshopper Invasion of 1874

Filed Under: Blog posts Tagged With: Bellefonte Pennsylvania, Charles Collins, Charles Collins McMurry, Cow Creek, Don Giodanni, Edita Gruberova, exaggeration postcards, Exodus 10, Fisher's Hornpipe, Henry Worrall, Houston Whiteside, Hutchinson Kansas, Hutchinson News, Jim Potter, John McMurry, Jon McMurry, Jonathan McMurry, Julia Clementine Latimer Whiteside, Kansas Authors Club, Kansas State Historical Society, Leavenworth Kansas, Loretta McMillan Collins, Marion W. Bailey, McMurry Brothers, McMurry Brothers Band, McMurry's String Band, Memphis Tennessee, Mozart, Non Mi Dir, Old Settlers' Association of Reno County, Reno County, Reno County Sheriff, Rocky Mountain locust invasion, Sarah Jane Riddle McMurry, Sheriffs of Reno County

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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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