Jim Potter's Blog, page 14

Sheriffs of Reno County: Randy Henderson

https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Sheriffs-of-Reno-County-32-Randy-Henderson.mp3· Randy Henderson (b. 1954)Sheriff 2002-2019·Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson. Posted with permission of copyright holder, photographer Stephen Rosebrough, Timekeepers Photography. Author’s collection

It’s Election night, Tuesday, April 2, 2013, in Hutchinson, Kansas, at Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson’s house. Smiling, new-jail supporters can’t believe the overwhelming success of the ½ cent sales tax vote. Unofficially, the bond issue is passing by an incredible 77.4%.

The result is no miracle; instead, it’s the outcome from many conscientious individuals working together for a single community goal, led by the hard-working, effective, and forward-thinking sheriff.

*

In 1971, when the new $1 million city-county law enforcement center (LEC) was opened in Hutchinson, the Reno County commissioners and the public were pleased with the building.

No one was happier with a new jail than the jailers who worked for Sheriff Charles Heidebrecht. The cells in the old jail on the fifth floor of the courthouse had become such a security risk that the jailers used extra locks and chains on the doors because of broken locking mechanisms.

Soon, at the LEC, the first jail-design flaw was discovered. It was smelled before it was spotted. Inexplicably, the air vents had been intentionally placed in the floors of the cells, not in the walls. When prisoners decided to create havoc, they would simply clog up the toilet and watch it overflow into the ventilation system, causing unsanitary conditions.

Two other areas that had been overlooked in the planning, was an emergency fire exit, and the need for separation of juveniles from adult inmates.

*

In 2006, Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson and community leaders attempted to pass a ¼ cent sales tax to build a $20.7 million 208-bed jail, directly north of the courthouse. The proposal failed, 54.2% against and 45.8% in favor.

Henderson learned from the defeat.

If he was still sheriff the next time there was a jail bond issue, he wanted a proposal that answered more questions. Henderson promised himself that he’d make sure the project explained how the main jail and the jail annex would be repurposed and include the remodeling costs in the package.

A year later, Sheriff Henderson was ready to assemble an improved jail task force with an updated plan, but he was forced to wait seven long years until 2013 for another public vote.

*

Originally published in 1865, titled Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

“Can you believe it?” asked Randy Henderson who resembled the Cheshire cat who couldn’t stop smiling in Lewis Carroll’s* Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. “We did it. It passed.”

“You made it real,” said one woman with a lopsided smile, who resembled a Botox patient or stroke victim. She was just one happy face in a celebratory crowd. “You helped educate the public. A majority of the inmates in the jail have not been convicted of anything.”

“Yes,” agreed the sheriff, “it was difficult to change the narrative. People believe that inmates get what they deserve. We reminded them that many prisoners are awaiting trial; they’re supposed to be presumed innocent until found guilty.

“We also told the public about our dedicated officers. People tend to forget that our staff have to work in the same environment 12 hours a day as the inmates. Officers planning a career as a jail employee are basically sentenced to 25 years behind bars.”

“Sheriff, you’ve come a long way from your days of lock ‘em up and throw away the key,” said a former drug enforcement officer. “What happened to you?”

“I changed the day I became sheriff,” said Henderson. “Now I remind people, ‘not only bad people go to jail, sometimes good people make mistakes and end up behind bars.’ And the jail overcrowding prevents us from offering educational programs, better health care, and work release.”

As people kept arriving, everyone had smiles plastered on their faces, expressing their happiness, using their whole mouth, cheeks, and eyes. A stranger might have questioned the purity of the tap water or if the rib sauce, brownies, and drinks had been spiked with illegal substances.

“It’s ironic that in order to get the public to vote for a future jail, you had to show them all the deficiencies of the old one,” commented a smiling supporter radiating happiness.

“We had to be transparent and admit the flaws of a poorly designed, worn-out, overcrowded jail,” replied Henderson. “Captain Larry Dyer never turned down a request for a public tour.”

“Dyer came through,” said a voice from the other room.

“Only by allowing the citizenry to see the poor living conditions could they grasp the vision of how much better it could become,” said Henderson. “Without the concrete experience of visiting the jail, people didn’t know what was true. I really believe that the tours allowed visitors to develop understanding and empathy for everyone locked up behind bars—the innocent and the guilty.”

“I still can’t believe it passed,” said a generous donor who had helped pay for a brochure’s printing and mailing.

As Henderson looked around the room, he saw beaming, pleased people. “It was an amazing effort; it took all of us. Thank you,” he said

“The blue-ribbon committee worked on this for almost two years,” added Henderson. “Lee Spence was incredibly thorough.” Lee served as chairman of the jail committee that studied the issues and developed a plan for the 250-bed jail and courthouse security, and Steven Becker, a member and former judge, always gave his balanced view.

“We’re lucky Dan returned home to Hutchinson from his security job at Disney World,” said Henderson, as his body faded in the shadows except for his bright Cheshire grin. “The county commissioners, including Chairman Deming and Brad Dillon, promoted the project, preferring a sales tax payment plan over an increase in property taxes.”

“Don’t forget the News,” shouted a reporter.

“The reporting of the Hutchinson News was exceptional,” agreed Henderson, “We’re lucky to have a professional paper. It provided in-depth coverage of the issues, and unlike in 2006, the editor didn’t squabble about the total number of beds. Voters understood that spending $400,000 a year to house Reno County prisoners out-of-county because of overcrowding was throwing away good money.”

*

It was quite the gathering. Eventually, people would double-check the vote count before calling it a night and going home. Celebrations would continue for days, if not weeks. The results of the vote would impact people for years, even decades.

All the smiles in one place at one time because of one singular event, had caused the release of an enormous amount of the dopamine hormone.

The result was real group happiness.

*

On the drive home from the winning bond-vote celebration, a 60-something-year-old turns the radio to her favorite oldies-but-goodies music station.

A recognizable psychedelic rock song begins to a familiar marching beat. The driver is transported back to the 1960s in San Francisco. Her laugh-lines deepen as she cranks up the volume and belts out a lyrical line.

Grace Slick of the rock group Jefferson Airplane sings “White Rabbit,” named for a character in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

Slick wrote the song after being raised listening to Carroll’s book being read to her by her parents, and when older, reading it herself.

The singer’s haunting imagery illustrates the effects of taking hallucinogenic drugs.

Her song describes a curious Alice, a hookah-smoking caterpillar, but no smiling Cheshire cat.

*

*Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898), an English writer of children’s fiction and fantasy literature, was better known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) is commonly known as Alice in Wonderland.

*

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

The post Sheriffs of Reno County: Randy Henderson appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Sheriffs of Reno County: Larry Leslie

https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sheriffs-of-Reno-County-31-Larry-Leslie.mp3· Larry Leslie (b. 1943)Sheriff 1993-2002·Reno County Sheriff Larry Leslie, photo from campaign brochure. Author’s collection

It’s Friday morning, January 3, 2003, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Larry Leslie, 59, ex-sheriff of Reno County, is beginning his jail sentence for misdemeanor conflict of interest. He’s been booked into the same jail he had formally run.

He’s been fingerprinted.

Instead of a suit and tie, he’s wearing the jail’s standard black-and-white striped jumpsuit.

*

Larry Leslie was an honest sheriff before he became a careless criminal.

*

In 1998, when twice-elected Sheriff Leslie routinely left incriminating financial documents scattered around his open and unlocked office, it was just a matter of time before he was caught for a secret business agreement with Hutchinson attorney Gerald Hertach.

The two pleaded guilty and were convicted in October 2002 of two counts of misdemeanor conflict of interest. Leslie, an elected official, had not revealed his “substantial interest” in MgtGp Inc. to Reno County commissioners as required by Kansas law. While sheriff, Leslie had quietly collected $284,875 from the secret partnership operating the county’s jail annex.

*

In 1997 the Reno County jail was overflowing. Hutchinson attorney Gerald Hertach, who had been running House Arrest at the state fairgrounds, had an answer. Convince the county commissioners that contracting for privately run jail space could save money. After discussing his idea with Sheriff Leslie and Undersheriff Ken Angell, the three men created a secret business arrangement (“prohibitive contract”) concealing their financial agreement to pocket the profits.

However, the longer Angell thought about the plan, the less he liked it. Before any money exchanged hands—or was transferred from bank account to bank account to bank account—Angell told Hertach that he no longer wanted to participate in the partnership because he believed there was a conflict of interest.

Hertach won approval from the Reno County commission with the help of Sheriff Leslie who encouraged them to award, and later renew, the management contract with MgtGp Inc.

*

It wasn’t all that long after the privately run jail annex was up and running, that employees of the Reno County Sheriff’s Office grew suspicious.

Jail Captain Scott Beardslee knew something was odd when the sheriff asked him for help with his computer. Beardslee saw that Leslie had a business letterhead for a private company named “Star Enterprises.”

Later, Sherri Owston, office manager, informed Beardslee that the sheriff was billing large amounts of money. That motivated Beardslee in October 1998 to enter Leslie’s unlocked office during the work day, spot the letterhead on the sheriff’s desk, and to find invoices that appeared to be part of a kickback scheme.

Beardslee shared copies of the documents with Detective Howard Shipley and suggested an internal investigation. Shipley was already suspicious when Leslie had gotten upset about Styrofoam cups being used in the jail annex instead of cheaper plastic cups. Since the private contract with MgtGp Inc. required the corporation to pay the fixed jail’s costs, it didn’t make sense to Shipley why Leslie would care so strongly about saving that money.

Shipley decided more evidence was needed and made a night-time visit to Leslie’s office in November or December 1998. He found additional documents including bank records in plain view on Leslie’s conference table. He copied and then returned the papers.

Even Sgt. Jim Potter, a lowly school resource officer—who was out of the departmental rumor loop—wondered why the sheriff was acting so out of character. For years, Leslie had been a hands-off administrator, so why was the top lawman suddenly acting like a school crossing guard, routinely helping escort prisoners from the main jail to the annex?

Shipley combined his documents with Beardslee’s and used them as part of an anonymous letter he sent to District Attorney Tim Chambers in March 1999.

Chambers contacted the Kansas State Attorney General’s Office and requested an investigation.

Eventually, on his way out the district attorney’s door in January 2001, after an unsatisfactory response from the AG’s office, the judge-elect requested help from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

*

Back in the Reno County jail on January 3, 2003, Sheriff Randy Henderson drinks coffee from a Styrofoam cup while talking with prisoner Leslie about jail procedures. Leslie is being sent to Saline County to serve his sentence of up to one year, if no restitution is paid.

Soon, Leslie, wearing handcuffs and leg irons, is taken down the jail’s elevator to the indoor parking basement. Once seat-belted into the jail van, the uniformed driver starts the vehicle and notifies dispatch he’s “10-15” in route to the Saline County jail with a prisoner.

As the basement overhead door opens and the jail van nudges up the concrete incline, Leslie blinks, sees the welcome sky, and visually scans the parking lot for familiar faces.

For the first time, since being hired as a patrol deputy in 1967, he’s a handcuffed prisoner in the back seat of a sheriff’s vehicle.

Leslie hopes his year of incarceration will go quickly. He knows there won’t be any early release. His illicit money is all gone. He did the crime, now he must do the time.

As Leslie watches the deputy in the front passenger seat drink coffee from a Styrofoam cup, he thinks, they could be saving money if they’d just purchase plastic cups.

*

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

The post Sheriffs of Reno County: Larry Leslie appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Sheriffs of Reno County: Jim Fountain

https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sheriffs-of-Reno-County-29-Jim-Fountain.mp3· James H. “Jim” Fountain (1928-2017)Sheriff 1972-1993·Reno County Sheriff Jim Fountain. Author’s collection Reno County courthouse. Photo by author

It’s Wednesday, June 5, 1985, in Hutchinson, Kansas, on the third floor of the Reno County courthouse. For the last three-and-a-half weeks, the jury trial of Arnold Ruebke, Jr. has been in session. Ruebke is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated kidnapping.

The crimes occurred on October 29, 1984, one mile outside of Arlington, Kansas. The bodies of two-year-old twins, Andrew and James Vogelsang, and their babysitter, Tammey Mooney, 18, were discovered three days later in a thickly wooded and grassy area west of the Vogelsang residence. All three had been murdered with 12-gauge shotgun blasts.

On November 4, 1984, the defendant was arrested in Kingman, Kansas, and brought to Hutchinson. Reno County Sheriff Jim Fountain escorted the 18-year-old suspect into the law enforcement center and up to the jail.

*

The phone rings. The jury has reached a verdict.

Sheriff Fountain looks at his watch. It’s 3:40 p.m. A verdict on six charges in six hours must be good news, he hopes. He takes a deep breath.

The word travels fast. Stepping into the hallway, he begins a migration to the courthouse.

Hurry and wait. In the courtroom, Fountain learns the reason for the court’s delay in going back into session. Ruebke, Jr., on bond, and his parents, are in route from northeast Hutchinson, where Ruebke, Sr. lives.

Jury box. Photo by author

The courtroom is packed, overflowing with 100 spectators. The defendant, with his attorney Richard Rome, enter. Family members and friends of the victims and family members of the defendant are present. Attorneys, law enforcement, and the media, line the walls.

Sheriff Jim Fountain bites his fingernails and with his thumb pushes his cuticles back. He’s been in this business long enough to know that no jury is predictable. 

Ruebke’s a liar. He’s a convicted thief, thinks Fountain. But, has Frank Meisenheimer, Assistant County Attorney, proven to the jury that the liar and thief is also a triple-murderer?

Fountain remembers the phone call from his nephew, Jeff Fountain, Arlington Police Chief, three days after Tammey Mooney and the Vogelsang twins were reported missing from the Vogelsang home.

All three were found. All three were dead.

Later, after the crime scene was processed, he, the sheriff, volunteered to carry one of the boys from the thicket to the road, and to gently hand the precious body to mortuary attendants. During that long walk, with the innocent dead child in his arms, the sheriff promised the boy that he would see to it that this unthinkable crime would be solved, the person who murdered them, who came straight out of hell, would be punished.

*

A judgement scene mural by Vincent Aderente, Italian American (1880-1941), in the Reno County District courtroom. Photo by author The goddess of justice sits directly above the chair of the judge. Photo by author

District Judge William “Buck” Lyle views the crowded courtroom from his throne. He believes that most of the spectators aren’t looking at him, they’re admiring the Vincent Aderente mural over his head. It depicts a justice scene with a sitting female judicator.

In his courtroom, Judge Lyle sets the scene and the jury’s verdict is ready to be heard.

The courtroom is silent until all present hear the decision. Arnold Ruebke, Jr. is guilty as charged.

Ruebke, convicted, wearing a t-shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes, shows no emotion.

Meisenheimer turns to the spectators, breaths a sigh of relief, and looks toward the ceiling.

Aderente painted the mural prior to the courthouse’s official opening in 1931. This scene shows a mortal begging for mercy. Photo by author

Mrs. Carol Van Pelt, Arnold’s mother, and Lisa Ruebke, Arnold’s wife, burst into tears, wondering why there is no justice and no mercy.

 

“No, no,” says Lisa, hearing Lyle read the verdict.

Another portion of the Aderente mural. The shackled prisoner awaits punishment, possibly execution. Photo by author

Debbie Vogelsang, mother of Andi and Jami; and Margaret Mooney, mother of Tammey; are crying. Vogelsang has studied the mural for over three weeks. When she sees the warrior or executioner holding the large sword, she imagines using it in an act of vengeance. Between sobs, repeatedly, Debbie says, “He’s going to pay.”

Jay Vogelsang, Debbie’s husband, father of the murdered boys, is absent from the courtroom because of his fear that he’d be unable to control his emotions. 

Assistant County Attorney Frank Meisenheimer asks to raise Ruebke’s bond to $5 million or no bond at all. Lyle raises it from $105,000 to $500,000.

Detective Captain Dennis Radke handcuffs Ruebke and leads him out of the courtroom’s back door to take him to jail.

Arnold’s mother comments, “I just don’t see how the jury could have done it with everything that came out. It’s hard to believe they did it. I wasn’t prepared for this.”

Ellis Mooney, father of Tammey, comments, “I think the trial was handled properly. I think both of the attorneys did their job real well. I believe Reno County will rest a lot easier tonight than they have in a long time.”

Debbie Vogelsang adds, “I always thought he was guilty. It’s very important for me that he’s behind bars. I feel better about my kids’ safety. I feel better about everyone’s safety.”

District Judge Lyle is pleased with the conduct of the audience. “I felt I had excellent cooperation from all the spectators and the news media and everybody else. I didn’t even have a gavel.”

If not for the circumstances, Prosecutor Meisenheimer’s comment is laughable. He remarks, “It’s my biggest case I’ve ever tried.” Then, he adds, “We’ll seek a sentence of at least 180 years. We’ll ask for a life sentence for each crime and seek to invoke the Habitual Criminal Act because of Mr. Ruebke’s prior felony theft conviction. This will double the total sentence. Mr. Ruebke should never be paroled.”

County Attorney Tim Chambers has been sitting next to Meisenheimer during the trial to help keep track of the large number of details.

Chambers comments that he thinks the key pieces of evidence were: 1) the unique condition of the pennies that Ruebke cashed in at the Arlington bank the afternoon the trio disappeared, 2) Ruebke’s detailed statements to a Kingman man about the fatal injuries to the victims before the autopsies were completed, and 3) testimony from Arlington grade-school children who saw Ruebke with Miss Mooney on the day of the murders.

Defense Attorney Richard Rome remarks, “I only have high respect for Mr. Meisenheimer and the way the trial was conducted, but I think we definitely will appeal.”

Sheriff Fountain remarks, “It took the cooperation of our department, the KBI, and the police department. All that teamwork resulted in the decision of the jury this afternoon.”

Fountain chooses not to share his inner-most thoughts: Reubke came straight out of hell to murder innocents, now, hell will have a long wait before Ruebke’s return.

*

A good deal of the courtroom information is based on Mark Enoch’s reporting in the June 6, 1985, Hutchinson News article, with contributions from reporters Jerry Maxfield and Alan Montgomery.

*

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

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Sheriffs of Reno County: Charles Heidebrecht

https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sheriffs-of-Reno-County-28-Charles-Heidebrecht.mp3· Charles Heidebrecht (b. 1927)Sheriff 1963-1972·Reno County Sheriff Charles Heidebrecht, about 1968. Author’s collection

Reverend Richard Burson, minister at the Gospel Chapel, Elm Street and 6th Avenue, Hutchinson, Kansas, takes a deep breath. He looks shrunken, his eyes downcast.

It’s Sunday, July 30th, 1972, two days before Reno County citizens vote in the primary election to decide who will be the next top lawman. The Republican winner will almost certainly be the next sheriff since there’s no Democrat challenger on the ballot.

Click to read Sheriff Charles Heidebrecht’s political advertisement supporting Undersheriff Howard Nelson: Heidebrecht endorses Nelson 

Rev. Burson, 54, is about ready to face his congregation, to apologize for unintentionally spreading an evil rumor.

*

Rev. Burson has prayed about his professional dilemma. Howard Nelson, 47, and Jim Fountain, 43, are both running for sheriff on the Republican ticket. Burson has been drawn into the political campaign because members of his congregation have told him about rumors they’ve heard and have asked him for his advice.

In an attempt to get the facts, Burson has visited with Sheriff Charles Heidebrecht, 44, at his office in the Reno County courthouse. Heidebrecht informed Burson that when Captain Fountain worked for him on road patrol two and a half years earlier, the deputy was a drunk.

Political campaign flyer from 1972. Author’s collection

With that information, Burson preached to his congregation, warning them not to vote for Fountain, that Undersheriff Nelson would make a better sheriff.

When Fountain supporters learned that Burson had been spreading rumors from the pulpit, they informed candidate Fountain. Quickly, with the election just days ahead, Fountain, a family member, a friend, and Fountain’s minister, visited Rev. Burson at his church. All four of the men convinced Burson that Fountain did not have a drinking problem, and accused Heidebrecht of misleading the minister.

*

“I really thought I was doing something right,” said Richard Burson to Jim Fountain and his supporters. “I’ve failed my flock and I need to make things right.

“You must not pass along false rumors, Exodus 23:1,” quoted Rev. Burson. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him, Proverbs 18:17.

“It’s hard for me to believe a police officer wouldn’t give me straight-forward information. I didn’t feel Sheriff Heidebrecht was trying to lie to me or mislead me, but I’m afraid I’ve been very much misled.

“I feel I should rectify this. I feel the information he gave me wasn’t factual. It was colored by what he wanted me to think, and it was not told to me in strict confidence.

“Mr. Fountain, I am sincerely sorry for having spread an evil, false rumor about you . . . I wish you luck in the upcoming election.

“Now, I’m going to correct my error to my congregation and ask them for their forgiveness.” With those final words, Rev. Burston stood up, prepared to rectify a wrong.

Reno County Sheriff’s Deputy Jim Fountain, about 1968. Author’s collection

*

“How could a minister give a sermon in violation of confidence?” asked Charles Heidebrecht. “Rev. Burson asked to speak to me privately and confidentially.

“I apologize to Jim Fountain and his family for Rev. Burson’s breach of trust in exposing to the public what I tried so hard to conceal because I didn’t want to embarrass my former deputy or his family.

“What happened was deplorable. Howard Nelson did not want a mud-slinging campaign. It appears to me that I, not Rev. Burson, is a pawn in a political gimmick.

“I regret that I have been forced to enter into this type of campaign. Rev. Burston has labeled me a liar. I know of no other way to defend myself except to answer his accusations in like manner; publicly though the press.”

*

Everyone involved, Rev. Burson, Charles Heidebrecht, Jim Fountain, and Howard Nelson, might have agreed that politics, especially when it gets personal, can be ugly and leave a bitter taste that won’t easily be washed away.

*

After Fountain won a narrow victory over Nelson, there was no smooth transition, as promised. Instead, the Hiedebrecht Administration was in a hurry to abandon ship.

The sheriff, undersheriff, Detective Captain Charles Maddox, and Office Manager Alice Bragg, all announced their three-month early departure, taking effect October 1st.

Sheriff-elect Fountain was appointed by Governor Robert Docking to fill the unexpired term of Sheriff Heidebrecht.

When the new administration arrived at the almost new city-county law enforcement center, 210 W 1st Ave., on their first day of work, they weren’t expecting a band, or a parade, or even a cake. Instead, they found a welcoming gift atop the sheriff’s desk. It was a giant pile of unmarked department keys.

*

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

The post Sheriffs of Reno County: Charles Heidebrecht appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Sheriffs of Reno County: Calvin Sheppard

https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sheriffs-of-Reno-County-27-Calvin-Sheppard.mp3· Calvin Sheppard (1925-)Sheriff 1959-1963·Calvin Sheppard served two, 2-year terms as Reno County sheriff, January 1959-January 1963. By state law he was not permitted to run for a third consecutive term. Sitting out a term, he did run in the August 1963 Republican primary, but incumbent Charles Heidebrecht was reelected. Hutchinson News political ad, August 3, 1964.

Click to see photo of Calvin Sheppard

Calvin and Carol Sheppard are off to vote. It’s Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 1964, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Finally, on the ballot, the people of Kansas get to decide on an amendment to the state constitution. Will sheriffs be allowed to seek more than two consecutive two-year terms?

*

“I’m pretty sure the amendment will pass,” said Calvin. “It won’t help us or dad, but it will allow men to come into office, build an organization, and get the best personnel required.”

As if on key, Carol added to the conversation. She and Calvin recalled how his father, Roy, had been prevented from successfully running for reelection after completing Al Severson’s term of office and being elected for one full term. It was similar to when Calvin was limited to serving beyond his two consecutive terms from 1959 to 1963.

“What kind of doctors would you have if you restricted them to a four-year license in your community and then told them they had to move on?” Carol asked.

“I remember watching dad being sworn in at the courthouse in 1956 after being appointed by the governor. Tommy and his classmates from Prosperity School were there too.”

*

After being elected sheriff for a full term in the fall of 1956, Roy Sheppard hired Calvin as a deputy sheriff.

During the primary sheriff’s campaign in July 1958, Carol Jean Weber and Calvin Masters Sheppard married. Whether Calvin knew it or not, he was following the advice from an early-day sheriff who had advised a newcomer with the responsibilities of running a jail, “If you’re not married yet, get married as soon as possible.”

In January—after winning the fall election—Calvin and his bride of six months moved into Sheppard’s Hotel—a one room apartment adjacent to the jail cells on the fifth floor of the courthouse.

After Calvin won the sheriff’s race, he returned the favor to his father. In January 1959, he hired Roy to be his deputy.

Reno County court house, Hutchinson, KS, at 1st Ave. & Adams Street. The entire 5th floor housed the county jail. Postcard by E. C. Kropp Co. Author’s collection

Instead of cooking for two people, Carol became the chief dietitian and chef, cooking for 25 people. Instead of a typical door bell, the sheriff and chef responded to the toot of a bicycle horn.

Calvin Sheppard added an additional layer of security to the Reno County jail when he obtained a German shepherd. When the pup was older, he and Calvin attended—and graduated from—police dog training school. But even before the schooling, Butch was put to work. He was turned loose in the jail corridors at night and sounded the alert when anything unusual happened while Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff were asleep.

On Christmas Day 1959, Carol and Calvin welcomed a baby girl, Beth Ann, to Hutchinson. Shortly thereafter, she joined her parents in the one-room apartment that had a barred, front-door gate.

For Beth Ann’s first six months, she lived in the jail with her parents until her mobility created a safety issue. That’s when the Sheppard family moved back to the free world where neighbors lived in unlocked houses, not locked cells. 

*

“It’s kind of a shame,” said Calvin, “after working for years with the Kansas Sheriff’s Association to change the law on term limits, the first Reno County sheriff who can benefit from it isn’t a Sheppard, but a Heidebrecht—Charles Heidebrecht. We’ll see if he runs again in two years.”

*

Calvin started laughing at a memory.

“What’s so funny, dear?” said Carol.

“I was thinking about the campaign between us and Sonny Wilson,” said Calvin.

“The bumper stickers?” asked Carol.

“Yes,” agreed Calvin. “Every night Sonny Wilson or his supporters would cross the street from his bar and remove our “Elect Sheppard for Sheriff,” bumper stickers that were plastered on our sheriff cars. They’d replace them with their own stickers, “Wilson for Sheriff.”

“Every morning, after coffee, we’d remove their bumper stickers and attach ours. I guess they thought one day we’d forget and drive around all day campaigning for Sonny. It never happened.”

*

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

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Gina Laiso, Integrita Productions

· Gina Laiso, Integrita Productions

·

Book Designer and Coach

For years Gina Laiso, book designer and coach, has been helping people self-publish books at her company, Integrita Productions, of rural Kansas.

It’s been fulfilling for Gina to guide people through their early inspiration and research phase to the development of a finished, professional book, ready for print. Clearly, she enjoys the process of helping her customers flesh out ideas by offering options for self-publishing.

A few months ago, Gina, a self-publishing author’s consultant, found another way to help writers while also making a huge difference to communities. It started in the midst of a world-wide pandemic when she was exploring a cooking Facebook page called “Quarantine Kitchen.”

One of the 35,000 Quarantine Kitchen members suggested that a recipe book could be published as another way of sharing how members became home chefs during a pandemic. Daniella, Kristina, and Traci Cangiano, administrators of the Facebook page, enthusiastically agreed. Gina stepped forward as the book designer and coach, and guided the process with meticulous cover and layout design.

To top the cake, the Cangianos of New York, decided to make a difference by helping support Covid-19 heroes through the sale of the book.

After the first printing of the collection of recipes, photos, and stories sold out in one week, Gina began to receive inquiries from individuals about designing more recipe books. Some people wanted a cookbook of favorite family dishes, others wanted to fundraise for their community.

Gina Laiso, Integrita Productions, is fortunate to have a profession that allows her to work from home and to be in touch with customers across the country. If you are considering publishing a book, she can be reached at gina@integritaproductions.com.

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

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Sheriffs of Reno County: Roy Sheppard

https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sheriffs-of-Reno-County-26-Roy-Sheppard-online-audio-converter.com_.mp3· Roy Sheppard (1897-1977)Sheriff 1956-1959·Reno County Sheriff Roy Sheppard. Author’s collection

It must be Monday, because we’re having ham and beans today, thinks Fannie Elizabeth Masters Sheppard, jail matron and cook at the Reno County jail on the fifth floor of the courthouse.

It’s 0750 hours, December 29, 1958, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Fannie, 61, wife of Sheriff Roy Sheppard, also 61, is working with a trustee in the county jail’s kitchen.

There’s still the aroma of bacon in the air from breakfast as Mrs. Sheriff washes beans to be served later with ham. Her jail trustee is washing dishes.

Jailer Charles Grubbs and trustee Cleo Day are putting mop buckets into the bull pen, a bar-enclosed open area where prisoners mingle.

Suddenly, two prisoners, John Beason, 20, and Ralph England, 21, grab Day. There’s a struggle.

*

Reno County court house, Hutchinson, KS, at 1st Ave. & Adams Street. The entire 5th floor housed the county jail. Postcard by E. C. Kropp Co. Author’s collection

Grubbs, standing in the doorway, immediately starts to shut the steel bull pen door, but a prisoner jams a mop handle into the doorway, preventing its closure.

Prisoners Ron Smith, 21, Tom Colvin, 18, and Tom Gimpel, 20, rush towards the door as Grubbs runs down the hallway. Unable to throw the jail keys between the bars, outside the locked perimeter, Grubbs is jumped and attacked with a crude blackjack made from a sock with a hard bar of soap inside. After the inmates secure the jail keys, Grubbs is held by three prisoners, while the other two steal cash and grab their coats.

*

Fannie attempts to make a phone call but is stopped by a prisoner. She screams. As the inmates discuss locking her in the bullpen, the kitchen trustee grabs a butcher knife, takes a defensive stance, and declares: “Nobody’s hurting Mrs. Sheppard.”

*

Political ad in the Hutchinson News Herald, August 6, 1956

Fannie thinks of Tommy, her youngest child, but realizes he’s safe.

Then memories of Roy flash in her brain. As children, she and Roy start their education together at the same school, beginning in the first grade near Jacksonville, Illinois.

As a young adult, Fannie is living in Augusta, Kansas, teaching school, when Roy visits from Hutchinson and asks for her hand in marriage, tying the knot in 1923.

Roy joins his father, Ira, in the dairy farming business. Fannie and Roy begin their marriage owning a dozen chickens and two cows.

Fannie and Roy are content being dairy farmers when their rural life is interrupted in 1956. He’s picked by the Republican Central Committee to succeed Al Severson, who was forced to resign. The committee wants a man above reproach, with good moral fiber.

We had no intention of living off the farm, certainly no plan to live in the county jail, recalled Fannie, but Roy couldn’t find anyone to take over as jailer or a woman to be the jail matron.

Fannie’s memories collide with the reality of the moment. A jail escape is in progress, but she’s calm. Roy’s not present to protect her, but the firm voice of the armed trustee echoes in her head, “Nobody’s hurting Mrs. Sheppard.”

If Roy was here, the prisoners would be in real trouble, considers Fannie. Once Roy takes hold of someone, they never escape his powerful, bear-like grip. His commanding strength is a result of milking cows for 33 years.

*

Suddenly, the prisoners are gone, having used the jail keys to take a stairway down towards the fourth floor’s city courtroom.

Charles Grubbs, with one hand to his head, asks Fannie, “Are you okay, Mrs. Sheppard?”

“I’m fine,” replies Fannie, “just a little shook up. How are you?”

*

On the fourth floor, the escaping prisoners commandeer the elevator from Ed Donley, 77, pushing him to the rear.

On the first floor, all five men flee from the courthouse, crossing the street towards a used car lot, shivering from the cold wind, planning to get as far away from Hutchinson as humanly possible.

*

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

The post Sheriffs of Reno County: Roy Sheppard appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Sheriffs of Reno County: Al Severson

https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Sheriffs-of-Reno-County-25-Al-Severson.mp3· Al Severson (1921-1983)Sheriff 1955-1956·Reno County court house, Hutchinson, KS, at 1st Ave. & Adams Street. The entire 5th floor housed the county jail. Postcard by E. C. Kropp Co. Author’s collection

It’s Tuesday morning, May 15, 1956, in Hutchinson, Kansas.

As Reno County Sheriff Al Severson attaches his prosthetic hook to his left elbow and upper arm, he says to Grace Wells Severson, his wife and jail matron, “It’s finally here, Resignation Day.”

Grace agrees that the last year and four months serving as Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff have been exciting and rewarding, yet disappointing and sad.

*

“Because of you, the prisoners eat three meals a day, not two,” said Grace, as she placed thank you cards around the large bouquet on the table inside the courthouse entrance.

“Because of you we not only have our son Gene, but we have Anita, a girl who crawled into our lives,” said Al, as he re-read heartfelt messages beginning with, “to all our friends in the Courthouse.”

*

Al recalled his childhood, meeting Grace, his military career, and the searing pain from the hand grenade that destroyed his hand.

Alfred, a native of Wisconsin, and Grace, born in Hutchinson, met on a blind double-date in Reno County, married in 1942, and the next year welcomed a baby boy, Gene, into their lives.

Staff Sergeant Severson was sent overseas in the summer of 1944, and was wounded in October while serving in the Third Army while in Luxenberg. He was in a half-track ammunition carrier when a faulty pin of a hand grenade exploded and destroyed his left hand. This injury forced the amputation of his arm eight inches above the wrist.

*

Political ad from a Hutchinson newspaper. Unknown exact date but most likely from the summer of 1954.

Al remembered being interviewed and hired by Sheriff Walt Dixon to serve civil papers. He was kept on for Dixon’s two terms (1947-1951) and also worked for the next sheriff, Vic Frazey (1951-1955). In a very close Republican primary election in August 1954, Deputy Severson was nominated for sheriff over Undersheriff Orval Mathias. In the November election, he easily defeated Democrat Elmer Foss.

*

“We’ve had a beautiful view of Hutchinson from the fifth floor jail area,” said Grace. “Few people have a key this big to their front door,” she added with a laugh, referring to the hand-size, heavy-duty hardware.

“Our living room-bedroom combination has been ideal with the little alcoves for Gene, and Anita, our ‘Sunshine Girl’.”

*

“We sure were lucky to make the trip together to pick up Faye Holder in Denver,” said Grace.

“If Faye hadn’t written bad checks, it’s unlikely we would have ever met three-year-old Anita,” said Al. “And if Faye hadn’t been sent to the State Women’s Farm at Lansing, her daughter wouldn’t have become a ward of the state, leading to our temporary custody of the little girl.”

“She’s still an adorable, curly-headed child,” said Grace. “After we picked up Anita, I remember how she immediately crawled in the front seat and sat on my lap the whole return trip to Hutchinson. From then on, she belonged in our family.”

*

Sheriff Al Severson resigned his office after the State Attorney General John Anderson and Reno County Attorney John Alden both investigated and found misconduct by Severson. They recommended ouster proceedings.

The inquisition concluded that the sheriff had been drunk on duty, particularly in the courthouse and in his office.

Severson was also found to have participated and encouraged the use of confiscated slot machines at a party held within the courthouse.

Finally, there was a claim of Severson having “misconducted” himself in the keeping of a female prisoner.

The last accusation, if true, would have been especially unsettling to his wife and mother-in law. Grace lived in the jail facility with Al; his mother-in-law, Mabel Wells MacLean, was his office deputy on the first floor.

But Grace continued to think highly of Al as “the most capable Sheriff that Reno County has ever had,” and a man who “has always been fair and honest.”

*

At 11 a.m. Sheriff Severson met with the county auditor, and the incoming sheriff, Roy Sheppard, appointed by the governor.

As the clock approached the noon hour, when dairy farmer Sheppard was to be sworn in as the new sheriff, Al and Grace slipped away to attend to unfinished business. The married couple and their lawyer, Clair Hyter, presented their mutually agreed upon divorce to Judge John Fontron who granted the decree.

At noon the Severson family and deputies exited the courthouse.

Al planned to remain in Hutchinson.

Grace, with Anita and Gene, were off to Independence, Kansas “to live a normal life again,” commenting, “I still firmly believe that out of all bad things, comes something good.”

*

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

The post Sheriffs of Reno County: Al Severson appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Sheriffs of Reno County: Victor H. Frazey

https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Sheriffs-of-Reno-County-24-Vic-Frazey.mp3· Victor H. Frazey (1900-1971)Sheriff 1951-1955·Reno County court house, Hutchinson, KS, at 1st Ave. & Adams Street. Postcard by E. C. Kropp Co. Author’s collection

It’s Christmas Day, 1951, in Hutchinson, Kansas, at the Reno County court house, in the jail on the fifth floor. A strand of colorful Christmas tree bulbs outline the frame of one window, while the scent of freshly cut pine branches and the aroma of cinnamon cookies, offer a reason to remember . . . or forget.

Vera Gambee Frazey, wife of Sheriff Vic Frazey, has prepared a turkey dinner with trimmings for 25 people—19 of them county prisoners.

Political advertisement in the Hutchinson Record, Hutchinson, KS, July 28, 1950

Sitting at the guest table with Vera, 45, and Vic, 51, is Vic’s sister, Florence Frazey, 66. She lives in Nickerson, Kansas. Vera’s father, Clinton Gambee, 71, and his wife—Vera’s step-mother— Minnie Spung Gambee, 66, are visiting from Sterling, Kansas. Clinton’s sister, Bessie Gambee, 66, calls Chicago, Illinois, her home.

 

*

“Vic,” asked Florence, “will Vera ever sit down?”

“You heard her,” said Vic, “start eating. She wants us to enjoy a hot meal.”

“Turkey with potatoes and gravy is my favorite,” said Clinton.

Bess took a bite of cranberries and said, “Delicious!”

“Speaking of hot, if it wasn’t for Vera, we’d still be boiling water to wash dishes,” continued Vic. “When she took over as the cook, the county commissioners agreed to permit the jail to have its own water heater. Before that, the piped water from the basement arrived here cold.”

“Victor is the baby in the family,” announced Florence.

Vic rolled his eyes.

“We all thought James was the last of eight children. He was born in 1890,” continued Florence. “But ten years later, baby Victor surprised everyone. Mother was 44, Father, 57.

Click to see photo of Vic Frazey

“Look at you now,” said Florence to her brother, “when we girls changed your diapers, we never dreamed you’d be the Reno County sheriff.”

Vera sat down, joining her guests as they complimented her on the satisfying holiday meal.

“I stayed in Nickerson and Manitou Springs while Laura served as a missionary in China,” said Florence. “Jim gave three years of service in YMCA work in France and Belgium after the Great War.

Click to see Laura Frazey photo “Laura was born in 1879 in Chautauqua County, Kansas. She was the third child,” continued Florence. “After graduating from Nickerson College in 1905 and teaching in Reno County for a few years, she prepared for missionary work at Union Missionary Training School, in Brooklyn, New York.

“In late 1908, Laura departed Nickerson and set sail from San Francisco to Foochow, China. She became a missionary school teacher at Kutien, China, working at a girl’s boarding school, sponsored by the Methodist Episcopal Church.

“In 1898, our sister Mary Magdeline died after a brief illness when she was ten years old ,” Florence recalled.

Postcard sent by missionary Laura Frazey, Kutien, China, written on January 2, 1910, and sent to the home of her parents, John Tyler & Harry Emily Dikeman Frazey, Nickerson, KS. Victor was nine years old. Author’s collection

“I was eight years old when Laura left for China the first time,” said Vic. “Thanks to Laura, in school I always had a topic for my reports and essays, including stamps from around the world and photographs of China. She would serve in Kutien for five-year cycles then return home for a year-long furlough.”

“Over the years, Laura sent me some dresses,” recalled Florence, “my favorite was a silk crepe. Letters would take anywhere from a month to seven weeks to arrive.”

“With the revolutions and war, was Laura safe while she was over there?” asked Minnie.

“She had faith that she was in god’s care,” said Florence. “Laura wasn’t afraid. She was always optimistic that there would be peace, but the fighting closed their school on numerous occasions because of bandits and war. The missionaries were eventually sent home because the new government was anti-foreign and anti-Christian, and gradually believed every missionary was a spy.”

“Sometimes the missionaries were called ‘foreign devils’,” said Vic, “but Laura was an angel. I let her down. She asked us to write her more often than we did. When Laura was overseas, she was starved for the pleasure of American letters.”

“We got busy with our own lives,” said Vera, “but I don’t know how she did it, being away from home for years at a time.”

“Mother and Father missed her so much,” said Florence. “I’m just glad Laura retired so she could be home with them for their last year or so. She returned to Nickerson in 1928. John died in 1929 at age 86, Harriett a year later at age 72.

Click to see photo of Laura Frazey with two Bible Women friends (enclosed in letter dated October 29, 1917.)

“With our parents gone, Laura came out of retirement and returned to China in 1931,” said Florence. “A year later she was ill with appendicitis while at Kutien, days from a city doctor. She was taken down mountain paths and by boat to the nearest hospital in Foochow, but it took two days.

“By the time she reached the hospital and had surgery, her appendix had ruptured and peritonitis had set in. She died September 20, 1932, and was buried in China. She was 52.

“Laura had a beautiful spirit with love for others, especially her family. She was devoted to her work and sacrificed her life for the Chinese.”

*

While eating corn and carrots, one prisoner said to another: “Twenty years ago I would have felt really bad about spending Christmas in jail. Now, I don’t mind too much.

“My youngest boy, 20, isn’t much interested in a home Christmas with me, and my wife divorced me twenty years ago.

“Since that bad luck hit me, I’ve gone from bad to worse.”

The other prisoner, 60 or so years old, eating a cinnamon cookie, replied: “I haven’t spent a holiday with my family for many years. They live in Detroit.

“I can’t even remember where I was last Christmas.”

*

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

The post Sheriffs of Reno County: Victor H. Frazey appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Sheriffs of Reno County: Walter Dixon

https://jimpotterauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Sheriffs-of-Reno-County-23-Walter-Dixon.mp3· Walter Leslie Dixon (1894-1965)Sheriff 1947-1951·

It’s Saturday, August 18, 1951, in Hutchinson, Kansas. Walter Dixon, 57, wakes up and looks at the clock. It’s 1:25 a.m. The room is quiet except for his wife’s breathing.

He’s been dreaming, or remembering. Four years earlier, in 1947, he and Ruth were sound asleep when the phone rang and Walt answered it . . . at 1:25 a.m.

*

“Sheriff Dixon,” said the caller, “this is Milton Stucky of rural Pretty Prairie, there’s been an unusual accident.”

*

Dixon learned that 24 year-old, Clarence Krehbiel, was dead, lying in the road 18 miles south of Hutchinson, and one mile east. Krehbiel’s 1936 Terraplane coupe was at the intersection, its motor running, lights on, with the driver’s door partially open.

It was a hot August night. On the drive south, Dixon considered two hijacking reports he had been investigating that were first reported to his office by the uncle of Krehbiel’s fiancée. Subsequently confirmed by Clarence Krehbiel, the late-night highjackings had occurred around midnight on Krehbiel’s way home after he visited Helen Schwartz.

According to Krehbiel, he’d been stopped by a vehicle along the road, then robbed of cash by three unknown men. On July 30, the first time, they demanded $20, and warned him to come back the following week with more money. The second time, on August 3, they took $100.

*

Political campaign placard. Undated. Phil McDaniels collection

Walt remembered Krehbiel’s body lying face down in the sand, and confirming that the popular Pretty Prairie farmer was dead, three bullet holes in his chest. Five feet away was Krehbiel’s .22 automatic rifle. Nearby were three empty cartridge jackets.

Two buttons, torn from Krehbiel’s shirt, were found at the scene, the only sign of a struggle. Krehbiel’s empty wallet was inside his car.

As additional officers arrived and examined the crime scene, they all agreed that it was not a suicide. Sheriff Walt Dixon proclaimed, “It was a case of murder.”

*

“You didn’t sleep well last night,” commented Ruth to Walt.

“I dreamed of Clarence Krehbiel’s murder,” responded Walt.

“I’m sorry,” said Ruth. “No longer being part of the sheriff’s office, doesn’t mean you can stop thinking about it.”

“I thought the phone was ringing, looked at the clock, and remembered the phone call we received four years ago,” said Walt.

“Are you okay now?” asked Ruth. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I know the case is in the hands of the KBI,” said Walt, “but I’m well aware they don’t have the time or the manpower to investigate old cases that never had good leads in the first place.”

“Not every case can be solved,” said Ruth.

“I can’t control my nights, but I can control my days,” said Walt as he got out of bed.

Wait ‘Til the Sun Shines, Nellie movie release poster, 1952. Author’s collection

“Would you like to go to Castleton with Aliene and me to watch more filming of Wait ‘Til the Sun Shines, Nellie?”

“I thought your long day yesterday, outside the Stamey Hotel, had done you in,” said Walt.

“It was a scorcher,” said Ruth, “but we got to see the star, Jean Peters. Today we’re hoping we can examine the buildings in Castleton that were built for the movie scenes. Of course, their red-brick railroad depot is always inviting.”

Click for more information on the movie Wait ‘Til the Sun Shines, Nellie

“Bob and I are going fishing at Kanopolis Lake,” said Walt. “If you want, we’ll take Philip along. He likes drowning worms.”

“Will Philip be wearing a life belt?” asked Ruth.

“Yes, of course,” answered Walt.

“Sounds good,” said Ruth. “We’ll take David with us.”

*

Robert “Bob” McDaniels, 1938 Hutchinson High School Allagaroo yearbook Doris “Aliene” Dixon, 1939 Hutchinson High School Allagaroo yearbook

“Walt, how’s the real estate business?” asked Bob McDaniels, 31, Walter Dixon’s son-in-law, married to Aliene.

“I’m getting closer to being a realtor,” answered Walt. “Once I’m let loose, I’ll have a business card to hand out to everyone who asks me that annoying question: ‘Now that you’re retired from being sheriff, are you enjoying loafing?’”  

“Do you miss law enforcement?” asked Bob.

“I miss fishing, hunting, and visiting my grandchildren, not working,” said Walt.

“We’ve had great times fishing,” said Bob. “San Diego Bay, with its spotted bay bass, and the Rio Grande River with rainbow trout, are special locations,” said Bob.

L-R: Aliene Dixon, father Walt Dixon, & unknown fishing enthusiast, about 1932. Phil McDaniels collection

“With special memories,” added Walt. “I’m looking forward to today’s fishing on Lake Kanopolis. The rain has stirred up the fish. I’ve heard they’re eating berries off the top of submerged trees.”

“Maybe we should reconsider our bait,” said Bob.

“We’ll have an opportunity to show Philip the Indian writings on the cliff at the mouth of Horse Thief Canyon,” stated Walt.

“Once he sees the petroglyphs, he’ll want to meet the nearest Indians,” said Bob with a laugh.

“Philip’s a precocious child,” added Walt. “He doesn’t just ask ‘why?’ He listens to your answer.”

“He has a fishing joke to tell you, but he’s going to wait until we’re out on the water,” advised Bob. “But I’ve got one for you right now.”

“Go ahead,” said Walt.

“A customer walks into a fishing shop and asks, ‘Can I have a fly rod-and-reel for my son?’”

“Sorry sir,” the shop owner replies, “we don’t do trade-ins.”

*

Until next time, happy writing and reading.

The post Sheriffs of Reno County: Walter Dixon appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.