Jim Potter's Blog, page 2

The Making of a Lynching Culture

The Making of a Lynching Culture book review

by Jim Potter

I learned a long time ago that when horse thieves of any ethnicity or race were captured in the American Frontier, especially the American West, many met their maker at the end of a rope, hanging from a tree.… Read the rest

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BEWARE of Funny Money

Play Money in Hutchinson, Kansas

A few days ago, while at our local bank, a customer was trying to deposit $2,000 he had received at his business. His teller counted the bills using the bank’s bill counter. It detects counterfeit money.… Read the rest

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Researching Robert

Dorothy MackaillBy Jim Potter

A biography is non-fiction. The true stories told by biographers are written after diligent historical research. Like detectives, writers become so familiar with their characters, settings, and facts, that they are better prepared to predict the behavior of a person of interest when trying to solve a case.… Read the rest

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A Postcard’s Worth a Thousand Words

A Postcard’s Worth a Thousand WordsBy Jim Potter

I can imagine teaching history by showing PowerPoints of digital postcards to my students.

Recently, I purchased several postcards at the annual Wichita Postcard Show. From my haul, I’ve selected six cards for “show and tell” in this blog post.… Read the rest

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Researching Robert

A “Yank” in the FamilyBy Jim Potter

Robert Walter Parks and Gladys Mary Gamble married on April 6, 1926, in Hull, East Yorkshire of Reading, England. The ceremony occurred on a Tuesday, two days after Easter. The newlyweds had plans to live in the United States, which was very appealing to Gladys, but dreadful to her widowed mother.… Read the rest

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Researching Robert

Gladys Gamble of Hull, Englandby Jim Potter

When Robert Parks left Sunrise, Wyoming, I wonder if he had any idea he’d meet and fall in love with a young, vivacious, fun-loving, and daring woman living over five thousand miles away.… Read the rest

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Researching Robert

Return to the SeaBy Jim Potter

I lost track of Robert Parks after December 26, 1922. That was his last day of work as a brakeman on the Colorado and Wyoming Railway at Sunrise, Wyoming.

Where did Robert go from there?… Read the rest

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Researching Robert

Sunrise Mineby Jim Potter

Robert Parks left McPherson County, Kansas, sometime after the US Census in January 1920. In May, he was hired to work in the mining camp—or company town—of Sunrise, in Platte County, located in the high desert foothills of eastern Wyoming.… Read the rest

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Researching Robert

Home at Lastby Jim Potter

Robert Parks was honorably discharged from the US Navy in 1919 just in time to enjoy Christmas with his parents, Henry and Lydia Parks, living in McPherson County, Kansas.

The World War had been over for more than a year when Robert was discharged.… Read the rest

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Researching Robert

MinesweepersBy Jim Potter

My research of Robert Parks has uncovered many gems about his life, but there will always be unanswered questions. This includes information I’d like to know about his service in the US Navy during World War I.… Read the rest

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