About When Isam Was Sheriff


Home · I Grew Up in the Ozarks · Ozark NoteCards · The Sky Is The Limit About The Author/Purchase
	When Isam Was Sheriff is an account of law enforcement in a rural Ozarks county run pretty much single-handedly by a colorful, unsophisticated elected sheriff who was close to the people. But within that account and through history’s eyes, When Isam Was Sheriff is a rich tapestry about love and lust, passion and failure, rescues, youth, life, illness, murders, birth, death, peace, and war on the home front. As we read, we begin to detect the gifts and flaws of our ancestors in us. The author skillfully combines the local weekly newspaper archives with the seventy people she interviewed during 2003 and 2004, relating the focus of the book—a true epic of the rural Missouri Ozarks from 1945 to 1955, in its own words and voice. FROM THE BOOK “Isam was a great big guy, 6’2” maybe. He had a standard uniform. He had some kind of chino pants that he wore with galluses. You wouldn’t even call them suspenders, they were galluses. And his badge was on one of them, I assume over his heart. And he kinda wore a gray undershirt kind of thing. He never looked terribly cleaned up. And he wore a hat, a felt hat, that was pooched up, no pleat. I can’t remember any occasion on which he replaced it. But he was just sort of unscrubbed, but not unpleasantly so. I don’t think he liked anything but being sheriff. I can’t think of anybody talking about anything that Isam did for recreation, once he was sheriff. I think he was an absolutely heroic character. He was just this kind of big ole raw-boned guy, who was dedicated at what he did. He was absolutely unapproachable. Isam was as honest as the day is long. The people who didn’t like him hated him with a passion. And it was mutual!” Former State Representative Peg Miller “This Thing Called Freedom of the Press—What is it? It is the reporter, jotting down facts. It is the correspondent, gathering news of the small community. It is the editor sifting wheat from chaff. It is the writer, expressing himself clearly. It is skilled artisans of the mechanical departments, helping to ‘get out the paper.’ It is the free American men and women devoted to the task of keeping America free by keeping America informed….” The MARSHFIELD MAIL--Webster County’s Newspaper “I just came out of World War II and I saw death many times…but that was as bad as a war zone. I remember we formed a group to go to different barns and sheds and scour the countryside. We were afraid the shooter might still be around. When we stuck our heads up in haylofts, I remember Sheriff Neil Brown saying, ‘Gene, let’s go up and check. The others have children; we don’t.’ How’s that for being brave? In favor of yielding to someone who might leave a family.” Former Trooper Gene Tinnin BIRCH CREEK PUBLISHING Marshfield, MO ISBN 09760004-0-7 Some Readers’ Responses to When Isam Was Sheriff “It is 9 AM Sunday. The book arrived yesterday at 4 PM. I have just finished reading it from cover to cover. I found it to be well written and factual. The book now goes to The Chief of the village who wants ‘to know how people over there live’.” [Kenya, West Africa] “We want to mail a copy of the book to the library staff in New Zealand. They shared their culture with us. Now we want them to understand a little about where we live.” [Two Webster County librarians] "The book is a spellbinder! When I first saw it — a friend lent it to me — I planned to skim through it. I thought ‘there is no way I'm going to read a book that size about Missouri local history.’ But once I got started, I could hardly put it down. As the author says at the end, it is truly a microcosm of mid-20th century America (the time I was a young adult). So the characters and events are all interesting and well presented." [Evansville, Indiana] “I want three copies of the book to use as thank-you gifts. I travel a great deal and prefer to give my hosts something that’s unique.” [Fair Grove, Missouri] “I have the book and am about halfway through. It is wonderful! What a heck of a lot of work and what a clever idea of quoting people and Marshfield articles with a story about a heck of a guy. I am eating up every word. The ‘Isamisms’ are hilarious.” [Scottsdale, Arizona]

Home · I Grew Up in the Ozarks · Ozark NoteCards · The Sky Is The Limit
About The Author/Purchase

When Isam Was Sheriff is an account of law enforcement in a rural Ozarks county run pretty much single-handedly by a colorful, unsophisticated elected sheriff who was close to the people.
But within that account and through history’s eyes, When Isam Was Sheriff is a rich tapestry about love and lust, passion and failure, rescues, youth, life, illness, murders, birth, death, peace, and war on the home front.
As we read, we begin to detect the gifts and flaws of our ancestors in us.
The author skillfully combines the local weekly newspaper archives with the seventy people she interviewed during 2003 and 2004, relating the focus of the book—a true epic of the rural Missouri Ozarks from 1945 to 1955, in its own words and voice.

FROM THE BOOK
“Isam was a great big
guy, 6’2” maybe. He had
a standard uniform. He
had some kind of chino
pants that he wore with
galluses. You wouldn’t
even call them suspenders,
they were galluses.
And his badge was on
one of them, I assume
over his heart. And he
kinda wore a gray undershirt
kind of thing. He never looked
terribly cleaned up. And he wore
a hat, a felt hat, that was pooched up, no pleat. I can’t remember any occasion on
which he replaced it. But he was just sort of unscrubbed, but not unpleasantly so.

I don’t think he liked anything but being sheriff. I can’t think of anybody talking about anything that Isam did for recreation, once he was sheriff.

I think he was an absolutely heroic character. He was just this kind of big ole
raw-boned guy, who was dedicated at what he did. He was absolutely unapproachable. Isam was as honest as the day is long. The people who didn’t
like him hated him with a passion. And it was mutual!”
                                                                   Former State Representative Peg Miller

“This Thing Called Freedom of the Press—What is it? It is the reporter, jotting
down facts. It is the correspondent, gathering news of the small community. It
is the editor sifting wheat from chaff. It is the writer, expressing himself clearly.
It is skilled artisans of the mechanical departments, helping to ‘get out the
paper.’ It is the free American men and women devoted to the task of keeping
America free by keeping America informed….”
                                     The MARSHFIELD MAIL--Webster County’s Newspaper

“I just came out of World War II and I saw death many times…but that was as bad
as a war zone. I remember we formed a group to go to different barns and sheds and scour the countryside. We were afraid the shooter might still be around.

When we stuck our heads up in haylofts, I remember Sheriff Neil Brown saying, ‘Gene, let’s go up and check. The others have children; we don’t.’ How’s that for being brave? In favor of yielding to someone who might leave a family.”
                                       Former Trooper Gene Tinnin

BIRCH CREEK PUBLISHING Marshfield, MO                  ISBN 09760004-0-7

Some Readers’ Responses to
When Isam Was Sheriff

“It is 9 AM Sunday. The book arrived yesterday at 4 PM. I have just finished reading it from cover to cover. I found it to be well written and factual. The book now goes to The Chief of the village who wants ‘to know how people over there live’.”
[Kenya, West Africa]

“We want to mail a copy of the book to the library staff in New Zealand. They shared their culture with us. Now we want them to understand a little about where we live.”
[Two Webster County librarians]

"The book is a spellbinder! When I first saw it — a friend lent it to me — I planned to skim through it. I thought ‘there is no way I'm going to read a book that size about Missouri local history.’ But once I got started, I could hardly put it down. As the author says at the end, it is truly a microcosm of mid-20th century America (the time I was a young adult). So the characters and events are all interesting and well presented."
[Evansville, Indiana]

“I want three copies of the book to use as thank-you gifts. I travel a great deal and prefer to give my hosts something that’s unique.”
[Fair Grove, Missouri]

“I have the book and am about halfway through. It is wonderful! What a heck of a lot of work and what a clever idea of quoting people and Marshfield articles with a story about a heck of a guy. I am eating up every word. The ‘Isamisms’ are hilarious.”
[Scottsdale, Arizona]