Published in 2011, the late John Eddie Vogt’s book, Witches, Bitches, and Other Small Town Folks, brings to life the quirky, unforgettable, and entertaining tales of growing up and living in Kendall County from the 1930s through the 1960s. Thanks to the gracious permission of his family, The Kendall Gentleman is honored to share excerpts from his book for your enjoyment.
One day when I was about eight or ten years old I was walking down the street near Williams Drug Store. I saw mother’s friends, Laura Bell Theis and Alice Kutzer, sitting in a car and turned my back so as to appear that I did not see them. By the time I got home, mother called me in to say that the ladies had called and reported that I had walked right past them without saying hello. Back at that time even the smallest things were held sacred and a responsibility to be upheld. Nowadays a young person, whether they recognize you or not, will take a shot at you as they go by (bird or gun). I might have done the same thing but I knew that Sheriff Edge would know who did it even before the echo died down.
More from John Eddie Vogt: For more of JEV’s eye for the small absurdities of growing up, read Forest Gump & Big Words, his collected favorites on plain speech and jalapeños. Or follow him into the classroom in School Days, School Days: Dear Old Golden Rule Days, where the rules were enforced with rulers and leather straps.
