Author combs
archives to put “feel of era” in ink
Thanks to the Norfolk Daily News – June 23, 2000
Author Shane Pekny
Harold Hutton has worded
for years to preserve his gradfather’s ranch in northern
Rock County, repairing windmills and maintaining 22 miles of
barbed-wire fence.
He’s worked to preserve his grandfather’s era, too,
writing four books that reveal the facts and re-create the feel
of the Old West.
“Doc Middleton: Life and Legends of Notorious Plains
Outlaw,” “Vigilante Days,” “The History and
Genealogy of the Hutton Family” and his latest, “The
River That Runs,” are all written in an objective,
conversational style.
“I don’t use a lot of flowery language,” said
Hutton, 88, who still lives on the same ranch his grandfather
owned in the 1880’s. “I just tell it the best I
can.”
Hutton’s first book “Doc Middleton: Life and Legends of
Notorious Plains Outlaw,” was not originally intended to be
a book. After reading an article about the outlaw in 1953, Hutton
decided to write a short story about him.
The Nebraska State Historical Society was unable to provide the
details of Middleton’s life, so Hutton started to gather
information on his own.
He dug through newspaper archives and court records. He drove to
Historical Society libraries in other states.
He even went to Phoenix to meet Tom Richardson, Middleton’s
98 year-old brother-in-law. In 1966, 13 years after beginning his
research, Hutton completed a manuscript.
In 1974 “Doc Middleton” was published by The Swallow
Press.
Those same years of research produced enough material for another
book. “Vigilante Days,” printed in 1979, describes
vigilante justice in the time before sheriffs and organized
counties.
Published in 1983, "The History and Genealogy of the Hutton
Family" was written for members of the family, Hutton said,
but he was surprised to find people outside the family requesting
copies.
"The River That Runs," Hutton's fourth book, appeared
on store shelves just last year.
Its title is the tanslated name that American Indians gave to the
rocky, rapid flowing river that winds across northern Nebraska -
the Niobrara.
"The River That Runs," full of maps, photos and quoted
first-hand accounts, details the full history of the land and
people of the Niobrara River.
It covers the area's Indian tribes, pioneers, gold-seekers and
outlaws, ending with a note on present-day conservation issues.
HUTTON SAID "The
River That Runs" is his final book.
"It is the last one I'm going to write," he said.
"I have nothing further to tell, and I don't want to condemn
myself to that long of a drag again"
"Doc Middleton" was the most difficult of the books to
produce, Hutton said.
Middleton had covered his tracks at every turn, and many of the
tales surrounding his life were false or exaggerated.
The research was often fun and exciting, Hutton said, but the
writing was a challenge.
He had no formal education beyond high school; he learned most of
his writing skills from reading.
Hutton said he read mostly 19th century works, especially books
by C. B. Hartley, author of "The Life of Daniel Boone."
When he set out to write "Doc Middleton," Hutton was
not accustomed to writing or using a typewriter. "I was a
hunt-and-peck typist he said.
Hutton researched and, wrote mostly during the winter months when
there were few ranching duties to keep him busy.
He admits that some days were more productive than others.
"Some days it wouldn't go good for me, so I'd just quit and
go do something," Hutton said. "Son days it seems
you're just brighter than some others."
NOW RETIRED from ranching
and writing, Hutton spends his time housekeeping and marketing
his latest book.
He frequently drives to Bassett visit his Wife of 67 years,
Lucille who stays in a nursing facility at Rock County Hospital.
Hutton said he wrote the four books because they needed to be
written.
"I did this because these subject that I have dealt with
weren't being dealt with adequately," he said.
I have supplied something that wasn't being supplied. This story
has never been written."
Hutton said he always has felt deep connection to the land
along the Niobrara and to the era of pioneers.
"I felt myself to be more or less part of it," he said.
"Both of my parents were raised in a log house and they come
from long lines
pioneer people."
HUTTON HAS preserved the Niobrara of the Old West in print and he
has made sure his grandfather's ranch will be preserved too.
The main beneficiaries of thh estate will be the Audubon Society
which will be given the land, and The Nature Conservancy.
Copies of Hufton's book "The River That Runs" are
available Hastings, On Cue and Cover to Cover in Norfolk.