Did You Know This About Geary County History?”By Dr. Ferrell MillerGeary County Historical Society Board Member“About Stanley Pennell” – Part I	Local resident, John York, shared two articles from a July and September 1944 Kansas City Star newspaper, about Stanley Pennell. Pennell has been mentioned before in this space as the author of the book The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters and for being the son of J.J. Pennell, well known Geary County photographer, who took photos of residents and landmarks in our area between the 1890s and 1920s. This two-part series includes some of what was in those articles.	“When Stanley Pennell of Junction City, Kansas was a student at the University of Kansas, he papered the walls of his room in the Phi Kappa Psi house at 1100 Indiana Street with rejection slips from editors. As many came from the Atlantic Monthly and the little poetry magazines as from the various adventure and western story publications. But they all had one thing in common; they were rejection slips. Stanley Pennell accumulated a great many more such slips, but finally, got his first novel published, The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters. It had already been acclaimed by critics as among the most remarkable books to appear in many years. 	The History of Rome Hanks was a completely uninhibited book, which is not surprising to anyone who ever knew its author. At Lawrence, Kansas Pennell was uninhibited and unconventional in his writing, stage productions and sketches. Pennell decided he would like to study at Oxford, but he didn’t bother to make any preliminary arrangements. One day he simply turned up at the gates of Pembroke College and said he was ready to enter. After being rejected, a Professor O’Leary intervened and eventually Pennell was admitted. 	After returning to the United States Stanley Pennell held a succession of jobs as a newspaperman, teacher and radio writer and announcer. Finally, he returned to Junction City, where his father had been a photographer and property owner. It was here Stanley began laying the groundwork and doing the writing of the novel. For more than two years, Pennell figuratively soaked himself in the American Civil War. Stanley read some 1,000 books to gather material for the novel and studied the 128 volumes of the Official Records of the Civil War. After five years, the novel was completed and a publisher was sought.” (to be continued) <figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1602774675387.jpeg" alt="Baker and Pennell" />
 <figcaption>Baker and Pennell</figcaption>
 </figure>The arrow in the upper photograph points to the building at 801 ½ N. Washington Street, Junction City, Kansas, where Stanley Pennell wrote The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters. The picture lower right is Pennell in the study of his 5-room apartment, which is on the second floor above the store. Miss Thelma Baker, left, was the librarian at the George Smith Library, who helped get Pennell’s book published.“About Stanley Pennell” – Part 2	Source: Two articles from a July and September 1944 Kansas City Star newspaper, about Stanley Pennell. 	“The History of Rome Hanks and Kindred Matters was written in a workshop on one of the busiest corners of Junction City. The author was seen on Washington Street almost every day, walking the one block to the George Smith Public Library. He exchanged gossip and swapped stories with his friends and acquaintances. It was apparent that Pennell liked both human companionship and privacy. Junction City was where he found the ideal situation in which he could have both.	The people of Junction City were startled by the phenomenal success of The History of Rome Hanks, but the surprise was made greater by the fact that few persons knew Stanley Pennell had written a novel. 	Only two people knew exactly what was “cooking” at 801 ½ North Washington Street.” (The entire building at 801 North Washington was owned by J.J. Pennell, Stanley’s father and now is referred to as the Pennell building.) “Those two were Stanley Pennell’s mother who gave Stanley encouragement and Miss Thelma Baker who gave him editorial and research assistance and later found the publisher for the book. She was the librarian at the George Smith Public Library. 	Miss Baker was given the manuscript in 1942, when Stanley went into the Army. She sent the manuscript to five or six different places without a positive response. Success came when Thelma sent the manuscript to Maxwell Perkins of Scribner’s. Mr. Perkins had not heard of Stanley Pennell. At that time, Stanley was not in Junction City, but at the Army Post of Camp Wallace, Texas. Connections were eventually made and publication was on the way.	Junction City’s eagerness to learn more about the reserved scholar of Washington Street was indicated by the sales of his novel at Shane’s Book Store, which was a few blocks up Washington Street from Pennell’s apartment. Some 500 copies were sold to date, (September 1944) or about one for every eighteen persons in the town on the basis of the pre-war population count.”	There was a complaint by the Watch and Ward Society about the “dirty” words used in the book and at least one other complaint about the description of Fork City (Junction City) as being an ugly, mean settlement.

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