The Last Marshal

Mound City, a small town in northwest Missouri, could be a rough & rowdy place in her early days. Missouri is noted by some publications as the place where the west began. From my experience, that wasn’t too far from the truth. It was the place where Jesse James and his gang of infamous outlaws chose to live and they were followed by other likeminded individuals who didn’t obey the law to which more civilized people prescribed. That called for a breed of men not afraid to strap on a gun and accept a marshal’s badge that branded them as enforcers of civilized law and order. Respected by some citizens but hated by others, they none-the-less managed to keep early-day Missouri towns and villages inhabitable by peace loving citizens where a police force was not an affordable option.
This is a collection of stories by and about one of these men who wore a marshal’s badge and put his life on the line to protect the God-fearing citizens who only wanted to live in peace and go about their business without fear of outlaws taking their hard earned income or burning them out. Jim may now be the last survivor of the old marshals.
Jim Broker was born in 1939 in a farmhouse about middle of Holt County Missouri. He was born into a “gun family” and taught to shoot firearms fast and accurate, beginning at only four or five years of age. His grandfather thought it a necessary skill for a Missouri boy to have.
On one branch of his family tree was a Methodist circuit rider and on another branch was a gunfighter who must go unnamed here. Jim took after both and became a marshal and an ordained minister, preaching in little country churches in various parts of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa when called to fill a pulpit for a Sunday or for a week’s revival. He knew his Bible and was not afraid of stepping on toes. Sometimes it’s gotta hurt to help.
This is the story of Jim Broker, The Last Marshal. We hope you will enjoy reading it.