Another real-photo card, this one a portrait. Harry Barnett was the sheriff of Washington County in the latter half of the Teens. Sheriff Barnett's remarkable resemblance to the Big Boy (Bob's, Azar's, or Frisch's, depending on what part of the country you're from) is presumably coincidental, although they may have had the same barber. Sheriff Barnett is remembered mostly for his enlightened attitude toward equal rights for women (or political patronage): he hired his 17-year-old daughter, Gladys, to be one of his deputies, and she became the first woman deputy sheriff in Indiana, and may still be the youngest. The Stevens Museum display case devoted to Salem law enforcement includes a photograph of the young Gladys, and a contemporary news clipping (source unspecified): Only Woman Deputy Sheriff in the State Miss Gladys Barnett, older daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Barnett, has been appointed Deputy Sheriff to assist her father in official duties. Miss Barnett was appointed on May 10th. She has been sworn in once and is now ready to serve in her new capacity. Miss Barnett is the only woman in the state holding the position of deputy sheriff. For one so young the appointment is one of honor and distinction. She is a High School girl just at the end of her teens. Rides, shoots, drives a car, and likes athletic sports. She is very capable, strong and fearless, qualities that will make her an efficient assistant. Glad Barnett went on to become a fixture behind the counter at McClintock's Drug Store with a million-watt smile and her hair in a bun that always had a pencil or two sticking out of it. This card is unused. The Azo stamp box indicates it could have been printed any time between 1904 and 1918. It was standard practice for photographers to produce prints of their work on postcard-back paper. The vast majority of this work was probably purely personal -- portraits like this one or "snapshot" pictures of homes and outings and even farm animals and gravestones. Even though a sizable percentage of real-photo postcards carry such personal subject matter, relatively few of such prints were ever mailed compared to the number that were probably made. This one may have had a more public purpose. The inscription, "Harry Barnett, Sheriff, Washington Co., Salem, Ind." makes it look like a campaign hand-out. (4/2/02, expanded 8/29/03) Home | The 1910s | Next card