DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna tell it to you. The name on this stone is James Petty Flynt, and Runnels County knew that name well — knew it for decades, in fact, across more chapters than most men get to write. Now settle in, because this one covers some ground.
Flynt served as Sheriff of Runnels County not once, but twice — 1908 to 1914, then again 1920 to 1924. And here's the part that ought to make you sit up straight: he was elected the first time at age thirty. Thirty years old, pinning on that badge in Runnels County.
He wasn't just young, though — he was the last man in that county to hold the combined post of tax collector and sheriff. Both jobs. One man.
When that arrangement ended, it ended with Flynt, and it never came back. Now if that were the whole story, it'd still be a good one. But James Petty Flynt was not a man who sat still between chapters.
His activities as a law officer included Texas Ranger service — and not just in one world war, but in both World Wars I and II. You heard that right. The man served across two wars in that capacity.
There's a certain kind of Texan who just keeps answering when duty calls, and Flynt appears to have been exactly that kind. Back home, in 1911, he was elected secretary-treasurer of the Runnels County Fair Association at its very organization — right there at the founding, trusted with the books and the gavel. Then from 1924 to 1940, he served with the state game department.
That's the thing about Flynt — the résumé just keeps going. And through all of it, there was Carrie Jane Patterson, whom he married in 1899. Together they raised seven children.
Seven. A lawman, a ranger across two wars, a fair association officer, a game department man, a husband, a father of seven. James Petty Flynt didn't fill a life — he stacked one on top of another, right here in Runnels County.
What the marker says
Sheriff of Runnels County 1908-1914; 1920-1924. Elected at age 30. Last man to hold combined post of tax collector-sheriff in county. His activities as law officer included Texas Ranger service in World Wars I and II. He was elected secretary-treasurer of Runnels County Fair Association at its organization in 1911. He also served with the state game department from 1924 to 1940. In 1899 he married Carrie Jane Patterson. They had 7 children.