“To fully recognize the heroes of the present, we must recognize the heroes of the past.” ~West Liberty Police Chief Shane Oelker
Some people never met him. Others will never forget him. But everyone who knows the story of Marshal Sherman Ricketts understands why he’s someone worth commemorating, even 60 years after his murder. With that in mind, dozens of people took time off Wednesday afternoon to honor his memory.
The story of who Ricketts was, what he did and how he died still has an impact on the West Liberty community. So much so that a park was established in Ricketts’ name in 2021 and, on Wednesday, June 29, a ceremony was hosted on the anniversary of his death.
At that time, the village dedicated a new shelter house along with stations for filling water bottles and fixing bicycles, all now a part of the Sherman Ricketts Memorial Park and Trailhead, which is located along west State Route 245.
After a law enforcement processional to the park, West Liberty Mayor Jill McKelvey opened the program by saying, “It has been my honor as mayor to work with the Ricketts’ family on behalf of a grateful community … many share fond memories of the good Sherm did for West Liberty.”
McKelvey thanked several schools and organizations, including the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, classes from West Liberty-Salem and Benjamin Logan, and Simon Kenton Pathfinders — the bicycle trail group that installed a parking lot when the trailhead was added and worked with the village in making the area bicyclist-friendly.
An invocation was offered by Reverend Debby Stinton of West Liberty United Church of Christ. “May we learn honor, integrity, sacrifice and duty through men like Marshal Ricketts,” she prayed.
After comments from Shane Oelker, West Liberty chief of police, McKelvey introduced Cheryl Hollingsworth, mayor of North Lewisburg. One of the first things Hollingsworth told McKelvey when they first met was that Sherman Ricketts saved her grandma’s life.
“Our family,” she said, “thinks of Marshal Ricketts as a true hero.”
In 1962, Hollingsworth’s grandmother, Bertha Leota Johnson Smith, lived at the corner of west Baird Street and Reynolds Street in West Liberty. Very early on the morning of June 29, a career criminal broke into Smith’s home through a side door and attacked her and the foster girl she’d taken in. They believe he tied both women up, put an ether cloth over Smith’s face, and, apparently, attempted to smother her with a pillow.
While investigating a call about a suspicious character, it would seem Ricketts noticed the open door. He entered the home and called out to Bertha, asking if she was okay.
Hearing him, the assailant ran out. Ricketts pursued, following him to Reynolds Street, where shots were fired. In the ensuing gun battle, Ricketts was mortally wounded but managed to shoot and incapacitate the criminal until help arrived.
Police later found Smith unconscious in her home. She and her ward were taken to the hospital, treated, then released that day. Smith lived to be 89.
In her later years, as she dealt with memory and mobility difficulties, she needed more assistance. And every time a family member helped her with something, she would thank them for “coming to my rescue.”
“I am sure if she could,” Hollingsworth said in conclusion, “she would say to Marshal Ricketts, ‘Thank you for coming to my rescue.’”
Other speakers for the memorial were Ricketts’ nephew, Charles Nelson Ricketts, and two grandsons, JP and Bill Kauffman. JP encouraged attendees to “keep in mind how thin the blue line is.”
The event included a presentation of a flag to the Ricketts family as well as a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps from the Honor Guard, and concluded with a benediction from Pastor Keith Landis, West Liberty Presbyterian Church.