The Man from Fort Smith

Joe Coddington was born on October 30, 1939 to Joseph and Margaret Coddington, in Long Branch, New Jersey. Until he was ten years old, his family lived in the Red Bank area. Joe's father worked for Jersey Central Power and Light and in 1950 was transferred to the Morristown area. It was at this time Joe took an interest in the history of the old west. He spent hours in the local library reading history books of the opening of the west. Television at that time had several western shows, "The Lone Ranger", "Gunsmoke", "Wagon Train", and many more. Joe began reading the novels by Louis L'Amour and Zane Gray, and many others. Joe married Kathleen Backshall in 1969. They had three children who gave them ten grandchildren, and three great grandchildren, and another one on the way. For the next fifteen years, Joe worked as a school police officer. He took a final retirement in 2014 and has been writing since then. Joe lost his beloved wife, Kathleen in February 2021. Coddington's other novels are: "The Sting of the Scorpion", "The Lonesome Sky", "North of Three Sleep."