1925 Biography - J McEvoy
McEvoy, the author, was reared in our county where his mother still resides. She is not unknown to fame, at least locally, as an orchardist of Burnside Township. J. P. has made a name for himself through the writing of "The Potters." He is acknowledged by critics as the man with his hand on the American pulse and his eye on the average American. He observes everything from an unlaced shoe to the flicker of an eye lid. He writes not by the page but by the yard-length. He turns out greeting cards, couplets for birthday wishes, humorous notes, comic editorials, serious magazine articles, vaudeville sketches and plays. He has said "Merry Christmas" oftener and to more people than any man living. He makes copy out of anything that comes to his hand the stray remark, the ponderous sermon, the street car conductor's gibe, the cash girl's slang, everything. We as a community are proud to have contributed to his childhood bringing up, but like all our famous men, as soon as they attain fame they seek new centers of activity.
Extracted 08 Feb 2017 by Norma Hass from 1925 A History of Johnson County, Illinois, by Mrs. P. T. Chapman, pages 412-413.
