St. Joseph, Missouri is the town where Jesse James ended in 1882 and Kenneth L. Kieser began in 1953. He spent most of his life around this historic town and learned a lot of history, some you won’t read in books. Kieser spent a large part of his youth riding horses, some not totally tamed, and chasing cows around a pasture on horseback. Later he spent some time working rodeos and horse shows, occasionally showing Arabian stallions in a halter class. Being raised in the region where the James Gang rode and plenty of family lore gave him a love for history, especially about the old west.
During his younger adult years he worked on some of Kansas City’s toughest docks and learned how rough men think and good men survive. This “education” has been the basis for many of his characterizations in short stories and books.
Kenneth L. Kieser is an award-winning writer/Photographer of 50 years with several thousand bylines in magazines and newspapers. He was inducted into The Marquis Who’s who of American Authors on January 28, 2026. He was inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in 2010 and Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2020. Park Hill High School inducted him into the Alimni Hall of Fame in 2019 to honor his writing career.
