Anita Tebbe's book, Southeast Johnson County Kansas History, incorporates her expertise in teaching, history and law. The story of Aubry, Stilwell, Stanley and Morse, parts of which are now Overland Park, takes the reader from a Black Bob Indian reservation, the Border Wars and railroads to a gentrified community of upscale homes, shopping malls and headquarters for national corporations. Tebbe is professor and chair, legal studies, at JCCC.

Tebbe was an obvious choice to author the book. She had already published books on the first 125 years of southeast Johnson County during her tenure as an American history and government teacher at Blue Valley High School from 1974-1983. She took a sabbatical from teaching at JCCC in 2005 and gave the book a 25-year update.

At JCCC, where she has taught since 1988, Tebbe is known as a lawyer. But her first degree was a bachelor's in history from Loyola University, Chicago, followed by a master's degree in education from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She taught high school history, government and English for 18 years. At the age of 45, she earned a law degree from Washburn University, Topeka.

"But I've always had a love of history, especially family and community history," Tebbe said.

While teaching at Blue Valley High School, Tebbe realized there was little written local history. She found that the way to pique students' enthusiasm for American history was personalizing it through family history. Her students, many of whom were fourth- and fifth-generation descendants of the community's original settlers, conducted oral interviews with family members and brought in family journals - a historian's treasure trove.

With access to original sources; church, school and historical society records; newspaper articles and oral interviews, Tebbe wrote two books for Blue Valley High School - The Settlement of Stanley, written in 1978, followed by The Community of Aubry-Stilwell, written in 1980. Both were published by the Blue Valley School District and sold for $10 with proceeds benefiting BVHS's history department. Tebbe says hundreds of the two books were printed for use in the district.

Tebbe's new book is divided into four parts: Johnson County Indian and Civil War History; The Settlement of Stanley through 1978; The Community of Aubry-Stilwell through 1980; and Southeast Johnson County, 1978-2005. The book deals in colorful territorial tales, such as the one about "Bullet Hole Ellis," who lived for 23 years with Quantrill's bullet in his brain, to the legal trials of Overland Park's disputed annexation of Stanley, Morse and a section of Stilwell. The incredible growth of these communities in the last 25 years does not surprise Tebbe.

"I am somewhat surprised that the urban development has not been faster," Tebbe said. "And the changes in the next 25 years are going to be incredible."

Published by JCCC, the 170-page book sells for $15, available at the JCCC bookstore, with proceeds to benefit JCCC's Student Emergency Fund. The book is dedicated to Tebbe's late husband, Paul, a former JCCC astronomy professor.