About 1980, Grant found himself, along with other business leaders, to be a target of a serial arsonist. He had three barns burned. The author took the lead in pushing for action. He established a reward fund and took out ads in the local paper putting pressure on the sheriff to act. His picture appeared in the New York Times when a reporter asked the sheriff if a fireman were a suspect, as the author suggested. A week later the sheriff arrested the authors’ 19 year old son and partner for arson. The arrest took pressure off the sheriff, but was devastating for the Langdon family.

The arrest, although without merit, changed their lives forever. The farm operation was under stress from the fires, and now skeptical bankers refused to make money available for court costs. After he spent more than $30,000 getting ready for trial, the district attorney discovered the arrest was designed to fail; a conviction was never intended. The charges were dropped before trial “in the interest of judicial economy.”

With the county admitting a violation of civil law, the recovery of damages from the county Insurance company seemed assured. Then the author became aware of problems with the court system, what he calls “club justice.” The lawyers for the county and the insurance company caused long delays until the statute of limitations ran out. Then they moved for a summary judgment; they said there was no cause for action. The suit never made it to trial when the federal district judge, using legal presidents, court rules, and his own power as a federal judge, found for the county on a technicality that seemed to defy appeal. A jury trial guaranteed by the Constitution never took place.

The judges’ ruling that the arrest was proper was like a finding of guilty after trial, although the person arrested was never given a chance to testify in his own behalf. With the arsonist free to set more fires, life in the community was impossible for the author and his son. The finding seemed to enforce the bankers determination not to make funds available and the farm was lost to foreclosure. With the farm and the new greenhouse operation lost, the authors’ next job was loading 100 lb. bags of flour on pallets for shipment at a flourmill. With his life and second marriage in shambles, he eventually moved to Ohio and is employed at Lowe’s in Cincinnati. The son, after years of problems caused by the arrest, finally got a job as a truck driver and is now a valued member of his community.