OKOLONA – Sunday’s for church – twice a day, usually – but you’ll find Bruce Koehn busy with his cattle on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

From Thursday to Saturday, you’ll probably find him in or around a tiny bait shop near the gate that opens onto his fishing ponds.

Or maybe he’ll be over at Ole Huck’s Café, which overlooks the ponds.

Then again, he could be at a meeting for the multi-level marketing plan he works.

And there’s always the possibility Koehn could be at a bookstore signing copies of “Gollywhopper” and “Gollywhopper II,” which contain his observations about fish and fishermen, and the God who oversees them.

“I don’t have any trouble staying busy,” the 54-year-old said with a smile.

Down to Mississippi

Some 32 years ago, Koehn and his wife, Lavone, moved from Kansas to Okolona.

“We grew wheat in Kansas,” he said. “We came here to grow soybeans. That’s what we did.

“It worked for a few years. After that, it didn’t work. It’s wasn’t profitable. The production was too low, the input too high.”

But the Koehns were committed to their 160 acres in Chickasaw County.

“We’re two miles south of Okolona,” he said. “It’s Okolona, really.”

He’s kept horses since he came to Mississippi, and he’s got about 130 commercial cross-bred cattle.

Several years ago, he had the fishing ponds put in. He’s got six ponds with catfish, crappie, bream and bass, and people pay for the privilege of fishing. As a benefit, Koehn gets to talk with his customers.

“I like people and I like to visit,” he said. “That’s what I found out in this business.”

One day he was sitting at a card table in his bait shop, when he got an idea.

“I had played all the Sudoku games I could play. I was tired of that,” he said. “I took pen and paper and started writing.”

“Gollywhopper” came out in 2007, then he collected new stories to release “Gollywhopper II” this year.

“As an incident will happen, I write about it. I don’t just sit down and write like John Grisham, mind,” he said. “I’m not really into book writing to make money. I don’t mind if it does. Don’t get me wrong.”

If you’ve heard of the books, you might know that Myron Bruce is listed as the author. That was the publishing company’s idea.

“They said it’s not a good idea to use your real name,” he said. “I’m Bruce Koehn, but my full name is Myron Bruce Koehn. They went for that.”

Ole Huck

You’ll find copies of his books at stores in Tupelo, and they’re available on the Internet at Amazon.com and other sites.

You also can buy a copy or two at Ole Huck’s Café. When he started building the place, it was supposed to have been an expanded bait shop with a hamburger and hot-dog stand attached.

Someone convinced Koehn to fill Okolona’s need for a steak and catfish restaurant.

“Before I knew it, I’d lost my new bait shop,” he said.

The family spent nine months trying to make a go of the place, then shut it down. Two weeks later, a pair of brothers leased the restaurant. When they left the business this year, Jeff and Judy Ivy from Palmetto community took over with no interruption in service for customers.

“What I like about it now is when I sit down and eat, I get up and pay and I don’t have anything else to do with it,” Koehn said. “Leave it to the professionals.”

“Normal”

If you’re hanging around the bait shop or the restaurant someday, Koehn will be glad to hear your fish stories.

If you give him an opening, he might politely tell you about a multi-level marketing opportunity that could save you money on your phone bill.

He probably won’t take much of your time talking about business opportunities because that’d be pushy, and a bit out of character.

“I’m just a normal old country boy,” he said. “I guess that’s what I am.”

Contact M. Scott Morris at (662) 678-1589 or scott.morris@djournal.com.

Getting by without

Bruce Koehn of Okolona attends Egypt Mennonite Church.

Mennonites are related to the Amish, but there are differences. The Amish have rules against cars or electricity, but Mennonites are free to drive around town or install air conditioners in their homes.

“The only thing that we don’t have is radio and TV,” he said. “We don’t have them. We’ve got the Internet, though.”

Koehn said people often ask how his family manages without the wonder of television.

“I’ve never had it, so I don’t miss it,” he said. “They say, ‘What do you do all evening?’ I don’t know, but it’s usually a full evening.”