By TOM RUE

CALLICOON - This week Glenn Hester marks three years with the Sullivan County Sheriffs Department, and on August 20 three years of marriage to his wife Debbie, now the head teller at United National Bank in Callicoon.

Four days after his wedding in 1983, Hester started as a guard working on the tiers of the Sullivan County Jail. Presently he is assigned to Family Court under Judge Anthony Kane. where he has a variety of responsibilities Among his tasks, Hester said he is responsible to keep track of two calendars, ensuring that each juvenile has his or her day in court. Not infrequently, he also transports young people to detention or psychiatric facilities.

He finds his job rewarding, "I get to talk to a lot of the guys. Their stories are varied." And it was as a result of his interest and concern for young people that Hester combined what began as an avocation into his police work.

Hester said his interest in magic sterns from his experience as a monk in the Capuchin Order of Franciscan friars at Garrison, NY. There he developed a mentor relationship with Father Cyprian Murray, chaplain for the national chapter of the Society of American Magicians. "He taught me about the use of props, sleight of band, and having a certain style with people."

Father Murray introduced Glenn to "religious magic" or "magic with a message," which he said related to such themes as God's love and forgiveness.

Hester left the Franciscans in May of 1982 after 3 1/2 years of service. "I like working with youth," he explained, "and there was really no place to do that on a permanent basis as a brother."

When he left the monastery, Hester cashed a $1000 bond he had been saving and purchased a substantial repertoire of magic tricks. He began doing shows for teenagers. Now he has more than $7000 invested in props and other equipment. He performs locally at the Olympic Hotel in Fallsburg and Tenannah Lake's Lake Shore Lodge.

"Magic is the greatest thing in the world to show how easily we can be deceived by the father of lies, Satan, the devil."

But Hester cautioned, "I never tell people I have any special powers. Especially with mind-reading -- people wonder, "How in the hell can you do that?"' But it's very simple, really. It's trickery and deception.

Hester said he uses his magic to teach, not to deceive. "I don't believe there's anybody on this earth who can really read somebody's mind," he said as he asked me to choose any page in a book he handed me and then proceeded to tell me the last word appearing on the page.

After showing me how the trick worked, Hester made me promise not to tell anyone else. "If you tell a secret, the novelty of the trick will die because you know how it's done," he explained. Not knowing allows the audience to "retain a childlike fascination" with the mystery.

Hester's stage name, stemming from his Georgia heritage, is "The Southern Gentleman." He explained that the appellation is not of his doing, but was applied by a member of the audience who was impressed by his gentility and courtesy -- traits not always present in magicians, or police for that matter. "Somebody called me the Andy Griffith of Sullivan County," Hester laughed, "I said as long as you don't call me Barney Fife, it's okay."

Hester recently authored a technical book called Sheriff's Safety Show which about to be made available to the public by Magic, Inc. of Chicago. It is the first and only book, insofar as Hester is aware, to deal with "police magic" - combining magic with the law enforcement field.

His newest professional mentor, Hester said, is Sullivan County Sheriff Joe Wasser who encouraged him to write the manual. According to the book's preface, Sheriff Wasser suggested be work up routines that would lead youth certain lessons about being law abiding citizens."

Contacted by The River Reporter, Wiser said that be bad read. pan of an advance copy of Hester's book. "It has a lot of good material for young people to enjoy and be part of."

Wasser also mentioned that Hester had performed his routines for the youngsters at the NY State Sheriff"s Camp in Norwich last summer. He was enthusiastically received as he conveyed messages such as a voidance of drug or alcohol about and good citizenship. In a related vein, Hester was named "Magician of the Year" in the Mid-Hudson region for 1984-1985.

But even with Ibis professional recognition, a visit to the Hesters' Callicoon apartment shows where Glenn's values lie. The living room walls are covered with inspirational poems and pictures of family: himself. his wife Debbie, and 13-year old step-daughter Christi De DeGuise.

The Hesters are expecting a new addition soon - perhaps the greatest "magic" of all.