CITY COLLECTION: E IS FOR ELIZABETH

E IS FOR ELIZABETH. She doesn't sound like it's a major City, or a place of any historical significance. Names are deceptive.

The fact is when you fly into Newark, N.J. a good deal of the Airport is in Elizabeth. Just to the right of Runway "4R/L22" is the Port area, and beautiful Staten Island, N.Y.

The City, like its' better known neighbor Newark, was established in the mid 1600's. It was founded by the English, and called Elizabeth Town. The place was situated on the West side of Newark Bay. I guess that is why a big part of "Port Newark," like the airport, is in Elizabeth too.

It has a population of around 120,000 people. This makes the "town" the fourth largest City in New Jersey, and definitely a major city. It is separated from N.Y. by The Arthur Kill Waterway. Newark Bay is to the North End, and at the Southern end is Raritan Bay. These are colorful waters that glow at night. Definitely not a place to swim.

The Goethals Bridge, to Staten Island, was the passage to legal drinking (age 18) when this writer was a kid. The City and that Bridge were quite popular for weekend teenage travel. It was also the scene of heavy police activity on the Elizabeth side. Many drivers licenses were produced shortly after the midnight hour by teenagers who thought they were "OK" to drive home. Numerous tragedies were averted back then, but nobody was counting.

In 1958 tragedy did strike a major bridge in Elizabeth. It wasn't the Goethals Bridge, and teenage drinkers were not involved. This was a "lift bridge" that spanned Newark Bay connecting the Cities of Elizabeth and Bayonne.

The News reports said: That during the morning hours of September 15 Passenger Train 3314 missed a couple of stops before going off an "open" lift bridge. This time they were counting. Forty-eight people died when the speeding train fell into Newark Bay. The Elizabeth Police had a major disaster to handle on that day.

A Cop in New York City lost his son in the accident. He was "Snuffy" Stirnweiss. He was thirty-nine years of age, and the father of six. "Snuffy" played a little second base for a local team. He was an All Star, and an American League Batting Champion.

It was a major rescue scene that took place that day in September of 58. It was a land, rail, and water operation. An Elizabeth resident named Halsey wasn't there that day, and he wasn't even involved in law enforcement. Nonetheless, he would have been a real asset to the men in blue. As Admiral Bull Halsey he knew something about rescue boats, and he had a kick butt attitude that many of my generation admire. He sure would have been a fine addition to a fine Police Department, and he knew how to adorn a uniform.

The badges pictured are from this City, and are in my collection. The "Officer" badge is number five alphabetically in the "City" Display. The Sergeant Badge is in my "Municipal" Display, as is the "Detective" Badge. These items have been in the collection for a couple of decades. Initially they were believed to be authentic, but today there is an element of doubt.

Each of these badges is in fine shape. The focus of the "Officer" and the "Sergeant" badge should be the seal. On both the Seal is not centered because of the location of the panels that read: ELIZABETH POLICE. The number box has a distinct design, that may very well not be legitimate Elizabeth design.

The "Detective" shield is wallet size and this item has a State Seal. It is believed that this item was used as an officer's "off duty," secondary, or wallet badge.

These badges make my mind work. Sure there will be some history that they bring to the table, but they will also reignite the interest that I have regarding their authenticity. In any event they play an important role with the memories that they make.