NJ PROBATION COLLECTION: M IS FOR MONMOUTH

Monmouth County is a nice diverse location. It touches the Atlantic Ocean, gets sliced in half by the Garden State Parkway, and what is left over is beautiful Horse Country.

The community of Red Bank sits on top of this County looking from the North down the Coast to the South. I always remember the place as small and maybe quaint. I don't have a clue what it is like by today's standards. Maybe on my next trip back to NJ I'll have to investigate this location along with several others.

Freehold is one of the big towns in Monmouth. I remember the Freehold Raceway. It was "big time" if you liked horse racing. It also rang a bell when I looked at these great badges in my "New Jersey Probation Collection." It is the County Seat of Monmouth County and the spot where justice is administered.

While I didn't work here I did have the occasion to visit the Court House on a couple of matters. Later I met officers for dinner at the Freehold Hotel. Now that is a hard place to forget. It was decorated like a club for Jockeys and Horses. Besides pictures on the wall the place was adorned with bridles, saddles and other related items (all nailed down).

The meetings with other officers had nothing to do with horses or doing the job. The focus was working conditions, salary, grievance procedure and all that stuff. A few of us, from several different counties, would come together with the hopes of creating a strong unified voice for Probation Officers. It was an uphill path, but it was a start.

From those meetings I established friendships that helped me over the years on the job, and with the collection. One good guy was able to secure the above two silver tone badges for me. The read: Probation Officer, Monmouth County, NJ. They are now out of use, and the agency is now run by he State.

These fine pieces of history make a nice appearance on my wall, and they also trigger many fond memories.

A NEWARK MEMORY

One of my major interests in collecting Law Enforcement memorabilia is things from my hometown - Newark, NJ

The above is a picture of an old poster that was lightly distributed to select viewers after the riots. One should recognize "Dorothy" at the top. In small print it reads: "Spelling Out the Problem." Then at the bottom, as big and ragged as possible, is: "NEWARK."

The picture takes me back 40+ years. Maybe someone else will enjoy looking at it here.

CITY COLLECTION: O IS FOR OCEAN CITY

O IS FOR OCEAN CITY. It really is a bona fide "City" in the Garden State. The place certainly is not a major "City" by population count, but because its' municipal status it is of "major" importance to me. It is number 18 in my collection of NJ City Badges.

Let me tell you something about this place on the Jersey Shore. The Community became a City, before my birth, on March 25 , 1897. It is situated in Cape May County on the Atlantic Ocean.

It has a great beach. It is consistently in the top ten of New Jersey's Best Beaches. Because of this fact the Summer population reaches well over 100,000. It is also known as a great family community and boasts the title of "America's Greatest Family Resort."

In its early days it was known as Pecks Beach. It was a Whaling Center and, because of the great beach attracted many locals looking for a nice dip in the Ocean. The whales are gone, but the Beach still is great. There are just under 20,000 permanent residents.

When the summer gang arrives the population jumps to over 100,00. That's a large number of people. Most of them can be found on the Boardwalk or cooling off in the Ocean. You won't find many cooling off at "Miller Time" as the sale of alcohol has been prohibited since 1879.

As a probation officer I got to attend an official conference here a number of years ago. Since I am retired I can be excused if I don't recall what this conference was about. I do recall that after the meetings there was "no problem" having a cold Budweiser. It was at this meeting that I was given a contact who had an interest in collecting badges and patches.

A fine New Jersey Probation Officer secured this badge for me at a local show. It is an old style and no longer in use. The age is estimated to be fifty, or more, years. It is in very nice shape showing some wear around the edges. It has a State Seal, of the type used way back then, featuring a blue ring on the outer circle.

Although I am not a collector of patches I do have one from this fine City. It was given to me by a Retired Jersey Police Officer who visited my area of sunny Florida to see my collection. We had a great visit, had a couple of beers, and shared some great memories.