The year is almost over and I have had some good progress with my New Jersey Marshals.
First I finished, in four parts, taking pictures of every item in my collection, and then researching them so I could write a post and present a picture. I thought I was done earlier in the year, but the darn computer crashed.
I had to retreat and update my items as I scored another "Marshal." That one was just before summer. Now here we are, almost ready to carve up some turkey, and I have snatched another.
This "Marshal" is from North Caldwell. That community is in Essex County. There are about 6500 people living there now in what is an affluent Township fairly close to the Big Apple (NYC).
It was created in the late 1800's when many New Jersey "Boroughs" were created. Because of an opportunity to cash in on Federal revenue sharing a change of government was necessary. So North Caldwell became a Township formally in 2004.
Now when I worked in Essex County there was an institution located in North Caldwell that added over 1000 citizens to the population. You guessed it. They were inmates at the Essex County Penitentiary. The institution was built in the mid 1800's and sat on a hill surrounded by fields.
When I was in college I had a summer job that included fetching some nice corn or tomatoes from the Guards. In the evening we played softball on the grounds of the county mental hospital. Some thirty years later I walked the stairs to the reception area on too many occasions.
Now looking back, after my escape to Florida, I see the place is closed, the 1000 citizens have moved, and the rolling hills have become a very nice development. I once joked with the Warden about buying some jail property from a trustee working on the grounds. I could have had a ground floor opportunity in a Condo Development back in the 1990's. I thought "that will never happen." Well it did, the county jail in Caldwell closed, Condo's are present, and it is all part of the memory I have associated with the badge now in the collection.
It is a full sized silver tone item with black recessed letters. They read: Marshall, No. Caldwell, # 17. There is in the center a NJ State Seal. This item is in excellent condition.
I keep it under glass, and high on the wall. That way I can see it daily, and smile as those memories greet me.
