RETIRED NJ TROOPER

This beautiful, and rare, NJ Trooper Badge was a find at the last  show in  Titusville (Jan. 27). 

I can't believe I hemmed and hawed about purchasing this item, when an old time collector offered it to me because of my interest in the Garden State. My wife was near, and that added to my initial reluctance. Ultimately, after giving the purchase of this item fair consideration (60 seconds) I paid the asking price.

As the picture reveals this badge is shaped like a large circle with an Eagle on top. This "old bird" is quite common on Jersey badges. The thing is He is lost, or at least appears lost,  up on his perch at the top of this Badge.

The basic reason the Eagle is minimized is, in part, due to the pronounced circle design. Within in the circle is a very recognizable triangle. That is the logo for the N.J. Trooper.

Looking inside the triangle, and along the outside border of the ring, the badge is identified: NEW JERSEY STATE POLICE. The letters are raised and bold. The panel at the bottom of the badge reads: RETIRED. That is a beautiful word to go with a beautiful badge.

I am not sure how old this item is. The seller had it a few years and purchased it at another show several years ago from another collector.

Shortly after I acquired this badge I told my wife and showed it to her. She showed some enthusiasm, but certainly not as much as mine.  We both agreed on the location for displaying it. When I got home I removed the heavy Glass Top from an End Table in my museum room. This handsome Trooper Badge was given a nice spot on the underlying shelf. Then the Glass Top was put back in place, along with a lamp.

My new addition is in its' new home. It lays with several "new friends" also from New Jersey. It certainly will be given the care that it deserves. The wife and I are proud to have it. Well, at the very least,  I am. 

TOP COP COLLECTION: ELMWOOD PARK

Elmwood Park is number 6 in my Top Cop Collection.

This community has just under 20000 people residing there. One could say it is a bedroom community, as it sits in the shadows of the Big Apple. "The City" is relatively ease to get to via, car, bus and train.

Elmwood Park is this community's third name at a minimum. It was originally part of the affluent community of Saddle River, but cut out its' own identity taking the name "East Paterson." For half a century the town survived with that name.

In the early 1970 Richard Mola took the office of Mayor. He must have like the job as he kept it for forty-five years. Only death could get him out of office. I should remember this, but I don't. Because of this badge I learned some history of this town through enjoyable research.  Under Mola, the municipality took a new name -  "ELMWOOD PARK". That certainly sounds better then "East Anywhere." 

During my life in the Garden State I don't think I had any real connection with this community. If I lived there today I think I would be working in Manhattan. The dollar just seem bigger and hopefully better there!

Now the Badge from this community is a common oval shape, with gold tone finish. At the center is a New Jersey State Seal. It is surrounded by a blue ring which spells out: Elmwood Park, Police Department. At the top of the badge is a single panel with the word "Chief," in blue letters, identifying the rank.

The picture is a good representation of this badge. It fits nicely in my "Top Cop
Collection". Like all my displays this badge has a home in a fine oak case with a locked glass front. I am very happy to have it, and view it on a regular basis.

TITUSVILLE 2018

I drove up from Naples to Titusville a few day ago. It was a little over 240 miles to get there, and it was cold (according to my standard and Florida's). The wife came too and assisted me with driving directions. 

Late afternoon, and "dog tired," I checked us in to Holiday Inn Express. A good nights' sleep, and per the Holiday Inn guarantee,  I'll be a lot smarter the next day.

On Saturday, Jan. 27, we headed over to the exhibition hall, There I assisted my wife with directions on how to set up the tables (I took four tables). I wanted my N.P.D. Blue on every table, then the exhibits on top. Everything had its place. My Lady was extremely good, and she also was impressed with some historic pictures from the Emergency Unit. I had official pictures of THE COMMANDERS of the EMERGENCY BUREAU dating 1930 to 1955.

This year I had a couple new novelty items that I added to the display. These items focused on Dave Toma, the Newark Detective who inspired the ABC TV Series "TOMA" which starred Tony Musante and Susan Strasberg. I had an original TV News Photo, eight by ten, on the table along with a Serbian Movie Poster for the famous Newark sleuth. If nothing else the old picture of Susan Strasberg brought back fond memories. 

At the end of Table One I placed an old Leather jacket. It's  from the 1970's, and while it is no longer of use to the current man on the motor bike, it is in very nice condition. That is because my wife has these magical wipes just for leather. She has shown me several times how to use them, but I just keep forgeting. The jacket sure does look good, and that is a fact I won't forget for a long time.

Sliding down the tables I placed a variety of ancient pictures, iron claw, night sticks, lanterns, glass billy clubs, and badges. 

Below are a couple of these items that my wife neatly placed on the tables. She put the old "Night Stick" out with all its' hooks holding: A Jail Cell Key, Whistles, and a Cumalong. 

Some of the other guys there did some similar display work, which I managed to capture with my camera. At the bottom in the beautiful purple shirt is me. I am holding a 1927 picture of my Dad on "his horse" Ginger.

Of the badges that I bought to Titusville this year I am particularly pleased with the two below. The large case holds badges that come from those municipalities classified as a "City."  I accumulated a large number of badges, over the years, including several duplicates, before I could obtain one badge from New Jersey's Top Ten Cities by population. 

They last collection of badges is my treasure. I know some other collectors have a couple items that are better and more desirable, but this is what I have gathered regarding Newark Police History. It only has six badges, but to me they are everything.

On the top are two badges, side by side, that are from circa 1865. They are from Newark's Second Edition Badge. The middle row, and bottom row, are matching sets. The left side is a "Chanceman" badge, while the right side is a matching "Police Officer" badge.

Somewhere before three o'clock it became time to pack up and call it a day. For me there were a few new badges that I purchased, without my wife seeing. I packed them away real nice. There was also one more item to pack this year. It was a plaque proclaiming my exhibit as The Overall Best Display (2018). My heartfelt thanks to Steve Bridges for inviting me to his show and presenting this award.

Thank you, and al fine.