TOP COP COLLECTION:
WATCHUNG BOROUGH
POLICE DEPT.
*****
It is only fitting that this next badge in my collection also comes from a sleepy dot on the map of New Jersey. The community is WATCHUNG Borough, and like Somerville in my last "post", it too is located in Somerset County. It is the 21st badge in my Top Cop Collection.
For thirty years I lived in a nearby community. I think I was pretty close to the subject community as my address was on "Watchung Ave. It was just on the other side of the Mountain, in Morris County.
Either County is a nice place to call home. Many people live here, while working in New York City. That commute takes 25 minutes. The commute to Newark, N.J. is only 10 minutes. Several members of the Newark Police Dept. called Watchung their home or affectionately "22 - West." The numbers refereed to the highway, U.S. 22 , which ran along the side of this attractive mountain landscape.
Back "In the Day" you could see the World from the Top of the Watchung Mountains. Of course these Peaks were known by a different name, when the land was owned by the Lenape Indians. They called the place "Wach Unks." That translates, for those of you who are not fluent with Indian language, to High Hills. The actual elevation is around 800 feet.
In the 1950's Robert Brown Thomson introduced himself to Sporting Fame, and also to Watchung, N.J, which he called home from 1958 to 2006. Playing Major League Baseball he was recognized by his peers, as The "Flying Scott." An Outfielder He did have over 1000 runs batted in during his career, and also hit 276 home runs. In a 30 second slice of time, He found, with one swing of the bat, his taste of baseball immortality. On Oct. 3, 1951 Bobby Thomson hit "the shot heard around the world" giving the National League Pennant to the NY Giants.
This bit of Sports History is talked about even today as one of the greatest moments in Baseball. I remember it as a young boy. I remember it today as I view this very beautiful badge from Mr Thomson's home town. The primary badge is chrome plated with four gold tone panels. These panels carry blue enamel lettering with the words: CHIEF, WATCHUNG, POLICE. In the center of the badge is the New Jersey State Seal.
This Badge, with its' twenty predecessors, is mounted in an Oak and Glass Display Case. I see it pretty near everyday. As a group these badges bring back various memories that I have from living and working in New Jersey.
For thirty years I lived in a nearby community. I think I was pretty close to the subject community as my address was on "Watchung Ave. It was just on the other side of the Mountain, in Morris County.
Either County is a nice place to call home. Many people live here, while working in New York City. That commute takes 25 minutes. The commute to Newark, N.J. is only 10 minutes. Several members of the Newark Police Dept. called Watchung their home or affectionately "22 - West." The numbers refereed to the highway, U.S. 22 , which ran along the side of this attractive mountain landscape.
Back "In the Day" you could see the World from the Top of the Watchung Mountains. Of course these Peaks were known by a different name, when the land was owned by the Lenape Indians. They called the place "Wach Unks." That translates, for those of you who are not fluent with Indian language, to High Hills. The actual elevation is around 800 feet.
In the 1950's Robert Brown Thomson introduced himself to Sporting Fame, and also to Watchung, N.J, which he called home from 1958 to 2006. Playing Major League Baseball he was recognized by his peers, as The "Flying Scott." An Outfielder He did have over 1000 runs batted in during his career, and also hit 276 home runs. In a 30 second slice of time, He found, with one swing of the bat, his taste of baseball immortality. On Oct. 3, 1951 Bobby Thomson hit "the shot heard around the world" giving the National League Pennant to the NY Giants.
This bit of Sports History is talked about even today as one of the greatest moments in Baseball. I remember it as a young boy. I remember it today as I view this very beautiful badge from Mr Thomson's home town. The primary badge is chrome plated with four gold tone panels. These panels carry blue enamel lettering with the words: CHIEF, WATCHUNG, POLICE. In the center of the badge is the New Jersey State Seal.
This Badge, with its' twenty predecessors, is mounted in an Oak and Glass Display Case. I see it pretty near everyday. As a group these badges bring back various memories that I have from living and working in New Jersey.
