January 29 was Show Day. It was a long journey, for the Wife and I, complicated by population growth, and traffic. We used the Interstates, I-75, I-4, & I-95. They reminded me of "urban crawl" which, in part, motivated my move to Florida twenty-two years ago.
When I arrived in Florida the TITUSVILLE BADGE & PATCH SHOW was only a decade old. Since its' very first year it has continuously been hosted by Steve and Karen Bridges. Hats off to them for keeping this Nationally Known Show alive for thirty-five years.
This year the Show Room was filled at the North Brevard Senior Center. There were Collectors from all over the U.S. with many familiar faces in particular from Florida.
I checked the floor and saw Doug Sarubbi, John Holmes, Sam Goldstein, Jeff Peeler and Chad Harris. All, as usual, attended with their great displays.
I brought some of my Treasures to put on display. Below are a couple that I like to show as they are quite rare.
The Emergency Patch was worn on the back of a jacket and in use in 50's & 60's.
The Detective Shields are from the 30's & 40's. They pre-date current Shield. I am fortunate to have accumulated a total of five of these beauties.
My father was actually issued both Police Officer Shield while working. The Gold-tone Detective Shield was his retirement badge. The revolver was on hand in post retirement years.
The Badge inside the blue frame is the prize of my collection. It is "The Newark Star" and was the City's first Police badge. The photo on the table was a newspaper photo of former Police Director - Dominick Spina and his dog, Nero.
Away from my exhibits there were sales, and trades as usual. This took up most of the morning. I picked up the following two badges for my collection.
Back in the 1940-1960 era this beautiful Gold-tone Badge was used by the "Top Dog" of the Fair Lawn, NJ (Animal Control Office). Today the Title of "POUNDMASTER" no longer exists longer exists.
The Summit N.J. Badge below is from a City that is home to one of my daughters. The price was right, and couldn't refuse it, so here I am with a good condition shield to add to my collection. I would date it as 1950 time frame. It was used by "Special Police" hired for specific job locations. Today this design is obsolete.
Let's stay Healthy and Plan to see each other in 2023.
