Fort
Lee is a little community on the Hudson River. When the lights go out there ared 14,000 saying their nightly prayers and, going to sleep in this metropolis, across from New York City.
When
the Sun comes up the daily commuters, that travel through Fort Lee, will
bring the population figure up to well over 100,000. The reason is the Bridge pictured above.
This
is not just a Bridge, but the very well know George Washington Bridge
(GWB). It stretches across the Hudson River into Manhattan. The Bridge makes Fort Lee an important location on the Jersey side of the Hudson River.
Besides
the Bridge, Ft. Lee was also know as the Capital of the motion picture
industry. I learned that when I visited Thomas Edison's Museum. Edison planted the roots for today's' Major Motion Picture Studios in the late 1800's.
As Badge Collections go, these fine antiques, are part of what I call my "Municipal Collection." My original goal was to collect one badge from as many municipalities (over 500) as I could. I had two specific requirements: First they could not be from a City (Different Collection); and Second the Badge must be in the NY-NJ traditional shape.
I did get lucky with this Borough. While I collected a traditional shape Officer's shield, I managed to obtain a total of six shields, one for each rank. Of course they did not all come to me at once.
The Sergeant Badge came to me first in the mid 1980's. I always loved the light blue background
in the ring, behind an impressive gold State Seal. On the outside ring
the blue is darker, with the words "Borough of Ft Lee Police Dept."
The Officer Shield is the traditional shape I set my focus. It is very well known design, and used in hundreds of municipalities on the East Coast. The State Seal is stamped, from the rear then plated. The numbers (319) appear in an open box on the bottom. Beneath the box are the stamped State letters "NJ."
In the years that followed, I obtained a Lieutenant Badge, and a Captain Badge. They do not look alike at all.
The Lieutenant's Badge seems a bit bigger, and has an applied "multi color State Seal." That is different from all the other rank badges from Ft. Lee. My feeling is this Lieutenant Badge possibly an "off duty" shield, and certainly a newer production. There also no Eagle on is' top. I assume the bird was for the top three ranks.
The Captain Badge. is an old timer for sure. Focus on the State Seal. It is consistent with the other badges, with the exception of the Lieutenant, and Patrolmen. That type of State Seal is vintage for sure, and makes this Captain's Badge truly rare.
The surprise of this collection was the most recent addition. It was the rank of Inspector. I was not aware that Ft. Lee had this title in their Police Department. An Eagle sits on top of the shield, but the primary attraction is at center point. It is the N.J. State Seal, in a light blue field, which helps identify this Badge as vintage and rare.
The head of this collection is the badge for the Chief. It features a row of four silver stars on its' top. If they are not enough the word Chief is nicely located in reverse blue/gold lettering at the bottom. In the center is an ornate State Seal. It is located in a round dark blue field.
Like all the Badges in my collection these six items reside under glass, and hang in a locked case. They are a rank set, and they are treasured.
