By: Dennis Beyer
South Orange is a small town in Essex County, N.J. It is technically a "Village," in the area just West of Newark. Of the different communities there are only three Villages in the State. Since 1977 the official name of the community is The Township of South Orange Village.
It probably is not anything like you envisioned. Certainly there are no farms or stacks of hay in the field. There are approximately 17,000 people calling the "Village" home.
A train runs through the Village providing transportation to and from New York City. The train is just a few steps to the Downtown area. A little further away is Seton Hall University. This is where South Orange borders with Newark. I grew up in that area and have many memories of riding my bike through the Village and up to the top of the Mountain to view the New York Skyline. That was a fabulous view.
As I recall the Police Department was, and is, small. Crime was present, but not a serious problem. Residents were generally well behaved. Those traveling through were a different story. In my job I believe I appeared in the Municipal Court (case related) once or twice.
The above 6 badges I believe I got from a local manufacturer after the Township opted for a new design. My records were lost to cyber space when it crashed. That taught me to go for a better backup system.
Of the six pictured items you will see two badges for "Chief's". One was for the full Police Department while the second was for the Police Reserve.
In addition to the "Chief's" badges there is a Captain and a Lieutenant Badge plus one Special and an Officer Badge. I am missing the Sergeant's Shield. That would complete the set of a Rank Set which would date back to World War Two era.
As with all my "treasures" these badges are displayed in a wooden case that has a glass front. It hangs over my desk where it gets a daily once over that reminds me I am lucky, and proud, to have this fine collection.
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