1588 REMEMBERED

Frank Donaghy wore badge 1588 when he served in the Newark Police Department.  

Frank died two years ago. He answered his final call.

It doesn't seem that long ago, but it is. Time goes by fast.  

A salute is offered to Frank, along with wishes for good health for his family.

NEW PATCH SITE

PC News reported there is a new site for Patch Collectors.  It is:


www.patchesrus.net


We have added this site to out  "Sites Of Interest".  Take a minute or two and check this one out.

A SPECIAL PATCH - MASSACHUSETTS CORRECTION

Through this blog I present pictures, and lots of memories, of those wonderful badges in my collection of 45 years (give or take a few months). On occasion I have posted a picture and an account regarding a patch.


The Patch above was presented to me by a neighbor who worked in Corrections in Massachusetts. He served as a Warden, and has almost as many stories as I do.


My friend has had the opportunity to view my collection. He enjoyed the personal visit with my relics and wanted to add something to the collection from "His" State. 

The patch above is part of  his donation and it fits very nicely under glass on top of my desk. I display it with my thanks. It is appreciated.

POLICE OFFICER DOWN

Following the brief post regarding a French Police Officer it was pointed out to us that over 150 Police Officers die in the line of duty here in the United States each year.  There is an excellent website that covers fallen officers. We would like to make note of it here.
  
The  address is:  www.odmp.org

We have also listed this page under our Sites of Interest

MUNICIPALS - "C" IS FOR CHESTER

 

C is for CHESTER. These badges represent the sixth different community in my Municipal Collection.

I have two badges here from Chester Township. The key word is "Township". I believe there is a Chester Borough which borders the other place. 

From what I recall about the Chester's neither one qualifies as a metropolis. Both however are far from urban and, unless the population has doubled recently, there should be some nice green space and a rustic feeling in these "towns."

These badges made it to my collection in the last millennium. I kept them for years before placing them in a proper display. Since retiring I have had the time to gather other "Munis."  Today I have placed an even fifty in a single display of municipal police badges from New Jersey. 

The two badges featured here are of the same design. One is silver tone and is for a Patrolman. The second badge is gold tone and is for a Sergeant.  Both badges have an Eagle at the top.

In the center of these badges are multicolored State Seals. The Seal on the Patrolman Badge is an older one consisting of just a blue ring around the outside edge. The second Seal, on the Sergeant Shield, is a full color Seal that was introduced around 1970+/-.   

The N.J. State Seal's give an impressive touch to these fine old badges which remind me on a daily basis of things like: The Old Chester Flea Market, Larson's Turkey Farm  & and, nearby Schooley's Mountain. These are fine memories and they provide considerable enjoyment.

FRENCH OFFICER, ERIC LALLES, REMEMBERED

We were sent this information regarding the loss of a French Nationale Police Officer.  He was ERIC LALES.

The notice of his death originated in France from Auxil Benevosoc. 

Mr. Benevosoc sent a link that we are unable to share with you. He briefly told us the very sad message. Officer Lales was an undercover officer who was fatally wounded  on November 28, 2011.  He survived for ten days.

Our thoughts go to the Officer's Wife and two children.

MUNICIPALS - "C" IS FOR CHATHAM

C is for Chatham.  This is number five in alphabetical order in my Municipal Collection.

I may have mentioned that I grew up and worked essentially in Newark, NJ.  It was the County Seat for the County of Essex which was my employer for four decades. That was a long time.

Drawing on the experience of living and working in Essex I chose to find an abode that was far enough away from the problems surrounding the greater Broad and Market Street area. For me, That meant about 15 miles West of Newark's South Side.

The Probation Department had an office at 32 Johnson Ave., Newark, NJ.  South Side High School was just one block away. It was a great location if your thinking was to plan an escape route to be close to I-78. That was my thinking when I sought out Chatham NJ. It was 14.7 miles from the office.

Chatham was a bedroom community when I moved here. I quickly learned that this term meant: The people riding the train everyday, into New York, were picking up a much bigger pay check then me. The tax rate in Chatham was good, especially for New Jersey. The Borough also enjoyed a very good school system. All of this made Chatham very attractive.

The  Chatham Police Department was small when I located in Chatham in the early 70's. I believe they covered all shifts with less officers then the number working any shift in any precinct in Newark. That of course is an "Apples and Oranges" comparison.

The suburbs looked great. The homes and streets gave a wonderful presentation to the passerby. Yet there were problems here, just different. It took a different breed to work communities outside the big city. While the law was the same the people were different and that in many cases made the job far from easy.

Having lived there for close to thirty years I got to know a couple of fine officers from the Borough Police Department. As nice as they were I never got a "donation" for my collection from any of them. None the less they are still Good Guy's.

There are two badges from Chatham in my Municipal Collection. One is an oval that was issued to those who served in the ranks as "Special" Police Officers. This item reads: Special Police. It was phased out in the late 1960's. It probably was initially introduced in the 1930's or 40's.  

The second badge is of a more traditional design. It has black recessed letters that read: Chatham Police.  It was introduced  in the 1930's. On the bottom is an applied number - 48 which is also plated. 

This badge has a State Seal at center that was plated with the main badge. This is a larger then usual Seal. It is about the size of a quarter. 

I have had both of these fine pieces of history for over 25 years. I keep them very close, in a case of Oak and Glass. I enjoy the memories that come to  mind when I turn my head daily for a trip down memory lane.