Millburn is a great municipality in Essex County, NJ. I remember it well.
I have a few badges from here and they are a major part of my Municipal collection. The three badges pictured represent my twenty-second community in alphabetical order with this "M" being for Millburn.
A distant relative served on the police force in this town in the 60's. Unfortunately I never met the man, at least I don't remember doing so. I do recall my father making comments about nice the job in that community must be.
On Sunday's Dad often cranked up his old Hudson and we would take a ride through all those nice places that seemed light years away. We would go through Millburn, Chatham, and out to Schooley's Mountain. The ride took up an afternoon.
These places seemed like "frontier towns" when I was a kid, but that changed. I became an adult, I got a job, and they stopped making Hudson's. They also stopped making a couple of my father's other choice vehicles (Studebaker and Desoto).
The biggest change came with the construction of the Interstate Highway (I-78 and I-287) and "24." With these roads the small town became a suburb of Newark.
I lived in Chatham, and saw my driving time to work drop from thirty five minutes to fifteen minutes (My Chevy could fly). Once at work I established many friends and contacts that helped with the badge collection. The three above were all given to me by a fellow probation officer who definitely had the right connection. He donated them to my collection.
These are three nice badges. They are all early (1900 -1950) shields in good condition. The first badge is an Auxiliary Police (# 166). It is actually in excellent condition as the picture reveals.
The second badge is marked Special Police (#22). This item is of a design not common for N.J. police. It has twin pillars on the sides, with an eagle on the top. There are also four tiny stars on this badge.
The last badge is the officers shield. It is simply marked Police (#19). This badge, like the other two are marked with the name Millburn, NJ. All have the State Seal at center point and are plated to match the finish on the badge.
These items have been in my collection a good twenty-five years. It is nice to see them on a daily basis, and yes they do trigger some great memories.
Rank has its' privileges for sure. This Captain not only has a Chauffeur, but the car is a convertible.
Of course this picture was taken a long long time ago - Jan. 2, 1921. I think the present day guys use armored vehicles - with roofs!
The picture included Newark Police Commissioner Brennan discussing a traffic concern with Traffic Division Captain McRell. The driver was Officer Harry Marsley.
While not a badge this picture is a nice part of my collection, and well worth sharing here with other collectors.
"M" is for the fine community of Medford, N.J. The badge is the twenty-first in alphabetical order in this display of various municipalities.
This Town is is in South Jersey near the Delaware River. I imagine it is still very nice. Truth be told I have never visited the place.
My understanding is that Medford is a fairly large community. Even though that is true I still know zip about this town. It is, despite the wife's concern, a proper fit in my Municipal Collection.
I recently got this badge from another collector. I thought it would be a nice fit in the collection. As badges go this is right around three inches tall with the State Seal at center.
There are four panels on this shield and they read: Patrolman, Medford, Police, NJ. The bottom line is I like it, and I am very pleased to have it.
For the first 40 years all I would collect were badges. As a result my overall collection was small (The wife disagrees).
During the last five or so years I have "trimmed up" the badge displays by adding an old picture, some handcuffs or a whistle. I think these other items make the collection look just a little bit better (The wife disagrees).
The above is not an original, but it is of a Newark Officer. His badge can be clearly identified as second edition N.P.D. I like it and thought it is well worth sharing here. Hope everyone enjoys it too (The wife concurs on that wish).
The above badge was recently acquired from a collector in Washington DC.
He had a couple of Trenton Badges, as do I. Getting this item enables me to remove one that does not sparkle like this one. Now I have two in the display, and one for sale or trade.
The addition has the Trenton City Seal in the center. It is a stamped figure of a "horse head" on top of a shield. Around this seal it reads: Trenton City Police. At the bottom is #53. There is a functioning "C" catch, on the rear, with pin.
It is estimated that this fine badge dates back to late 1800's to early 1900. It didn't take long to do the picture, put it in custody, and lock it up under glass where I can see it everyday.
"M" is for the metropolis of Maplewood, NJ
This community is a Township so it is a proper fit in my Municipal Collection. In sequence this is the 20th distinct community to be included in the display.
Maplewood was one of those communities I could walk to from my home in the Ivy Hill section of Newark. There are good memories here. They had nice parks, and some had baseball fields that our gang visited often.
There was a great little park about fifteen minutes from my house. In a pick up game I recall hitting a baseball off the side of a park building in left field. What a shot ! A wicked line drive. I also remember that I only had one such hit like that one, but the thing is I do remember it.
I clearly remember two events, that I was directly involved in as a probation officer, that took place in Maplewood. The problem is, I can't tell the tale. I will say a Giant of an NFL Linebacker should like me very much; and, in regards to a different event, the local guys in blue should also have a huge smile for me.
The badge pictured here is a very nice memory kicker. It is simply marked with black recessed letters: Patrolman, Police, Maplewood. The number is 23. The State Seal is plated with the same finish as the full shield, and it was made before the 1970's.
This badge is definitely a piece of the collection that I am thrilled to possess. I am also very pleased that I can still recall the memories I have of this fine community.
It is not always about badges or my "Old Memories." This post is about an exhibition in Collier County (Fl.) that took place a few days ago. It was sponsored by the local wholesaler "Costco."
When I arrived at the parking lot for the stores "special" evening opening I had lower expectations. My trend of thought was they wanted me in the store with the credit card out. That was not the case.
The area had many exhibits from our local emergency workers. I was impressed to see that the Bomb Squad was on the scene. The used a big truck and a little Robot. I hope his name was not Three Finger Willie.
He was operated by romote control. He would simply to take a blast to the face if necessary in place of a human officer. Even with a robot this is dangerous when deployed in a real life situation. One could not help thinking of the old saying about Bomb Squad Officers: "If you see me running, try to keep up !"
If anything went wrong here, this was the right place to be. The Crime Scene Officers were there. The had a mobile truck that was loaded with all sorts of goodies. Again I was impressed. I checked it out thoroughly. There were even bones on display, along with photos that were taken at real crime scenes. If medical help was needed it too was there.
Outside the CSI Truck the Sheriff had plenty of cars to do a hot pursuit.Everyone one looked like it was just simonized (if that wax is still used). I was hoping to get a ride. All I wanted was at least one lap around the parking lot, but no dice. This was strictly "look but don't touch." The Car that I really liked is the gull winged sports car. I thought they got it to catch my daughter. She thinks she is Danica Patrick, but that (thankfully) was not the case. It is used with the drug education program - DARE.
In the middle of the parking lot was an area squared off by Sheriff's cars with its lights flashing. I was instantly thinking "landing area" when the helicopter was heard approaching. It came in nice and easy, and landed smoothly. The officers encourage people to sit at the controls and have their picture take. I was satisfied with a picture of the 'copter' from head to tail. In a word - impressive.
The Fire Department and EMS had their trucks present and they too made a great presentation. I particularly enjoyed the 1937 fire truck. It was older then me, and in much better condition. I couldn't get a ride on this one either.
Just up near the door was an exhibit that moved the emotions in every direction. They were selling bricks - red bricks. The purchase of these bricks will help pay for the construction of the Collier County Freedom Memorial.
Part of the display, supporting the memorial, was a steel beam from one of our Twin Towers. It churned the emotions, as did the picture of a friend, on a poster commemorating the officers of the NY-NJ Port Authority Police, that died September 11, 2001.
The bricks to be used in the Freedom Memorial have these words stamped on them: "We shall never forget." In closing this post I trust that We Remember.
