MUNICIPALITIES "O" IS FOR ORANGE

"O" is for Orange. This is the 26th badge by municipality (and alphabet) in the collection.

Orange however is a City. I have been lucky enough to acquire two badges from this community over a century of collecting. I have elected to display one badge in both my "City" and "Municipal" Collections.. 

I have previously described the community of Orange when I address those Jersey metropolis' that have the pleasure of being incorporated as a City. If memory serves me correct  I told you that this badge represents about 4 square miles in area. 

Some 45.5 years I ago my wife and I had our wedding pictures taken in Orange Park. I am not so sure I would repeat the walk in the park today, and that has nothing to do with the wife.

Seton Hall University is a mile or two down the road, in the Village (definitely not a City) of South Orange. I remember a lifetime ago an incident at the University which required the local constabulary to call for backup. The troops came from Newark (which is a City) and Orange. As I recall Orange sent one officer who was their S.W.A.T. Team (at least in my mind) and order was quickly restored.

The badge I have is of the same vintage as my above recollection at the University. It was old then. It is not in use any more as the current badges of taken more modern design.

As you can see this is a vintage "Jersey" type shield. It is gold tone and has the following stamped into it: Lieutenant, Orange, and Police. The NJ State Seal is at center point. It has no color in it having been affixed to badge prior to the invention of enamel. It still looks good, because it's beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Today this item is under glass and as noted before wrongly placed in my Municipal Collection, simply because I can't fit it where it does belong. I hope you all can keep the secret.



 

"N" IS FOR NORTH ARLINTON

Last year I posted an article regarding the badges in my "Municipal" Collection. These are the badges that do not fit as either a "City" or the "City of Newark which is my primary interest.

I am presenting these badges in alphabetical order, by municipality. I will start 2013 with the "N's."

First up is "N"  for North Arlington. This nice antique is at home in my NJ  Municipal Collection. It is the 25th in alphabetical order.


The Community is incorporated as a Borough. It has around 15000 inhabitants. They all live in an area just under 3 square miles.  It lies on the Passaic River in Bergen County which surprises many people because the assumption is that it is in Hudson County. It is very close, and there probably was a war that resulted in a map landing this town in the more affluent county.

It is also in the NYC Metropolitan area. A quick ride to the NJ Turnpike and over the "GW" Bridge and you are in Manhattan. The kids, and a few more people, are around in the daytime.

When one is hungry the place to go is "Pizza Land." It is on Belleville Avenue. You may have seen it if you watched "The Soprano's." Tony is from the area in real life.

The Badge pictured above is a traditional shape item. It is believed to have been replaced by a newer design. This one is nicely marked with black recessed letters: North Arlington, Police. 

At the bottom of the badge is a number box where numbers were inserted. This box holds the number "4".

In the center of this badge is a State Seal which is used by a majority of towns in the Garden State. The Badge has been mine for over 20 years, and today has a fine home in my muni collection. It's under glass and in a spot where I see it everyday. I am pleased to have it !

NEWARK TREASURES 2013

The year 2012 was pretty good, although I still have not obtained the Newark Star pictured at the top of this post.

The primary collection has grown. I have nine oldies  covering the middle of the collection. They look a little tight. That is because I never expected to get as lucky as I have in tracking these guys down.

On the perimeter (left, right, top) are eight "Old  Ovals." They are in number order going from a low 93 (Right corner) to a high 700 (Left corner). I feel good about having these hat badges. They make nice trim and are very collectible.  They look nice surrounding my treasures, but  I just might have to get a bigger case in 2013. That would be nice.

If I ever get the "Star" I guess I will have to get the bigger display case. Maybe it should be displayed alone. 

During the year 2012 I was able to put together a display of current badges. There are eight in total, including a matching set of breast and hat badges for  Officer.  Then going from left to right are: Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain and Deputy Chief. 

This display is trimmed out with old buttons, my dads' blackjack, and a current patch. I had to get this case, and hang it, while the wife was away in NJ. When she returned she had no new badges for me, but she didn't say a word about the new case below.  I guess she likes it.

I was also able to pick up a couple of  "Unique" Badges that I have in a separate display.  Someday I'll do a the job posting them here.   I do understand that the interest is not in badges from the Dept. of Sanitation.  I ought to give that one to my wife as she does a great job keeping all my displays looking good, and going to shows with me.

Well in 2013, with your help, I will acquire that Newark Star. While I wait for it I will keep telling you about the remainder of the collection.

TIME TO REMEMBER

Another year has come, and gone. It's time to give a moment or two to remember friends who have passed on. One way or another they are still with us.

It has been a couple of years since one of my friends answered his last call. His grand-daughter drew the picture below. It makes a very nice memory. 

In addition to this Officr, there are others who have passed away in 2012. They leave us and their families behind.  Miss you guys!

"M" IS FOR MORRIS PLAINS

This "M" is for Morris Plains, NJ. The badge is part of my Municipal Collection.

George Washington never slept here, but he may have marched on the trailsin the area during the Revolutionary War.  Old George did have his Head Quarters in the area back back in his day.  It is now Morristown, NJ.  Morris Plains is the neighboring community.

As a formal municipality Morris Plains didn't come into existence until after the country had forty-eight states. That would be 1926. General Washington never saw that coming.

Like many towns in New Jersey this community was created out of another. Technically it isn't a Town, but a Borough. The tag "bedroom community" also fits here. Many of the residents work in "The City" - New York. They have direct access via train that goes into Penn Station. That train passed my old home in a neighboring Borough.

What I recall best about this place was a little steakhouse. It was called Arthur's. I recall there was one in Hoboken too. These communities have the train and restaurants in common. 

When I checked Google to see if this restaurant was still in business I learned that they were, and that they were also considered one of the best steakhouses in New Jersey. I should have eaten there more often.

The badge from this fine police department is relatively new to my collection. It comes to me from across the pond in the United Kingdom. How it got there I have no idea, but I was glad to bring it home.

This badge is the old traditional shape for NJ police. It is a shell with two panels at the top, and a reverse stamped State Seal in the center. The panels have the words Morris Plains and Police stamped with recessed black enamel fill. A large number box is at the bottom with the number "24" located dead center. Ironically this is also the 24th  Badge in my display in alphabetical order by municipality.

I'm very pleased to have this fine item in my Municipal Collection, and now that it is there it makes my mouth water for some good steak. At least I can enjoy that fine memory.

"M" IS FOR MILLVILLE

This badge is rather unique. It certainly is old, but also has a very unusual shape for a Jersey badge  It comes from the municipality of Millville, N.J.

In my Municipal Collection this is the twenty-third consecutive community to be identified in alphabetical order. Hence this badge is  headlined here as "M" is For Millville.

I have had  it for over twenty-five years. This is another item that I don't know anything about. That is unusual. It is from a  Community in Cumberland County. 

To me that was farm country. Be that as it may, I always liked this old west styled badge, but at the same time would have considered trading it for something from Newark or just a "City."

Because I wanted to say something about the community I did some Google work. I learned that this place is centered nicely between the NJ Turnpike, The Garden State Parkway,  and The Atlantic City Expressway. That makes it a 'metropolis" for sure, and the twenty-four thousand residents helps too.

The place has roots to colonial days. Several mills were built in the area which contributed to the adoption of the name "Millville." Today there are many art galleries on High Street in the downtown area.

I learned that there is even an airport here. In fact it was designated as "America's First Defense Airport" during Worked War II. 

Well I learned something about this community, plus one other major bit of information that I did not know. Millville is a City. That means I like it more, and eventually will move it to my City Collection. That is good news for me. Now I will no longer  consider it for trade.

As noted this badge looks like it was from out West. It simply reads: Millville, and at the bottom Police.  In the center is one of the largest State Seals I have seen. The reason for this can be seen by looking at the back. In an open cutout there is a five point "Star." The State Seal had to be large enough to cover the star. I guess this was done for budgetary reasons.

For now this badge will stay put. It will be my reminder that every badge needs to be checked thoroughly, and that includes its' history. I have learned my lesson.

MUNICIPALS: "M" IS FOR MILLBURN

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.