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.

THANK YOU PC NEWS

In the recent (Sep - Oct, 2011) edition of PC News there is an article regarding the Badge and Gun I believe belonged to US Marshal  Horace "Will"  Loomis.  It appears in the column "Collecting Memories" (pp. 37 - 38).

Loomis was Chief Deputy U.S. Marshall in New Mexico when it was a territory. He served ten years starting in 1886. His handgun and presentation badge, in its' original case, are pictured above.


In the Fall of 1896 Loomis using a shotgun fatally wounded the outlaw Code (y) Young. The Outlaw was a member of the High Five Gang that terrorized New Mexico and Arizona in the late 1890's.

The PC News article was also posted on this blog in July of 2011. It may be viewed under the title:  "TRAIN ROBBERY # 62, AND "MY" BADGE & GUN."


We extend Thanks to PC News for letting us share pictures of the Marshall's Badge and Gun, and for also remembering "Wells Fargo's Chronology of Stage Coach and Train Robberies," and, in particular,  Train Robbery Number 62.

MUNICIPAL'S - "B" IS FOR BUTLER

This is the fourth badge in sequence in my Municipal Collection. It is "B" for Butler.

This small Borough is in Morris County. It has a decent sized population of 7500 (plus or minus,  depending on whether it is a weekend or not). The place is only a short (20+/- miles) distance to N.Y.C.

As a kid I was well acquainted with towns like Lincoln Park, Wayne, Mountainview and of course Butler. The common denominator was the Passaic River as well as the Pequannock River (Yes it is spelled correctly). 

At one point these rivers merge. The location was called Two Bridges for obvious reasons. They water was great for swimming, and using a small boat. I had tons of fun in this area fifty years ago.

After outgrowing the small boat at age 17 and, learning I could go further in a car, I discovered Butler.  It was a small town back then. It hasn't grown much. 

I recall a family friend knew someone who had a waterfront cabin on nearby Glen Wild Lake. This was a private community (but they let me in anyway). One of the better memories was cruising that lake on a small paddle-wheel boat. It too was privately owned, and used only for pleasure. Again that was fifty years ago.

I don't ever remember seeing a police officer on or near that Lake or in the big town of Butler which was incorporated in 1901. That was much more than fifty years ago.

The badge that I have has been in my collection for at least 25 years. It no longer is the design in use, but looks mighty good to my old eyes. I like it more then the current oval style used by the fine officers of modern Butler, NJ. 


This badge is a full size shield with black recessed letters. It simply reads "Butler" on the top panel, and "Police" on the lower panel.  In the center are the numbers "11".


My collection of New Jersey municipal police badges is certainly enhanced with this fine old badge from decades ago. Naturally it is displayed in an oak and glass case where it helps bring back some fine old memories.

MUNICIPAL'S - "B" IS FOR BOUND BROOK

 
 
This is yet another "B" in my municipal collection. This little guy is from the Metropolis of  Bound Brook, NJ.

It is a wallet size badge that is silver in color tone, with black recessed letters.


In the center is a State of N.J. Seal. It was applied first, then plated with the rest of the badge.


The wife had relatives in this community that makes the map (or news), every now and then. This is when the place floods. It seems the "Brook" is not held back by anything during those Jersey Spring Rains.


I have had this item a short time. I believe I picked it up a show. I had some early thoughts of maybe trading it. For now it is in the case with my Nifty-Fifty NJ Municipal's,  and, of course, some nice memories.