Video from the Lansdale Historical Society police history presentation:




Current and former police, mayors and guests gathered for a photo following the presentation:

First Row: Left to right Lt Mark Houghtaling (Montgomery Twp),Paul (Tim) Dickinson (Chief Towamencin Twp), Richard Brady (Chief Mongtomery Twp), Jesse Choyce (Lansdale), Wallace Hendricks (Chief Lansdale-Retired), Glenna (Starrett) Lischke (Dispatcher Lansdale-Granddaughter of Lansdale Chief Kenneth Lear), Robert Weidner (Lansdale), Warren Horrocks (Hatfield), George McLeer (Montgomery Twp).

Second Row: Tom Dunlap (Hatfield), Lt Gordon Simes (Montgomery Twp), Al Elms (Lower Gwynedd), Walter Drusedum (Lansdale), Alfred Gillette (Towmencin Twp), Joseph McGuriman (Chief Lansdale-Retired) Robert Freed (Chief Upper Gwynedd-Retired) Edward Tartar (Hatfield) Terry Milankow (Montgomery Twp)

Third Row: Warren Grimes (North Wales), Edward Veit (Chief North Wales- Retired), Edward Weideman (Montgomery Twp), R E Jastremski (Hatfield), Richard Singer (Lansdale), Lt Eric Schmitz (Hatfield), Dean Miller (Lansdale), Jason Platt (Dispatcher Lansdale).

Thanks to Marti Drumheller from the Lansdale Historical Society for help with these.

Story: By Dan Sokil

LANSDALE - Dozens of police officers, current and retired, and a packed room of their family and friends gathered Tuesday night to remember the area's 'Men in Blue.'

"The fuzz, Johnny Law, the smokies, local yokels, the bears, the cops. That stands for 'Constable on Patrol', in case you were wondering, and we're here tonight to talk about some of the history of the Men in Blue associated with this area," said Marti Drumheller of the Lansdale Historical Society.

Drumheller shared stories, displayed photos, and brought back countless memories as she detailed the history of each of the area's police departments, from the first frontier constables in the 1870s through today.

"We'll start with North Wales, because they were the first in the area to have a police officer. They hired a constable in 1869, who would go on duty as needed, and by the 1890s anyone who he found with pigs, hogs or swine he would confiscate and sell and the proceeds would go to the state," Drumheller said.

Their first full time constable was hired for $18 per month in 1903, she said, and the photo slideshow of past police chiefs was accompanied by stories about the former chiefs and officers, several of whom were in the audience.

"In Lansdale, the law was provided by constables, and in the late 1890s they hired their first chief, Harvey Zearfoss. They wanted to give him a badge, but there was the biggest argument in borough council: one liked the design, one didn't, one wanted gold and another thought it should be copper," said Drumheller.

"Finally Mr. Zearfoss said 'I'll take the one you've designed already, it doesn't make any difference to me,' and his home which acted as the first police station still stands on Vine Street across from the current station," she said.

A display of police patches, photos, even a log book from 1925 and a letter appointing an officer in 1919 were also on display, courtesy of the Lansdale Police Department.

"I thought it was great, but things sure have changed since I left. They have cars with computers in them now, and things we didn't even dream of back then," said former Lansdale Police Chief Wallace Hendricks.

Hendricks was one of several former police chiefs in the audience Tuesday, and reminisced with former Lansdale officer Walt Druseden about some of the old times seen in the show.

"In December, we used to put traffic officers out at Main and Green streets, Main and Susquehanna, and Main and Wood just to handle all of the Christmas traffic there," said Druseden.

"Back then, there used to be two supermarkets: an A & P where the Boys and Girls club is now, and an Acme where the library is. It sure has changed a lot," he said.

Drumheller also showed photos of Hatfield Borough's police department before it was absorbed by Hatfield Township in 1978, and told the tale of how the Towamencin police department went on duty at the stroke of midnight on January 1 1975.

But the show was not all Drumheller's: light moments came when she was corrected by former Upper Gwynedd Chief Robert Freed when showing a photo of an accident that happened in Towamencin (which Upper Gwynedd's department patrolled at the time), and when she showed a group of Montgomery Township officers wearing leather jackets and asked why they chose that style to wear.

"Well, have you ever gone out to stand on Route 309 up at the top of the hill, when the wind's blowing and it's twenty degrees outside? They kept us warm," said Chief Richard Brady, one of the young officers in the photo.

His fellow officers, from each of the area departments discussed, took turns pointing out themselves and each other in the old photos, like one of Lansdale's police force with 1970s style hairdos and uniforms with a very young Joseph McGuriman in the front row that brought back plenty of memories for former Mayor (1973 to 1977) Richard Bitner.

"It was a very good show, I even found out a few things I hadn't even known back then. I miss a lot of the people I saw here, it sure was good to see them here tonight," Bitner said.