Newspapers / The Franklin Times (Louisburg, … / July 3, 1969, edition 1 / Page 5
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N.C. Highway Patrol Feature: 40th Anniversary, July, 1929-69 < The original 37 members of the North Carolina Highway Patrol assemble in front of the capitol at Raleigh on July 1, 1929 after being sworn in and given their assignments. Raleigh ?? Those 37 men who stood on the steps of the state capitol for the state highway patrol's first swear ing-in ceremony had reason to be proud. They were the "cream of the crop" from more than 1,800 applicants. That historic ceremony was conducted on July 1, 1929. Today, as the patrol observes its 40th anniversary, the opportunity to serve in the organization doesn't draw a great number of applicants. The screening is just as rigorous, though, and most of the men who are selected come to feel that .the uniform of the highway patrol im poses on them a special re sponsibility for professional conduct. Veteran members of the patrol remember when they gained celebrity status just by Captain Charles D. Farm er, commanding officer of the original patrol. riding their motorcycles down the drowsy main street of a tarheei village. Hut was when the patrol was new, and North Caro linians weren't quite sure what it was or what troopers were supposed to do. In the remote areas of the state, those early day troop ers were known as "road sher iffs" and "state men". Law breakers and those who resist ed driving rules and regula tions might have used names much less complimentary. Ask one of those veterans how It was way back when and the question opens a floodgate of memories. Sergeant W. W. Stone of Greensboro, the only charter member still on active duty in the patrol, doesn't believe young men today "would put \up with what we had to go through with." "Why, not loij^ ago, a young trooper came into the headquarters and told me that most of the drunks he arrested complained about being taken to jail in a patrol car that was not air-condi tioned." All the patrol cars today Trooper W. W. Stone was the youngest man on the force when it was organized July 1, 1929. Today, Techni cal Sergeant W. W. Stone is the only charter member still on active duty in the patrol. He is assigned to Troop C Headquarters at Greensboro. are air-conditioned and as modern as the latest techno logy can make them. The trooper himself has an easier time of It, too. No longer is he required to put in a seven -day work week of 16 hour days. Troopers today don't be come overjoyed discussing their salaries, but the pay scale has" risen enormously since those $100-a-month days of a generation ago. Sergeant Stone who was the youngest man on the force 40 years ago is today the oldest member. He has served at eight different posts throughout the state, a result of early patrol policy which specified that men be shifted to different territories every 90 days. "Troopers today are better educated than they used to be," he says, "And they're more sophisticated than they used to be, but they seem to have the same kind of dedica tion that marked Che early day trooper." ? Although Sergeant Stone is the patrol's only charter member still on active duty, there are many men serving the organization whose care ers date back almost to the beginning. Patrol Commander Col onel Charles Speed joined the patrol in 1935. Lt. Colonel Edwin Guy, executive officer of the patrol, joined the pat rol in 1939. The Director of the Patrol's Training and In spection Division, Major E. W. Jones was in the same patrol training school with Colonel Speed. Major John laws, Director of the En forcement Division, donned his patrol uniform in 1937 and Captain 0. R. Roberts, assistant Director of the Com munication and_ Transporta tion Division, was sworn in two years later. The six troop commanders are also long-time members of the organization who worked their way up from the bot tom. They are Captain R. F. Williamson, Troop A, Green ville; Captain R. E. Sherrill. Troop B, Fayetteville; Cap tain J. B. Kuykendall, Troop C. Raleigh; Captain William S. McKinney, Troop D, Greens boro; Captain R. H. Nutt, Troop E, Salisbury ad Cap tain Ernest S. Guthrie, Troop F. Asheville. Although Colonel Speed's position as Commander in volves a multiplicity of du ties, he feels he may have had a more varied job back when he was patrolling two and a half counties in western North Carolina on a cantank erous motorcycle that "threw him every chance it got." In addition to regular pa trol, Colonel Speed recalls that he was required to issue a driver's license to* every motorist iiTTiis territory and to investigate crimes unrelat ed to traffic law violations. The commander feels that one of the primary differ ences between law enforce ment then and now is public attitudes. "Back then, there was very strong sentiment against crimes of violence and the entire community would seek to help the law enforcement officer solve a crime and bring the criminal to justice." The attitude carried over into the realm of court activi ty also, Colonel Speed recalls. "People seemed to take a more intense view of their responsibilities toward jury duty and on court dayt, people from ail over would HH]|| SUMMER FREEZER SALE ALL SIZES IN STOCK NOW! llCu.Ft. HokU 385 Lb?. IS Ctt. Ft. Hold! 525 Lbi. 19 Cu. Ft -Hold. 665 Lbt. 23 Cu. Ft.-Hoidi 805 Lbt 28 Cu. Ft.-Holdi 980 Lbt. ALL FREEZER PRICES REDUCED - COME AND SEE! WE ALSO HAVE IN STOCK UPRIGHT FREEZERS, REFRIGERATORS, A WASHERS, DRYERS AND RANGES. LOUISBURG FCX SERVICE BICKETT BLVD PHONE 496 3366 SAM WOOD, Mgr. come into town to observe court proceedings." Two factors that greatly influenced the role of the highway patrol, the Colonel feels, are the massive second ary road program from 1949-1952 and the increase in teenage drivers after World WarH. "The Kerr Scott road pro gram enabled people to work in town and live on the farm, thus creating a whole new mobile society. "The great numbers of young people who began driv ing after World War U brought a problem that was entirely new in the state." No one today seriously questions the need for the highway patrol in coping with the complexities of modern automotive travel. And the patrol's many national awards for professional excellence has vindicated those who ar gued for the establishment of the special law enforcement unit to enforce traffic laws four decades ago. The furor raised by the suggestion that such a unit be formed was intense. The argu merit was carried on for many months in . newspaper col umns and in the state's Gen eral Assembly. Those who ar gued against creation of the patrol feared it would be come a political police force such as had emerged in other states. That fear proved to be unfounded, and today the pa trol seeks less, not more, in volvement in cases unrelated to traffic law enforcement. From that orginal band of 37. the patrol has grown in number to 877. No longer under the supervision of the state Highway Commission, the patrol is the largest divi sion of the vast department of motor vehicles. Modern data processing equipment, ali extensive driver education program, a public information program and ah army of clerical per sonnel in the Department of Motor Vehicles supports the activities of the patrol in the field. Of particular pride is the Patrol Training School con ducted in cooperation with the Institute of Government at Chapel Hill. The 16 week training program is designed to develop the highest stan dards of professionalism in the individual. Veteran motor vehicles ad ministrator Joe W. Garrett has helped to formulate and implement many of the poli cies which have brought the patrol to its present status. As State Motor Vehicles Commissioner. Garrett feels that much greater challenges await the patrol in the future as traffic becomes denser on Tarheel highways. "The patrol will continue to be the first line of defense in preventing death and* in jury on the highways." says the commissioner. "In the years ahead we will have more vehicles and more dri vers. The job of controlling this tide of traffic will be come more difficult each year "However, the past achie vements of the patrol con vince me that the organiza tion, backed by other divi sions within the department, will be able to fulfill its re sponsibilities in the manner in which North Carolinians have become accustomed." Lolonel I harles A. 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The Franklin Times (Louisburg, N.C.)
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July 3, 1969, edition 1
5
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