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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHistory of the Bozeman Police Dept_Chapter 15 ' Chapter 15 More Tidbits t The City Court docket of 1895 contains names of individuals who appeared before the court and also lists the offense that was committed. Some of the crimes that appear in this docket are listed as follows: Drunk, Found Drunk, Drunkenness, Being an Inmate House of Ill Fame, Keep and Maintaining House of Ill Farne, Vagrancy, Misdemeanor, Indecent Exposure of Person, Malicious Mischief, Wandering about the Creek, Wandering ' about the Streets, Moderately Riding their Horses, Riding Bicycle on Main Street, Violation, Disturbing the Peace, Cruelty to Animals, Obstructing Sidewalk by a Horse, Fast Driving, and Fast Riding his Horse. iL u 7 On October 14, 1896, a person was brought to court for "Fast Riding his Horse". This individual pled guilty and was fined $5.00, plus ordered to pay $2.50 in court costs. ********** The obituaries of well known madams that appeared in newspapers are described in the following information on Bozeman's madams. Kitty Warn/Roberta Warren b. 1862 d. 1885 Loaise Buttner b. 1862 d. 1883 Frances Jackson/Lizzie Woods b. 1860 in Missouri d. 1918 Kitty Warn was the young prot~g~ of Bozeman's most successful madam, "The remarkably kindhearted" Louisa Courselle. Starting out as one of "Mrs. Lou's 'working girls'," Warn was helped by Courselle to set up her own business on Mendenhall Street where she ran a brothel with 7 bedrooms, 7 stoves, 7 mirrors, and 7 brass beds. She changed her name to Roberta Warren, investing in numerous properties and achieved an impressive level of financial success. The economic stability that the agricultural town of Bozeman provided, coupled with social mores of a time that tolerated prostitution, allowed a few women such as Kitty to do quite well financially. 89 0 1 r~ 1 In 1.885, she accidentally set herself on fire when she dropped a lighted match into the folds of her dress. She suffered a month of intense pain before she died. She is buried with her sister, Louise Buttner; bath were born in the same year. Louise had committed suicide in the same house 1 1/2 years earlier. The marker erected originally for Louise says "Goodbye Sister." Its sad inscription has almost faded away: Farewell, O Sister dear, farewell Thou has left me in this lonely world of pain Oh, may we meet in Heavenly bliss to dwell At God's right hand no mare to part again Fold her father in thine arms And let her henceforth be A messenger of love between My lonely heart and thee In the late 1800's Bozeman's next wealthy madam was Frances Jackson, who had come to Montana from Missouri. Not wanting her family to know of her profession, she changed her name to Lizzie Woods. She ran a bordello on Mendenhall Street in Bozeman, as well as in the 18 room Maxwell Roaming House in Livingston. Lizzie's businesses lasted over 30 years, and their success expressed itself in her lavish lifestyle. At the age of 40 she adopted a baby boy named "Baby." When he was 10 years old he was farmed out to another family. When Lizzie died in 1918, social attitudes toward prostitution had changed. Forth years earlier, mention of the brothels in Bazeman's newspapers often had agood-natured slant, and Louisa Courselle's obituary in 1886 was positively glowing. But Lizzie's obituary reviles her as "a social derelict." Little is known about the women who worked for these successful madams, but records listing death by morphine overdose indicate a degree of suffering generally associated with "soiled doves." Note: We have been unable to locate Louisa Caurselle's grave marker in the 1 cemetery. If you laiow its location please let us know. ********** 0 City Ordinance No. 576 was passed and signed August 9, 1929 and regulated traffic in Bozeman. Some of thane regulations appear as follows. Authorized Emergency Vehicle. Vehicles of the Fire Department, Police vehicles and such ambulances and emergency vehicles of municipal departments or public service 90 ' corporations as are designated or authorized by the City Manager. ' Business District. All that part or parts of Bozeman on Main Street from Buttonwood to Eighty avenue; on Babcock from Rouse Avenue to Third; on Mendenhall from Rouse to Crrand Avenue; and all intervening avenues and alleys. Motor Vehicle. Every vehicle as herein defined, which is self-propelled. Police Officer. Every officer of the Municipal Police Department or any officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic or to make arrests for violations of traffic ' regulations. Traffic. Pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using any street for purposes of travel. All-Night Parking Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for the operator of any vehicle to ' park said vehicle on any street, avenue or alley during the time of any day between one hour after sundown and one hour before sunrise, except when lights are displayed both front and rear. ' Parkin Vehicle for Sale Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for an erson to ark u on a g Yp P P street, any vehicle displayed for sale. ' Du to Re ort Accidents. Theo erator of an vehicle inv 1 in ty p p y o ved an accident resulting in injuries or death to a~ person, or property damage, shall within twelve (I2) hours make a report of such accident to the police headquarters in this city. ' Garage Keeper to Report Damaged Vehicles. The person in charge of any garage or repair shop to which is brought any motor vehicle which shows evidence of having been involved in a serious accident or struck by any bullet shall report to police headquarters of ' this city, within one (1) hour after such motor vehicle has been received, giving the motor number, manufacturer's number, name and model, license plate number, and the name and address of the owner or operator of such vehicle. 1 Driving by Certain Persons Unlawful. It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of sixteen (16) years to operate any motor vehicle on the streets of the City of Bozeman. It shall be the duty of officers of the police department to arrest any person violating this provision and to take possession of the vehicle sn driven and hold the same until the satisfaction of any penalty imposed far such violation. The owner of a vehicle shall be held responsible for the operation of such vehicle by any person under the age of sixteen (16) years. It shall be unlawful for any person learning to drive a motor vehicle to operate the same on any arterial highway of the City ofBozeman. 91 Ii Quiet Zones, There is hereby created in the said City ofBozeman, Quite Zones, to be known as the Deaconess Hospital Quite Zone and the Pinewood Hospital Quite Zone. Violators shall be deemed guilty of reckless driving. ********** In 1940, Bowman's Police Department consisted of seven full-time officers and one cruiser vehicle which was not radio equipped. By 1960 the police had 13 full-time officers and three cruiser cars on duty 24 hours per day, all equipped with two-way radios. In 1996 the police department had 39 officers, 6 support employees, and 21 police vehicles, all equipped with radios and other emergency equipment. ********** 1 In the 1940's and early 1950's, if an emergency arose between the hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., it was necessary for one to call the telephone operator and advise her ofthe location and circumstances of the situation. She would then throw a switch which would light three colored light bulbs strategically located in the city. This was done in hope that the one police officer on duty during these hours would observe the glowing light and call the telephone office far information. It is believed two lights were located on Main Street, one being at Tracy and the other at Vlrllson. The third light was located in the north alley. According to Mary Jo Huffine (Jenkins), an operator for the telephone company and the daughter of Qfficer Peter Jenkins, permission had to be granted by the telephone company supervisor before she could activate the call light. By 1960, a citizen calling for police assistance could reasonably expect one or mare officers to arrive at the scene within a very few minutes. As a result of improvements in law enforcement in Bozeman, together with the purchases of several thousand dollars worth of technical equipment, such as cameras and fingerprint equipment, by 1960 the solution of crimes had increased by 450 percent. ********** 0 Since October 1994, the Bozeman Police Department and the Gallatin County Sheriffs Department have been moving towards a combined dispatch center that would provide service to all emergency service providers in Gallatin County. It is perceived this is the first joint venture of this nature. However, in 1963 the City of Bozeman and Gallatin County entered into an agreement to establish, maintain, and support a jointly owned radio receiving and transmitting station for the joint use of the City of Bozeman Police Department and the office of the Sheriff of Gallatin County. This agreement was created through Joint Resolution No. 656 and provided for the purchase of 60 watt, FM central station radio receiver and transmitter. 91 ' Officer Peter J. 7enkins was born on Ja~-uary 11, 1896 in Belgrade and was married to Josephine Miles Jenkins. They had three children; J. Stanley, Mary Jo (Huffine), and ' Alene (Lartch). ' Officer Jenkins started working for the police department on March S, 1929 as a night watchman. He continued his employment with the department up to his death. The following was contributed by Mary Jo Huffine, daughter of Officer Peter J. Jenkins. Tall men were uncommon in the early 1900's and Peter Jenkins was 6'2 1 /2" tall which would have made him an impressive police officer. ' He was kind, soft spoken and a strong family man. From a large family we visited his brothers and sisters often. He was honest, frank and had a good sense of humor. He ' like our Boston Bull Terrier and kept rabbits in a pen at our home. We lived on South Bozeman when he worked nights and would walk, roller skate or hisson bicycle to the station with his lunch. He and Andy Anderson would also send us to the Chinese restaurant on East Main for Chinese noodles. ' The police station was upstairs next to the fire hall. It was fun to ga there and hard to imagine now going up those stairs to the office compared to the station of today. Andy and Dad fingerprinted us and filled aut humorous police reports. We could stay ' awhile if they were not busy and visit the firemen. The best was seeing them slide down the large brass rail to their trucks. ' While taking a prisoner to the jail, he turned his ankle on a curb and fell. While he was down the prisoner severely beat him. His teeth were knocked out making a lasting ' effect of the beating. As a nightly duty he would check all businesses on Main Street and if not locked ' ar anything amiss call the owners. Later on day shift he rode a large black Harley Davidson motorcycle. He would come home for lunch and when we came from school it would be parked on our front lawn. We thought he was real important. Being diabetic, he was often in the hospital the later part of his life. The other police officers would come to the school rooms to get us and take us to visit him in the ' hospital. Officer Peter Jenkins died on January 22, 1936. Author's Note: Officer Jenkin's career with the Bozeman Police Department was ' less than seven years. After his death, the family was no doubt left to provide for themselves as there were no benefits available. Today, the surviving spouse and or children would receive a monthly benefit equal to an average of the off'icer's last ' three years wages. ' 92 1 1 Jacob F. Oakwood was the first Bowman's first City Marshall, elected by popular vote in 1883. Marshall Oakwood was re-elected in 1884 and served until April 1885. Jacob Oakwood was born in Switzerland in 1829 and married Anna Heffner who was barn in Rochester, New York in 1851. Jacob Oakwood amved in Bozeman in 1874, after serving in the Crimean War as a British subject. He was a pioneer businessman of Bozeman and received agold-headed cane for his efficiency in office. He died in 1885 and Mrs. Oakwood passed away in 1913. ********** Captain Andy E. Anderson began his career in 1923 as a police officer. He was the first officer from the Bozeman Police Department to retire with a retirement benefit. Captain Anderson retired in 1945. A notation in the City Commission minutes on November 24 1954 reflects the following: "Notation of the death of Alfred E. Anderson, which occurred on November 20 1954, is made in these minutes. "Big Andy", as he was populazly known, was a member of the Bozeman Police Department from 1923 until 1945 when he was placed in the Police Reserve. His many years of service to this City were performed with faithfulness and fidelity and his death is mourned by all who knew him." ********** John J. Robertson's law enforcement career with the Bozeman Police Department spanned from July 3, 1890 to August 10, 1922, and is probably the longest serving officer in the history of the department.. John Robertson was born on July 8, 1862 in V~ndsor, Canada and he came to Bozeman in 1882. John first started his employment with the police department as a "Special Policeman" and he received $3.50 per day providing he worked a ten hour day. ' This position was authorized by the City Council to "beef' up the police force from time to time when special occasions occurred in the community. ' John Robertson was elected to two terms by populaz vote of the people and served as Bowman's City Marshall. He was appointed as Chief of Police four times by different Mayors. Whenever the City of Bozeman elected the Mayor, that person would place his own people in office. After his career with the Bozeman Police Department ended on August 10, 1922, John was the Chief Watchman at Montana College until 1925. 7 J John Robertson was mazried to Lois Ferguson who was born in Bozeman in 1875. John and Lois had 5 children and in their lives tragedy would strike three times. One son, George died at 10 months of age, John Jr's. death was listed as "death from drowning", 93 ' and Ernest suffocated while fighting afire at the Club Cafe while employed as a Bozeman Firefighter. Little is known about the two remaining children, Eugene and Leslie. The ' Robertson's lived at 622 Dell Place in Bozeman. John Robertson died in Allentown, Pennsylvania on May 17, 1934. 1 n 1 1 94