A 1887 photograph (colorized) of the “Bobbies” of Pottsville, also known as the Police and Light Committee.
The photo appeared in the “Looking Back” feature of the Pottsville Republican, June 9, 1979, which was presented by Joseph M. Hanney, who was the vice president of the Schuylkill County Historical Society. The photo is from the historical society’s collection. The text was written by Hanney:
This May 30, 1887 picture is one of the earlier photos of Pottsville’s uniformed “finest.” With the organization of the world’s first known police department, the London “Bobbies,” in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel, Britain’s Home Secretary, Pottsville, because of a growing population and burgeoning anthracite industry, was not to be too far behind. Their duties were multiple, including the lighting of street lamps when nightfall came. Following upheavals caused by the Civil War, the town held its “Heldorado” status and image earned through earlier years, with boatmen and some canal “pirates,” railroaders and maintenance gangs, followed by the “ladies,” the slick gambler and the suave “con” man, all grappling in their own manner for some part of the wealth produced by the forgotten man, the miner.
The Police and Light Committee indeed had a task.
Seated (left to right): Henry Shay; Dan Freiler; David Pritchard; and James Deegan.
Back Row: John Shovlin; Fred Meiswinkle; Zack Madar; John Foltz; —–?—–.
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Article & photo from Newspapers.com.
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