HISTORY OF THE BOERNE POLICE DEPARTMENT
by Gary Miller, Chief of Police
The City of Boerne was incorporated in 1909, and as with most small Texas towns, law enforcement was the responsibility of a City Marshall and the local Sheriff. Records from city council meetings report Joe Saunders as the first City Marshall on February 9, 1909. In 1911 Paul Menn succeeded Saunders and served until 1914. The City Marshall post was continued until 1953, when an ordinance creating a Chief of Police and Tax Assessor Collector was enacted. On April 13, 1953, F.O. Cole was appointed Chief of Police.
Chief Cole came to be known as “Bulldog,” and earned a second nickname of “Cherry Top” from the teenagers in Boerne. Chief Cole drove his own green Mercury with one red light mounted on the roof, thus the nickname of “Cherry Top.” Chief Cole was assisted in his duties by a night watchman, whose main purpose was to alert the fire department in case of fire. Geng Newton and S.L. Wood were two of the night watchmen at that time. The watchman also checked doors on the downtown stores to make sure all was secure. Time clocks were hung on some of the doors, and the watchman would insert a key to mark the time they had checked the building. Another important duty was turning the traffic lights on and off. Boerne boasted two traffic signals, one at Main and Theissen and another at Main and Blanco. At 6:00 a.m. Chief Cole would turn the lights on, and at 10:00 p.m. the night watchman would turn them off.
On May 9, 1955, Mr. L. M. Holman was hired to replace Chief Cole. Chief Holman was paid a salary of $400.00 per year plus 5% commission on taxes collected. As an added benefit, he was allowed to live in the Kulhman King historical house behind the city offices. Chief Holman also supplied his own vehicle. According to City Council Minutes from January 28, 1957, Chief Holman complained to City Council about not having a place to put prisoners.
On May 13, 1957, Earl Buck was hired to replace Chief Holman. Chief Buck’s salary was approved at $225.00 per month, and he continued the combined duties of Chief of Police and Tax Collector. Apparently the commission on tax collection was not part of Chief Buck’s salary. I think it is safe to say Chief Buck was the Boerne Police Department to the majority of residents over the next 30 years. Teenagers kept Chief Buck busy during the 1960’s and 70’s, and many of those teenagers who are now in their 50’s still fondly recall their Earl Buck stories.
Chief Buck retired from the City of Boerne in 1982, but stepped down as Chief in 1981. Emmett Shields filled the position on an interim basis until Donald Woods was appointed Chief in September 1981. Chief Woods came to Boerne from Georgetown and served as Chief until May of 1984.
Walt Myers was appointed Chief of Police on May 28, 1984. Chief Myers also came to Boerne from Georgetown, and worked with Chief Woods as a Boerne Lieutenant. Chief Myers was instrumental in establishing a close working relationship between the Boerne Police Department and the Boerne Independent School District with programs such as “Mc Gruff the Crime Dog.”
Gary Miller was appointed Chief of Police in March 1989. Chief Miller came to Boerne from the McAllen Police Department. Chief Miller has expanded the relationship with the school district by assigning School Resource Officers to three campuses.
Although Boerne has remained a quiet and safe community, I discovered some interesting crime stories during this research. Night Watchman Paul Menn discovered a burglary in progress at the Boerne State Bank one night, but instead of capturing the suspects, Menn was captured by them. After being tied up and mouth taped shut, Menn was dropped of at the city dump located at Esser Road and Rosewood, as the crooks made their getaway.
Most of the police activity involved juvenile mischief, with Halloween being a favorite night for such pranks. Many a Boerne resident would wake to find their fence gates removed during the night and deposited on the front lawn of Boerne High School, the current Boerne Middle School North. Cows became a part of the hijinks on occasion. One poor cow was reportedly placed on the roof of Boerne High School by some enterprising youth, to be discovered by school officials the next morning. Another unfortunate cow was fed an ample supply of laxative and tied to the front door of the high school.
A search of the original docket from Boerne Corporation Court shows some examples of misdeeds handled by the Marshall’s in the early days of Boerne. On April 28, 1909, Mayor J. Willke fined an individual $5.00 for the offense of “exceeding speed limit in City of Boerne.” Apparently the speed limit on Main Street was 15 miles per hour. Mr. Andy Patten was charged with “allowing a horse at large” on September 14, 1909, and was fined $3.00. Seven young men were apprehended by Sheriff Bierschwale in May 1920 and charged with “damaging public property by throwing stones and other missiles at the public school house (current Boerne City Hall) within the corporate limits of City of Boerne.” They each paid a fine of $4.00. In 1945, City Marshall Goslin rounded up five young boys for “swimming in municipal pool after closing hours” but the boys were later released after a lecture from Mayor Davis.
Times have certainly changed, and time has brought many changes to the City of Boerne and the Boerne Police Department.
Special Thanks to the Following:
I would like to thank Johnnie Keith, City of Boerne, for her time and efforts in researching minutes of Boerne Council Meetings. I would also like to thank John Eddie Vogt, Edgar Schwartz, and L.M. Holman, Jr. for their time and information.
A special thanks to the family of Harry Davis. Mr. Davis provided many colorful stories from his days of growing up in Boerne, and I was thankful for the opportunity to visit with him just a few weeks before his death earlier this year.
To all those who related their stories of mischief, I promise the statute of limitations bars any prosecution for cruelty to cows.