My Encounter With An Icon, James A. Hood

Mr. Hood was a Civilian Deputy Chief who briefly occupied an office adjacent to mine on the second floor of the Detroit Police Department Headquarters building.  If I remember correctly, he given that office space to work on his own projects and wasn't part of our chain of command.

Like his fellow Detroit resident, Rosa Parks, Mr. Hood's claim to fame occurred during a famous civil rights incident in Alabama.  Details were found at the blog, The '60s at 50, Tuesday, June 11, 1963: The Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.  C-Span also commemorated that day.

From this blog:

It was on June 11,1963, that Mr. Hood and Malone, accompanied by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach and federal marshals, attempted to register for classes at Foster Auditorium. Flanked by state troopers and in the face of national media, Wallace stood at the doorway of the auditorium to block the students' entry.

President John F. Kennedy then federalized the Alabama National Guard and instructed guardsmen to remove Wallace.

That afternoon, Brigadier General Henry V. Graham told Wallace that it was his ''sad duty'' to tell the governor to step aside. Wallace made a final statement and complied, and Mr. Hood and Malone were allowed to enroll. 


His New York Times obituary (20 January 2013) mentioned his time in Detroit:

He obtained a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in Detroit and a master’s degree from Michigan State, concentrating in criminal justice and sociology. He was a deputy police chief in Detroit and the chairman of the police science program at the Madison Area Technical College in Wisconsin.

Homer Ferguson's Revenge?

The story of Homer Ferguson's troubles in Roscommon County, Michigan (Daily Telegram published September 6, 1902), caused me to wonder if I'd stumbled upon a possible ulterior motive for the Homer Ferguson grand jury indictment in Detroit several years later of Roscommon native Duncan McCrea (my Cameron grandmother's cousin).  Did any of Duncan's friends or family members set-up Homer for political gain?  (At the very least they probably knew of each other -- Duncan lived in Roscommon County in 1900 and 1910.)

Here's the 1902 story:

Sheriff Johnson of Roscommon wired the authorities here [Lapeer] yesterday afternoon to arrest Attorney Homer L. Ferguson, who is wanted on a warrant issued on complaint of Hattie Clark (she also accused him of embezzlement).
He also to the officer he was a candidate for prosecuting attorney and that his opponent was trying to put up a job on him.  The prisoner formerly lived in Almont township.  He...was located in Cheboygan before going to Roscommon.  His people are among the most wealthy in Lapeer county and are highly respected.  Ferguson is thirty years old.

The Homer L. Ferguson who was arrested in 1902 was born in Michigan in March of 1869 according to the 1900 Census.  At that time he was listed as an attorney and a widower living in Cheboygan, Michigan.  In 1935 Homer L. Ferguson was a college educated taxidermist in Homosassa, Citrus County, Florida and living with his wife Edna.  Homer Lawrence Ferguson died in Citrus County, FL, in 1953/4.

It was a different Homer Ferguson who became the nemesis of Duncan C. McCrea.  That Homer Ferguson, a judge living in Detroit in 1940, was born in Pennsylvania in 1889.  He died in 1982.

Source

Darn. A perfectly good conspiracy theory spoiled by inconvertible facts!  The prosecution of Duncan McCrea had no connection to the 1902 troubles of Homer L. Ferguson in Roscommon County.

A blog post about Detroit Mayor Richard Reading who, along with Duncan McCrea, was ensnared by Homer Ferguson's probe.

Police Week - St. Michael Patron Of Police

St. Michael - Patron Of Police

William Bowman And His DPD Furlough In Roscommon Co., MI

ROSCOMMON HERALD - NEWS

24 February 1916

Loxley News

William H. Bowman of the Detroit Police Force is spending his furlough at the farm home of his father, John R. Bowman.

Posted because of our former employer, the DPD.  See Jim here.

Detroit 1-8-7

Deja vu all over again? While watching the new Detroit Police Homicide TV show, Detroit 187*, it feels that way. A flash from the past.

Since I walked up and down the steps of 1300 Beaubien too many times to count during the years I worked there, a touch of nostalgia creeps in when the camera pans on that address of Detroit Police Headquarters.

It was not love at first sight when I drove by 1300 Beaubien after being transferred to the Police Department. After seeing that old and gritty building I was in tears. Where was the modern building I had envisioned? I was a civilian; what was I doing going to a place where 90% of the employees had guns strapped to them and criminal rode in the elevators?

But it got better.

Where else would I have seen Leon Spinks in a full length white fur coat? Gilbert Hill entertaining a group of school kids using his "Beverly Hills Cop" voice? See Stella and her dirty laundry (literally)? Work with fascinating people? Or meet my future husband Jim (now a retired Detroit cop)?

*One of Jim's former scout car partners is a consultant who now scouts locations for Detroit 1-8-7.

Early Newsreels of the Motor City

My Alma Mater, Wayne State University, has Detroit News newsreels online in their WSU Virtual Motor City Collection, including:

Captain Walpole Rowland, age 102, a veteran of 7 wars, is voting (in the mid 1920's). I could find absolutely nothing else on this gentleman!

Also can be seen is the Second Annual Detroit Police Field Day at the State Fair Grounds in 1928.

How about a "Proving Ground" for Ford in 1928?

Dedication of a monument (DAR) can be seen here; descendants of Abagail Parmenter Bennett at Washington, Macomb County, Michigan.

There's also clips of Lou Gehrig & Babe Ruth, University of Michigan games, John Phillip Sousa at Cass Tech High School, the 26th Auto Show (1920's), and many more. There's 31 pages with approximately 15 newsreels per page.

Wordless Wednesdays - Multi-Flasking?

Marietta [Ohio] Police Force 1899

Nightstick

Made for Marietta policeman John Willford, Sr. It's end unscrews to reveal a glass tube sealed with a cork. [Exhibited at the Campus Martius Museum, Marietta, Washington Co., Ohio]