Fort Worth Police Department. Women. Miss Marie Crane, secretary to Police Chief Curry, checking parking meter

Creator

Preview

Identifier

20031471

Description

Fort Worth Police Department. Women. Miss Marie Crane, secretary to Police Chief Curry, checking parking meter. She is wearing a white dress topped with a long sleeve dark jacket and is wearing a white police service cap with a dark bill and the police insignia on the front of the cap. The Meter says "2 hours" and the sedan parked next to it has a number of stickers inside the windshield on the passenger side. The sidewalk scene behind her shows several businesses including a barber pole, a hotel with rooms, and George's Radio Shop. There are also several small signs with a bell indicating that the businesses have a public telephone. A Photo posed with Crane at a parking meter. The article cutline under this image says "Just in case she should want to be a 'lady traffic cop,' Miss Marie Crane, secretary to Police Chief Curry, tries out the idea--with a book of traffic tickets, a newspaper reporter's pencil and Traffic Captain Dysart's cap. And that ticket book indicates the women still are going to have the last word." Clipping:"Women Traffic Police Voted for Fort WorthBy John Parker.Fort Worth Wednesday became the first city in Texas to authorize the employment of women traffic officers, with City Council approval of a plan to hire 10 as an experiment and receipt of applications from two persons before the ink was dry on afternoon newspaper editions announcing the move.Police chief Curry plans to get the program in operation by Nov. 15, with the smartly uniformed women under tutelage of experienced traffic officers.Applications will be taken now, he said, but hiring will not take place until later. Applicants must be between the ages of 23 and 40 and must be at least five feet four inches tall. They must pass a physical examination and must meet character and aptitude requirements. Pay will be $132.50 a month for the first six months, then raised to $145.The first applicant was Miss Lois Rylander, 29, 1200 Belle Place, who made for police headquarters with a newspaper in her hand. She was interviewed by Capt. R. R. Howerton, personnel officer and director of the Police Training SchoolMiss Rylander is a former United States Civil Service employe in clerical work. Close on her heels was Mrs. Gilman Rhodes, 36, of 3114 Azle, formerly an aircraft plant worker.The new traffic women will not carry weapons. They will be attired in blue uniforms, under present plans, lighter in tone than the navy blues now worn by policemen. Tentative plans call for Sam Brown belts and service caps with visors. On the left sleeve will be a shoulder patch bearing the words 'Traffic Police' and the officer's number. They will operate under direction of Traffic Captain Dysart.Before being entrusted alone at traffic posts, the women will receive four hours daily instruction at street corners during traffic peaks in company with experienced officers. Another four hours daily will be spent in Police Training School, where they will be instructed in police work in general and will received the full course in traffic control. They will be stationed only downtown, under a 'stagger' plan which contemplates men officers on alternate corners.They will have full police powers, but will handle traffic and parking exclusively—with no attempt made to use them as 'policewomen.' Use of policewomen was tried here more than a dozen years ago with little success, and the plan was abandoned. Four were hired. Some later became police matrons.An acute manpower shortage in the Police Department, because of the drain of personnel to the military and naval services, forced the traffic women plan. It has been under study for several weeks by Curry and other department officers. Curry's recommendation to City Manager Bothwell mentioned that the department already is short six men in the budget allowance and that qualified men are increasingly hard to find.Chicago recently put 50 women traffic officers in service and the plan also is being used with success in New York."Stamped: Star-Telegram Morn Nov. 4, 1943

Archival Date

1943-11-03

Collection Name

Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection

Collection Number

AR406-6-294

Original Format

Negatives, Black & White

File Format

JPG

Rights

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License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Subjects

Meter Maid; Police; Training; Automobiles; Storefronts; Streetscapes