EXCERPT FROMLADY COP MAKES TROUBLEby AMY STEWART
YOUNG GIRL WANTEDGOOD WAGE.Well-to-do man seeking a housekeeper who is matrimonially minded.
Room and board offered.
Reply to box-holder 4827.
I handed the newspaper back to Mrs. Headison.
I suppose you replied to the box-holder?
We can all imagine what he must have made ofthat.
Ive seen them going in and out of his house.
But this man lives out here in Bergen County, so were handing the matter over to you.
Belle Headison was Patersons first policewoman.
She was a slight figure with narrow shoulders and hair the color of weak tea.
Her eyes were framed by brass-rimmed spectacles that recalled the inner workings of a standing clock.
Everything about her seemed upright and tightly wound.
I was New Jerseys first lady deputy sheriff.
Id never met another woman in law enforcement.
The summer of 1915 felt like a brave and bright new age.
We stood on the platform, under the only awning that cast any shade.
The sheriff took another look at the letter.
Mr. Meeker, he said.
Well, ladies, lets go pay him a visit.
Mrs. Headison took a step back.
Oh, Im not sure what use Id be.
But Sheriff Heath wouldnt hear it.
Its your case, he said cheerfully.
You should get the satisfaction of seeing it through to the end.
But I dont usually go along with the officers, she said.
Why dont you go, and Miss Kopp and I will wait here?
Mrs. Headison stepped in with some reluctance and we drove through town.
And if shes a pretty girl, the saloons will give her supper and drink, free of charge.
Of course, nothing comes free, but the girls arent so easily convinced of that.
Mrs. Headison, it developed, had been widowed in 1914.
I went right to the Paterson police chief and made my utility.
Sheriff Heath and I attempted to offer our congratulations but she continued without taking a breath.
Do you know that he hadnt even considered adding a woman to his force?
I had to argue my case, and you’ve got the option to be sure I did.
Do you know why he was so reluctant?
I cast the sheriff a look of horror but he kept his eyes straight ahead.
Wouldnt you agree, Miss Kopp?
Havent you become quite the mother hen at the sheriffs department?
Improbable as it may sound, I had, at last, found work that suited me.
