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What is
now the town of Mount Ephraim, back before 1926, was Centre Township. There
existed two Justices of the Peace in 1855, John W. Chester and Joseph Fish.
By 1856 the Justice System in Centre Township began to grow and nine more
Justices were hired. They included Joseph Bud, Joseph C. Zone, Fredrick
Lister, Abraham Rowand, John P. Curtis, John W. Hax, T. Oliver Goldsmith,
Henry Charman, and Hiram E. Budd.
Between
1898 and 1905, Mt. Ephraim and Haddonfield worked on establishing their
first, organized crime prevention working party. They were called the Mount
Ephraim and Haddonfield Mutual Pursuing and Detective Company which was
located in the Borough of Haddonfield. Its purpose was for the “pursuit,
detection, apprehension, arrest and prosecution of thieves, tramps,
marauders and other depredators on the persons and property of the members
of the said Association in the County of Camden and in the State of New
Jersey, and elsewhere...” (Mount Ephraim and Haddonfield Mutual
Pursuing and Detective Company Certificate of Incorporation).
Due to
the overwhelming amount of residents living in the Mount Ephraim area, on
January 27, 1930 an ordinance was passed to establish a Police Department
for the Borough. Between the years 1930 and 1948 there were several
different Constables who were in charge of Mount Ephraim Police operations.
The men who served in that capacity were Constable John Aaronson-1931 and
Constables John McFarland and Thomas Feeser-1932.
During
the years of World War II, 1941-1945, the men where appointed by Herbert
Phillips, the Mayor of Mount Ephraim at that time, to be Police Reserves.
The Mount Ephraim Police Reserves were then summoned to act as Block
Wardens. Each warden was assigned to a block and then was to protect and
look after the safety of the residents on the block in the event of an Air
Raid. The men of the Police Reserves, who also had other occupations,
assisted the full-time Officers whenever they were called to do so.
After the
time of war, the Mount Ephraim Police Reserves decided to continue working
as volunteers. Headed by the late Harry Harrison they decided to call
themselves the Mount Ephraim Police Reserves Inc. and were chartered by the
State of New Jersey on September 26, 1945. Their intention was to stay
concerned with the safety and health of the Mount Ephraim residents. The
Police Reserves bought a second hand truck which was then converted into an
ambulance.
As time
progressed, the police cars were black and white Chevrolets or Fords and
strongly resembled police cars used in the popular television series,
Adam 12. Mount Ephraim Police Department did not have Sergeants or
Captains, only Special Officers, Patrolmen, and a Chief. The police
department was located on West Kings Highway, near what is now MEPRI Hall. |
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