Policeman Recalls Long Career (about 1965)
by Carolyn Nemes, Star Sidney Bureau
Bainbridge [Chenango Co., NY]: When an organized force of civil officers is established for the purpose of preserving order under a chief such as Bill Payne, the public need not worry that order will be preserved.
For approximately 28 years Bill Payne has been in the Town of Bainbridge, to surrounding communities and to other police organizations, a strong arm of the law. In 1934 he was with the Police Department in Walton and came to Bainbridge as a patrolman in 1939.
A native Waltonian, he attended and graduated form Walton High School and served three years with the U.S. Army in the Criminal Investigation Division. During his three years he saw active service in England, Ireland and France. He married Angela Corti, in London, who was of Italian descent, in 1945. He received extensive training at Fort Riley, Kansas where he received the classification of agent for the United States Army. Discharged from the U.S. Army in September, 1934, Bill came back to Bainbridge.
Getting Chief Payne's sentiments and memories stimulated where he would discuss them was a job not easy as he is a very modest man. However his memories are many and upon suggestion to the past he was eventually prevailed upon to reveal them.
Football was a favorite sport. In 1928 he remembers donning the uniform of the high school football team under Coach Dedrick Towne, who had come to the high school from Endicott as coach. That year Bill played left end and eventually came under Thomas H. O'Neill, who replaced Towne the following year. One vivid recollection is when he trained for a week under a friends of Tom O'Neill's, Charles Meehan. He lost five pounds that week.
Another of his most vivid memories is that of Judge Walter Terry, who is now serving as Delaware County Judge. The judge was starring for Colgate, and it was right after a bitterly fought Syracuse - Colgate tilt. He was wearing a Chesterfield a black derby and he had two big black eyes, Bill remembers.
A boy of varied interests, he recalls wrestling during dance intermissions at the old Delaware Pavilion. "They used to get two dollars a match and one time I wrestled Elmer Dann there. My strong holds were a head scissors and an arm lock. Elmer thought he could take the pressure off but the hold was cutting off the circulation and he soon passed out and went limp as a rag. I was some scared. I thought he was dead. I hardly breathed myself as I watched them work on Elmer with smelling salts and first aid. I can tell you I was happy when I saw him breathing again."
Pressured under constant interrogation (a real switch for one who usually does the interrogating) Chief Payne relinquished a few more tales from the past.
A fellow, name of Yager, of Oneonta's Co. G, wrestled Bill in Peekskill. Yager was beat and agreed to a return match two nights later, but neglected to show. In order to maintain order the referee asked for a challenger from the crowd. A big hulk of a man, who looked monstrous to Bill, came down the aisle. For a minute Bill was a little taken aback but went ahead with the match and found it took only a body scissors to finish his opponent off.
Prior to Bill's active duty in the Army the Civil Defense Authorities requested Bainbridge to organize a volunteer police auxiliary, to aid and assist the regular police department and other law enforcement agents in connection with CD activities. Twenty-five men and their training was extensive in the field of traffic control of evacuees from other areas to this area in the event of enemy attack, general law enforcement and the protection of life and property. Some of the original group included O.F. Howland, Raymond Holman, Charles Silvey, Stanley Price, Patrick Ryan, Carl MacLagan, Lynn Smith, William Davidson, Jasper Partridge. Frank Weeks, and Clayton Wakeman. When Chief Payne went into the service the group continued under the direction of Ray Holman. It continued until the end of WW II. At the outbreak of the Korean Conflict in 1950, Bill was asked to reorganize the group. It continued until the end of the operation and were finally put on an active schedule still in effect.
Members work regular weekend shifts with the Police Department, one man on motor patrol and one man each weekend night, is assigned to radio, telephone and other desk duties. They are completely uniformed in police blue with Civil Defense shoulder emblems and side arms. They meet once a month for instruction and regular business. There are currently 30 active men now on the force, including all the aforementioned. In addition are Claude Hancock, Bethel Bickford, Frank Mott, Eugene Craver, Gordon Dolph, Robert Hall, Warren Holbert, William Lang, Charles Manly, Norman Linsley, Floyd Hughes, Harvey Fink, Michael Rhomada Gene Snyder, Ralph Zimmerman, Lt. Donald Vroman, Sgt. Nicholas Pangara, Sgt. Carl MacLagan, Sgt. Charles Silvey and Capt. Ray Holman.
The organization has purchased a good deal of police equipment including a base station transmitter, and receiver. It has bought and paid for with its own funds three walkie talkies. It donated $100 to the construction of a new shooting range in the basement of the elementary school on Greenlawn Ave., in Bainbridge. It has two complete sets of radiological detection meters which are used for determining radio active fallout in the event of nuclear attack around this part of the country and there is a specially trained crew to operate it. The Army surplus supplied with a jeep and trailer, two portable gasoline operated generators, four flood lights with necessary extension equipment and four riot guns.
Bill is father of two children. His son, who is a 15 year old fullback on the second string of the Bainbridge Bobcats, recently broke his leg in football practice. His daughter Francine Feltman, is currently employed at Scintilla.
Chief Payne remarked that "For a volunteer Civil Defense Auxiliary Police Organization that serves strictly without pay, the group in Bainbridge is considered by the authorities to be one of the best and most well trained groups in the state."
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