The Emergence of a Professional Sheriff’s Office in Winnebago County, 1920-2000
by Jason S. Walter

On March 14, 1938, at approximately one-thirty in the morning, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office broadcast a warning bulletin over the WAKE (police radio) communication system to be on the lookout for a stolen car. The automobile was stolen in Waupaca shortly after one o’clock in the morning. In a little over an hour the vehicle was recovered, and an Outagamie County Sheriff’s Deputy apprehended the driver. This apprehension was made possible by the WAKE communication system, spanning four counties: Winnebago, Outagamie, Waupaca, and Fond du Lac. The bulletin alerted Winnebago County and Outagamie County Sheriff’s Deputies to block the highway leading into Winnebago and Outagamie Counties from Waupaca. In this case, the driver decided to head for Outagamie County, where a reception committee of Outagamie County Sheriff’s Deputies awaited him. ¹

With modern police technology and communications, such events are commonplace; however, in the 1930s the arrest was a monumental achievement, the culmination of a number of different technological developments that helped to revolutionize the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office during the period 1920 to 1950. The development of this police technology was not without many complications, complications that also pointed up glaring weaknesses in the effectiveness of law enforcement. For example, by 1950, Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputies were connected by two-way radio communication with both the dispatcher and with other officers in their squad cars. Once officers left their squad cars, however, they were out of communication. While some law enforcement agencies had begun to use portable radios, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office did not introduce these devices until the late 1970s, and even then, portable radios were not made available to every officer, due to their high cost. Generally, the higher-ranking officers, such as patrol sergeants and lieutenants, were issued the new technology earlier than the patrol officers. This communication gap caused many problems for officers, as illustrated by the experience of Deputy James Goggins, now Chief Deputy in the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office.

On October 31, 1977, while Deputy Goggins was taking an accident report, he was called on his squad radio by the patrol sergeant and told to check on another accident that had involved possible injuries. As Deputy Goggins approached the scene, he noticed a rolled-over, empty vehicle. He then noticed an individual coming out of the ditch on the other side of the road. To the Deputy’s surprise, the man got into Goggins’ squad car and drove away. The squad car had been left running, because that was the only way to keep the two-way radio and red light on the squad car operational. With his squad car stolen, Deputy Goggins could not communicate with other officers or dispatch. Shocked and worried about losing his job, Goggins commandeered a red Ford Mustang from a passer-by and went after his squad car. The pursuit ended when the individual, who had stopped at a local tavern, was arrested. The man who had stolen the squad car had also stolen the vehicle that had rolled over. ²

The adoption of police technology by the sheriff’s office laid the foundation for the sheriff’s office to provide professional and efficient police services. While the sheriff’s office was being transformed by new technologies, from the use of motorcycles and automobiles in the 1920s to the development of two-way radio communications in the 1930s and 1940s, the sheriff’s role was also evolving into its modern form, driven in part by the need to adapt the office to the new technology and also by the increase in numbers and specialization of staff under the sheriff’s direction.

Developments in technology certainly revolutionized the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office through redefining the sheriff’s role, increasing professionalism, and requiring specialization, all of which ultimately led to an increase in training and education. The new technologies also created some tension between the sheriff’s office and the public, primarily because technology dramatically increased public expectations of the sheriff’s office.

The first sheriff of Winnebago County, N.P. Tuttle, was elected in 1847, a year before Wisconsin became a state. ³ From Tuttle’s time in office to the fifty-fifth sheriff, Michael Brooks, there was tremendous growth and change within the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s position was created out of necessity. Laws and statutes needed to be enforced, and the position of sheriff was established to accomplish this goal.

The office of sheriff emerged in medieval England during the reign of William I, “the Conqueror”. Each “shire” or county was administered by a representative of the King known as a “reeve,” usually a baron who was a supporter of the King. These officials had absolute power within their jurisdiction. Over time the “Shire Reeve” came to be known as the county sheriff. ⁴ The sheriff’s duties included collecting taxes, organizing the militia, serving papers such as writs, and judging criminal and civil cases. ⁵

The sheriff’s role diminished after the reign of William I. King Henry II redefined the sheriff’s role to assume more law enforcement functions. The sheriff’s duties included apprehending criminals, keeping lists of fugitives, building jails, and hiring special jailers and executioners. By the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, many of the sheriff’s duties had been transferred to new offices such as constable and justice of the peace. ⁶

The office of sheriff did not take root in America until after the American Revolution, when the sheriff emerged in the frontier West. Before the Civil War, sheriffs were generally appointed and exercised a wide range of powers, including collecting taxes, apprehending criminals, conducting elections, and maintaining the local jail. ⁷ During the early nineteenth century, the position of sheriff evolved to fit the social conditions, political ideology, and justice system emerging in the new country. New law enforcement agencies emerged at city, county, and state levels, changing the American sheriff’s role by taking duties and responsibilities previously under the sheriff’s direction.

On April 20, 1836, an Act of Congress established the Territory of Wisconsin, and Henry Dodge was appointed governor of the territory. At this time there were only six counties in the Territory of Wisconsin. An act of the territorial legislature passed on January 6, 1840 created Winnebago County and set it apart from Brown County. However, Winnebago County remained attached to Brown County for judicial purposes until February 22, 1845. Also in 1845, the legislature passed an act locating the county seat for Winnebago County. The commissioners had selected Butte des Morts as the seat, but local citizens objected, and the legislature settled the issue by placing the county seat in what is now Oshkosh. Influential in this decision were the actions of L.W. Miller, Samuel H. Fornsworth and Sewell A. Wolcott, who donated ten lots of land located in the area now bounded by Court, Ceape, and Otter streets in the City of Oshkosh for public use. ⁸

On August 7, 1848, Alexander W. Stone was elected Winnebago County’s first circuit judge. ⁹ The first session of the circuit court of Winnebago County was held at the schoolhouse in the village of Oshkosh, but the county soon decided to build a courthouse and jail. Under the act of February 8, 1847, the first courthouse of Winnebago County was built, and the first term of court was held there April 9, 1849. ¹⁰

During the period from 1847 to 1920, Winnebago County sheriffs had many duties. According to Wisconsin State Statutes the sheriff was to keep and preserve the peace in the county, quiet and suppress all affrays, riots, unlawful assemblies and insurrections, provide for the service of processes in civil and criminal cases, apprehend or secure any person for felony or for a breach of peace, provide maintenance of persons kept within the County Jail, and in addition, transport inmates to the various institutions to which they are committed. ¹¹ But the sheriff’s main duty was the operation of the jail.

Sheriffs in this period typically did not have any full-time deputies. Instead, the sheriff relied heavily on community consensus and the willingness of citizens to assist. ¹² To aid the sheriff in his duties, the county provided a residence for the sheriff and his family that was attached to the County Jail. The residence was often seen as a fringe benefit; however, it primarily assured that the sheriff’s services would be available around the clock.

Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it was commonly believed that the sheriff’s position was an easy, lucrative job. However, Sheriff Madison Rounds stated in 1907 that had he known what a poor-paying office it was, he would have saved his money and gone into business instead of spending his money campaigning for the office. ¹³ Sheriff Rounds’ statement was well founded, because the sheriff was not paid a large salary. Instead, he was paid by a system of piecework for certain activities and functions. For example, the sheriff was paid for serving papers and processing warrants, and sheriffs were often reimbursed for expenses incurred while performing duties.

In the early years of the sheriff’s office, the main moneymaker for the sheriff was the operation of the jail, because he received a set dollar amount for each prisoner housed there. Usually the sheriff’s wife cooked meals for the prisoners, and if the meals cost less than the sheriff was paid for each prisoner, the sheriff kept the remainder. Obviously, it was in the sheriff’s best interest that the jail remain occupied as nearly at full capacity as possible and that the prisoners not be fed lavishly. ¹⁴

Normally, establishment of a courthouse also meant building a jail. By 1871, forty-eight of the fifty-eight Wisconsin counties had built both courthouses with attached jails. Winnebago County was no different; and not until 1980 were the county jail and sheriff’s office physically separated from the county courthouse. Nevertheless, growth of the county forced rapid change in the courthouses and jails, a pattern that persisted.

The first courthouse in Oshkosh was completed on February 8, 1847, and the jail was built in 1848 for $300, with citizens subscribing $200 and the county providing the remainder. The jail was 14 feet wide and 28 feet long, and it was built of oak lumber walls with floors 12 inches thick. The first courthouse was quickly outgrown, and it was soon replaced by a new structure, completed in 1854 at a cost of $1885. As the community grew, additional wings were added, and alterations were made to accommodate the requirements of the expanding government. It is unclear if another jail was built to accompany the second courthouse, but it seems likely that the sheriff continued to utilize the first jail. ¹⁵

The third courthouse in Oshkosh was built in 1859 at a cost of $19,680. The jail and the sheriff’s residence were located in the basement of this structure. The building itself was a large and imposing structure, three stories high, and it remained in use until 1937. The early jails of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office were used only to house offenders during the period between arrest and trial, or trial and sentencing, not as places of rehabilitation. ¹⁶

There was considerable discussion about a new courthouse and jail during the early 1920s. The sheriff was one of the major players in the debate, due to the fact that his office was beginning to outgrow the cramped basement of the courthouse. The principal reason for this was that the role of the sheriff’s office continued to expand. The greatest change came in 1920, and it completely revolutionized the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, not to mention the whole of American society: the advent of the automotive age.

From 1900 to 1930, the number of automobile registrations in the United States rose from 8,000 to more than 23,000,000. This resulted in people and businesses moving out of the cities and into surrounding areas, thus transforming what had been rural into suburban areas and promoting urban sprawl. While this process of suburbanization and the physical separation of social classes had begun prior to the introduction of the automobile, its spread was further accelerated by the automobile, as an enormous amount of land thus became available for urban and suburban development. ¹⁷ These developments profoundly changed the way law enforcement agencies operated.

In 1920, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office introduced the use of a motorcycle to form its first motor patrol. ¹⁸ The motorcycle and later the patrol car were the most visible signs of changes in policing; however, their potential was only fully realized when two-way communication could be established between officers in their cars and dispatch officials at headquarters.

Of course sheriffs had used transport earlier. The earliest land “vehicle” used in law enforcement throughout the United States was the horse. ¹⁹ Early law enforcement officers considered horses as their primary transportation. Horses were also used to pull wooden wagons, sometimes referred to as “paddy wagons,” that were basically mobile jail cells used to pick up prisoners who had been arrested by foot patrol officers. In 1895, the New York Police Department developed a “scorcher” squad, made up of twenty-five men who rode high-speed bicycles. ²⁰ Even though the first successful gasoline powered automobile in the United States had been developed in 1893 by the Duryea brothers, the primary function of the scorcher squad at first was to handle problems created by high-speed carriages.

Beginning in the 1920s, local police departments gradually converted from various other types of conveyance to automobile patrols. Although, the New York City Police Department and others in large cities soon were utilizing automobiles, the vast majority of policing was still done by men on foot. In 1915, ninety-one per cent of patrols in U. S. cities with populations over 30,000 were policed was on foot. ²¹ Foot patrol was relatively effective primarily because it gave officers the opportunity to become acquainted with the particular needs of the area they patrolled. The primary weakness of foot patrol was that it did not allow quick response, and it limited the amount of area an officer could cover. It must be pointed out that foot patrol also contributed to a lack of professionalism among police officers during the early twentieth century. There was very little supervision, and this led to corruption of some officers.

One functional weakness of all patrols during the early twentieth century was lack of communication. Today’s law enforcement personnel use squad radios, portable radios, cell phones, and mobile data terminals to keep in contact with one another, supervisors, and dispatchers. Early twentieth century police officers had few means of communication. Police officers often had to resort to beating their wooden nightsticks against the pavement or blowing whistles to gain attention and assistance. ²²

During the late 1800s a new communication system was developed in Chicago by the Gamewell telephone and telegraph company. ²³ The Gamewell boxes were equipped with telephones and were installed at various places throughout a city. Police officers used the boxes primarily to communicate with police headquarters. Usual departmental policy required that officers call headquarters every hour to check in for news or assignments. Gamewell call boxes can still be found in some Wisconsin cities, including Oshkosh and Milwaukee. However, most sheriffs, including Winnebago County’s, did not benefit from the largely urban call boxes, for they were normally located outside the county’s patrol area.

As automobiles became common, many police departments began to redistribute their men from foot patrol to automobile patrol. The first automobile used in law enforcement was probably used to carry men to patrol posts or to convey prisoners arrested by foot patrol officers. It appears that the first use of motorcycles by police occurred in 1909, when Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Omaha, Nebraska, and Houston, Texas became the first police departments to use the vehicles. ²⁴

The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office started its first motor patrol by hiring one motorcycle officer in 1920. Arno Reinke of Winneconne was the first county officer. He was appointed by the Road and Bridge Committee of the County Board for a period from May 1, 1920 to November 1, 1920. In 1923, the county added another patrol officer, and one additional man was hired in 1924 to bring the total number of county motor officers to three. The additional officers were required as the number of automobues grew and the number of miles of paved county roads and highways increased. ²⁵

The three patrol officers working in 1924 were Walter Plummer (who became sheriff in 1926), William Dallaway, and Floyd Bradley. The county was divided into three patrol sections, one for each man. Each officer worked a section for a week and then rotated. Section One included the Oshkosh to Fond du Lac Road, the Oshkosh to Ripon highway and the Oshkosh to Waukau Road. Section Two included Oshkosh to Omro to Wautoma, Omro to Berlin, Omro to Winneconne, Oshkosh to Butte des Morts, and Winchester to Fremont. Section Three included Oshkosh to Neenah to Menasha to Appleton, Waverly Beach, Gillingham’s Corners north to the county line, Menasha to Winchester, Menasha to Mikesville and the River Road. ²⁶

In 1927, it was reported that the job of county officer was an attractive one. There were 27 applicants for the positions that were filled every year. It is unclear whether applicants underwent any testing process or if they even had interviews. Returning county officers were paid $225 a month, while first year officers made $175 per month. County Officers worked at least 60 hours a week, with each officer allowed one day off per week, but no two officers could take off the same day. The officers did not have a particular schedule so they had some discretion as to where and when to patrol. They were required to work all Sundays and holidays. ²⁷

By 1933, the motor patrol division included four officers, each of whom was required to furnish a squad car or motorcycle. Squad cars were basically ordinary automobiles equipped with a red light and one-way radio to receive communication. The county paid operating expenses for the squad cars and furnished the radios. The radio system, known as WAKE, was one of the first police radio systems in Wisconsin. Its major problem was that there was no way to know whether the squad had received a message. Nevertheless, the WAKE communication system broadcast 588 calls for service during January 1938. The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office and the City of Oshkosh Police Department used the radio system the most, with 85 calls made for the Winnebago Sheriff’s Office and 268 calls for the Oshkosh Police Department. Most importantly, the WAKE system laid the foundation for future communication developments, because it proved effective in preventing crime and in apprehending criminals. The system was particularly beneficial for the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office when handling automobile accidents, pursuing speeders, and apprehending reckless drivers. ²⁸

By 1937, there were more than 21,000 automobiles registered in Winnebago County, an increase of 757 over the 1936 total and 1,877 more than in 1935. A result of these increased numbers was an increasing number of accidents and traffic problems. There were 569 reported automobile accidents in 1937, and those accidents resulted in 25 fatalities, 349 injuries, and 685 cars damaged. ²⁹

In 1940, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office realized the full potential of an automobile patrol as it initiated two-way communications. With the two-way system, a dispatcher could contact squad cars, and the deputies could confirm receipt of messages. In December 1949, the sheriff’s office underwent yet another change, when it converted its radio system to KSA 765. ³⁰ This system incorporated all the prior advancements and allowed the deputies to communicate with one another without having the radio operator take part in any of the conversations. By 1950, it was a common occurrence for members of the public use the telephone to call the sheriff’s office for assistance and for sheriff’s deputies to respond to the call. But perhaps, the biggest benefit of two-way radio communication was the improvement in police professionalism, as for the first time police supervisors were able to remain in continuous contact with officers.

While technological advances undoubtedly improved policing, these developments did cause some conflicts between the general public and the sheriff’s office. Once law enforcement agencies converted to automobile patrols, officers had less contact with citizens in non-adversary situations. This negative side effect of limiting the range of communication between officers and civilians probably had less effect on the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, however, because sheriff’s deputies generally had less contact with the general public than did city police officers, due to the geographic character of their jurisdiction. The automobile did, however, cause attitudes about the sheriff’s office to change. One of the unanticipated consequences of the automobile patrol was elimination of the distinction between “law breakers” and “law abiders.”

Prior to the widespread use of automobiles, the distinction between the “law abiders” and the “law breakers” was fairly clear. This distinction became less clear after the spread of automobiles, because almost everyone who drove violated some law or ordinance at some time. This resulted in officers arresting average citizens or even prominent citizens who formerly would have considered law enforcement officers to be protectors of peace and justice, not agents of undesired confrontation. Thus, automobiles created much tension between police and middle- and upper-class citizens, who had traditionally supported aggressive law enforcement. Bruce Smith, a student of police administration, believes that the hostility engendered by traffic patrols was one reason why police forces in the United States lacked a favorable political climate in which to grow and develop into truly professional organizations. ³¹

There is some evidence of this phenomenon in Winnebago County. In a 1969 newspaper article in The Paper, Chief Deputy Berwin Jordan discussed why people had unfavorable attitudes about police. He claimed that these attitudes began to develop in the mid-1950s when the traffic patrol was beginning to develop. Increasing numbers of cars and outdated traffic laws had produced more contacts between drivers and police. Every contact between a driver and a police officer was perceived to be a form of punishment. ³² To counteract this perception, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, like most law enforcement agencies, has developed programs designed to develop a positive rapport with the community. In the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, a community services unit consisting of three full-time deputies works directly with local organizations, businesses, and citizens to address concerns.

The new technologies of the automobile and the radio dramatically increased the effectiveness of the sheriff’s department by lowering response time; but technology alone could not make up for the fact that the patrol division was understaffed. While the population of the county increased along with the number of automobiles, the size of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office patrol division remained virtually unchanged. By May 1953, the sheriff’s office only had eight patrol officers for the entire county. ³³ This was an extremely low number compared to the sheriff’s staff in other counties with equal or smaller populations. The Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office had fourteen officers, while the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office had ten. Winnebago County was the fifth largest county in the State of Wisconsin by area, with 896 miles of roads and highways in 1953. Under the department’s structure in 1953, three patrol officers each worked on day and night shifts four days a week, with an increased number patrolling on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This resulted in officers working at least 48 hours per week with no overtime compensation.

Because of the inadequate number of patrol officers, Winnebago County highways were not patrolled on a 24-hour basis. On May 26, 1953, the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors voted 44-0 to add four county officers to the patrol division. This move was made in part because of concern by the County Board that the State of Wisconsin might move to hire its own patrol officers for the county. Supervisors did not favor the idea of the state getting involved in hiring county patrol officers. Oliver Jacobsen, a supervisor from the Town of Menasha stated, “The time is coming where, if we don’t put our own men on, the state will.” Ben Zimmerman, a supervisor from the Town of Winneconne, expressed great opposition to allowing the state to enter into county business and urged the board to pass the resolution to hire more officers, which the board did. ³⁴

The 1953 vote set a new precedent in County Board policy, for the sheriff’s office continued to receive staff increases. By 1955, the sheriff’s office was a twenty-two-member organization, including an undersheriff, a day-parole officer-investigator, a director of traffic, a desk sergeant, twelve patrol officers, four radio operators, a jailer, and a jail matron. ³⁵ According to the 1950 census, Winnebago County had a rural population of more than 23,000 and a total population of 91,103, including the county’s four cities, Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha and Omro. The sheriff has remained heavily involved with the day-to-day operations of the office, but he was increasingly becoming active in building political relationships and coalitions. For example, the sheriff tried to gain the cooperation of the county’s cities by building relationships with the chiefs of police, and the sheriff was also politically active at County Board of Supervisors meetings. In 1955, Sheriff Victor Jordan made statewide news when he recommended that the Board of Supervisors dismiss the chief of the county’s motor patrol. The chief was dismissed and replaced by a Director of Traffic for the sheriff’s department. The move ended a conflict of authority within the sheriff’s office and set a clear chain of command.

Early in 1963, the sheriff’s office underwent major organizational changes that triggered changes in the role of the sheriff. ³⁶ The organizational changes began with the abolishment of the undersheriff position and the creation of the Chief Deputy position. The new Chief Deputy’s duties were primarily intended to relieve the sheriff of many details in connection with the responsibilities of the office and to provide an incoming sheriff with a working organization. The reorganization also included an expansion program that added three new patrol officers. These positions had been sought by former Sheriff Richard “Bud” Lowell (1961-1965), not the first time that the sheriff had lobbied the County Board of Supervisors.

Other changes altered the sheriff’s own position. The reorganization of 1963 abolished the fees that had been paid to the sheriff, including fees for serving legal papers, which had been two dollars for the first service and one dollar for each additional service. In the past, this money had gone to the sheriff or his deputies, but now it was to be placed in the county treasury. However, Winnebago County continued to provide housing for the sheriff, and his salary was adjusted from $6,400, plus fees, to $8,000. Furthermore, the sheriff no longer paid the salary of the undersheriff because that position had been abolished. The sheriff still paid the salary of two full-time and one part-time jailers, the matrons for the county jail, and the cook for the county jail. ³⁷

The reorganization had not dissolved the sheriff’s financial stake in the operation of the county jail. The sheriff sold certain goods and foods to the prisoners through what is known as a canteen system. Presently, the county receives money generated through the canteen system, but in 1963 it was common and lawful for the sheriff to use the canteen system for his own monetary gain. It also was revealed that the sheriff received 60 cents per meal per prisoner and 80 cents per meal for prisoners under the Huber Law. ³⁸ It was still common practice for the sheriff’s wife to cook the meals and keep the remaining money, again a lawful activity. Unchanged throughout the reorganization of the department, and indeed throughout the history of the sheriff’s office, has been the sheriff’s responsibility for the operation of the jail and care of prisoners.

With reorganization complete, the sheriff’s office now included a chief deputy, twenty-one patrol officers including a captain and three sergeants, one lieutenant who handled court arrangements and Huber Act arrangements, one lieutenant who served as head investigator, a chief radio technician, four radio dispatchers, and a clerk-stenographer. ³⁹

Without question, the sheriff’s role underwent a complete evolution from the previous role in day-to-day operations to the administrator and executive of a complex operation. The evolution of the sheriff’s office and the sheriff’s role within the institution had its roots in the changes in society and the development of police technology, but change was also accelerated by the construction of new jails and courthouses to accommodate the sheriff’s ever-increasing staff. Under consideration since 1926, the fourth, current, courthouse was completed in the summer of 1938. ⁴⁰ Disagreements on important issues such as location and finance delayed construction of the building for twelve years. Once these were resolved, the courthouse was built using local funds and savings, without outside aid from Federal United States or Wisconsin sources. Total cost for the building was over one million dollars. A Commemorative Booklet of the New Winnebago County Courthouse suggested that the new courthouse was perhaps “the most imposing structure in the state.” That statement was more an indication of the pride the citizens of Winnebago County took in their new courthouse than an assertion of fact, but considering the amount of change that has occurred in Winnebago County since the building was completed nearly seventy years ago, that fact that it is still in use, alone, is a testament to the building’s quality.

Moving into a new jail and sheriff’s office headquarters helped change the role of the sheriff. With new responsibilities for the motor patrol and communication center, the sheriff had increasingly diversified duties. When the new jail and headquarters were built, the sheriff’s office was still relatively small, with one captain and five other patrol deputies. Also under the direction of the sheriff were four radio deputies who communicated with the patrol deputies. The motor patrol was still in its infancy; however, by 1968, Sheriff Marvin Peppler stated that he could use every room on the first floor and still be short of space in his squad room, which was then used by thirty-two patrolmen. ⁴¹

Building a new jail was extremely important to the sheriff, because the conditions at the third jail were deteriorating. There was even serious talk that the state might condemn the third jail because it lacked basic sanitation and was not secure to hold prisoners. A prominent county official, speaking of the conditions in the third courthouse and jail, stated: “The dungeons and dark holes in the old jail where men and women were confined for violating the laws were damp and unsanitary and, as I remember it, unfit for a pig pen.” ⁴²

The new jail, however, was a state-of-the-art facility. One local attorney remarked that: “The new jail is like stepping from the ridiculous to the sublime; to leave the old jail and enter this elegant jail.” Designed for perfect sanitation and for common humane comfort, the jail featured washed, purified air circulated throughout the facility, including cell blocks, and the temperature was controlled at 72 degrees. A huge sterilizing oven cleaned bedding, mattresses and clothing of the prisoners. New features in the jail included juvenile accommodations and a juvenile courtroom, shower baths, special accommodations for the sick, conference rooms, and a complete kitchen. Most features of the jail were mandated by new state standards approved under the latest code for jail construction. The jail had a capacity of 89 prisoners, and this was expected to meet county needs for many years to come. ⁴³

The sheriff’s headquarters and jail remained in the new courthouse 43 years. In 1980, by mutual agreement with the County Court system, the sheriff’s office and jail moved out. The court system had continued to expand, and the sheriff’s office, which started out with a few offices, had grown to use the entire ground floor. ⁴⁴ During the 1960s the sheriff’s office was growing at a fast pace, with the organization beginning to specialize its functions. In 1968 the detective bureau within the office was beginning to develop into its modern form. Previously, individual officers performed their own investigations, which often led to investigations not being done very thoroughly. The development of a detective bureau had obvious benefits for the community, but it accentuated the lack of space in the growing sheriff’s office. In 1969 the detective’s room had space for only four desks, although there were six detectives. ⁴⁵

By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the once state-of-the-art jail was beginning to deteriorate, and the jail population seemed to increase every year, eventually causing considerable problems in the jail. These problems were complicated by the fact that the sheriff’s office lacked appropriate staff to manage the jail. The jail was staffed by one male jailer who had no specialized training. The only training a new jailer received was to shadow a veteran jailer for a week or two. A jail matron also worked in the jail if there were female prisoners. By the late 1970s, it was clear that the jail and sheriff’s headquarters were both scheduled to be relocated in the near future, so only minimal funds were spent for repairs and upkeep. ⁴⁶ These circumstances probably contributed to the unsettling events that took place at the jail during 1978.

On May 8, 1978, the county jail was flooded by its inmates. ⁴⁷ According to a jailer’s report, it also appears as though several attempts were made to start fires using paperback books. On October 1, 1978, jailer Ky Rasmussen was choked, knocked down, and had his head banged several times against the floor in an incident police called a planned jail escape. ⁴⁸ On October 16, 1978, a fire at the county jail sent one inmate and jailer Ky Rasmussen to the hospital. ⁴⁹

Without question 1978 was filled with many disruptions at the jail, but the worst was yet to come. On December 24, 1978, inmates at the Winnebago County Jail gained control of the facility and took jailer Ky Rasmussen and matron Barbara Klaiher hostage. The take-over began at 6:10 p.m., shortly after dinner had been served. Rasmussen had opened a cabinet to get some cigarettes for an inmate when he was jumped from behind; at the same time, a couple of inmates grabbed Klaiher. The inmates involved in the take-over armed themselves with butcher knives and meat cleavers from the kitchen and with clubs and mace from the jailer’s office. ⁵⁰

Ironically, the inmates also were able to obtain the keys necessary for them to escape without anyone knowing, because the jail was only staffed by two jailers, and there were no security cameras. The inmates made an attempt to escape by opening the final security door that led to the elevator; but once they pushed the down arrow, the elevator jammed, as it was in use by the cleaning staff on another floor. The inmates panicked, because they thought the jailers had somehow notified the sheriff’s office about what had happened. Hence, the inmates themselves called the sheriff’s office dispatch center, located on the first floor of the courthouse, and informed them that they had taken over the jail. Dispatch officials immediately called Sheriff Marvin Peppler and informed him about the situation. Sheriff Peppler began gathering a group of officers from the sheriff’s office, Oshkosh Police Department, and Wisconsin State Patrol. ⁵¹

Detective James Goggins was one of the first to respond to the jail, and he initiated telephone conversations with the inmates. The inmates wanted to bring news reporters to the jail, but reporters balked at the plan when neither police nor prisoners would guarantee their safety. At 8:55 p.m. Detective Goggins took the elevator up to the jail and returned with a list of sixteen demands.

1. Girlfriends allowed to come up to visit on regular visiting hours.
2. On Christmas and birthdays one present allowed per inmate to be brought up here. Also on birthdays one regular 1/2 hour visitation right.
3. One day a week, inmates and head Jailor, and one city councilman of agreement will meet to discuss jail conditions.
4. Visiting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
5. We should have more Workers up here in the Jail.
6. A person should be allowed to call a bonds men with or without the Head Jailor and should be allowed to call anyone to get money up to get out at any time.
7. When people come from out of town they should be let in to Visit.
8. Since we haven’t hurt anyone we would like to know that no one is going to get extra time for this jail take over because this is the only way we can voice our opinion.
9. Anyone in this take over should be allowed to be transfered to a different jail, if they run in to any reprocutions.
10. People in the Bul Pens should be allowed their one personal radio per Bull Pen.
11. Bring 3 ink pens back in the morning and they will be turned in at lock-up every night.
12. Better selections of items sold at canteen (Sunday Coffee) Also a price list be posted in cell blocks.
13. A brief run down of jail rules be posted in cell blocks. Grape-vine rules are not the best.
14. Inmates be allowed to have hair brushes. Try setting up something with the Public library whereby more “Hard cover” books would be made available to jail
inmates. Hardcover books because they are taken care of better than magazines or paper backs.
15. Nail clippers be made available for inmate use. Inmate asking for clippers would be responsible for same.
16. Better selection of magazines be allowed in jail - Easy Rider, Weed, High Times. ⁵²

Sheriff Peppler and Chief Deputy Misch made several attempts to work out a settlement with the inmates, but it appeared that the inmates had no intentions of ending the take-over, and at 10 p.m. Sheriff Peppler decided to proceed with a plan to storm the jail. Officers from the sheriff’s office, Oshkosh Police Department and Wisconsin State Patrol entered the jail from the elevator and two stairways, swinging clubs, pointing shotguns and throwing people onto the floor. ⁵³

By 10:30 p.m. the incident was over, and both jailers were freed, unharmed; two inmates, however, were hospitalized. On December 27, 1978, the nine inmates involved with the take-over were arraigned on two counts of false imprisonment and one charge of attempted escape. ⁵⁴ Details of rapes, an attempted suicide, and attempted arson were also released in connection with the four-hour take-over. One inmate, John West, was sentenced to prison for the rape of two female inmates.

Analysis of the inmates’ sixteen demands reveals themes that contradict official statements concerning the causes of the riot. Contemporary newspaper articles primarily focused on the unsatisfactory conditions in the forty-year-old jail, while officials at the sheriff’s office pointed to deteriorating physical conditions and inadequate numbers of staff. Both the Oshkosh Northwestern and sheriff’s office officials were probably correct in their analysis. The jail was in poor condition, with State officials constantly monitoring overall conditions, and two jailers was an inadequate number, given the number of inmates present.

Yet close examination of inmate demands indicates issues that were not related to poor conditions, but rather to a lack of appropriate staff professionalism and training. It must be pointed out that these demands were hastily composed by only a handful of the inmates involved. Perhaps, the most enlightening statement appears in the latter portion of the eighth demand, which stated, “. . . this is the only way we can voice our opinion.” That statement seems to indicate that the Winnebago County Jail lacked appropriate policies and procedures to deal with inmate concerns and complaints. For example, today’s inmates at the Winnebago County Jail may fill out a grievance report that is reviewed by the appropriate supervisor. After reviewing the grievance, the supervisor either visits with the inmate or provides a written response.

Many of the demands seemed to focus on policies and procedures within the jail. For example, demand thirteen asks for a list of jail rules to be posted in cell blocks. This suggests that inmates felt there were no set rules governing the jail. Today, as soon as inmates are processed into the jail, they receive a jail rule booklet that includes rules, policies, and procedures. Another theme in the demands is the repeated request for increased visiting privileges. It is possible, with only two jailers working on any given day, that visitors were frequently turned away, because jail staff members were too busy to supervise visits.

Most of the demands contained in the list could certainly have been met without recourse to a riot or take-over, but if there were no procedures regarding inmate complaints, they probably had received no response. Inmates might thus have been led to believe that the only way to be heard was to create disturbances within the jail, which of course they repeatedly did in 1978.

The jail take-over did result in some minor procedural changes, but increased staffing was the most notable direct consequence of the jail take-over. ⁵⁵ The majority of the physical changes needed were addressed with the building of the new county jail, which provided technology that improved the overall operation of the jail. Institutional changes within the sheriff’s office following the jail take-over, mainly the further introduction of specialization and professional police training, also altered the way in which the sheriff’s office operated during emergency situations such as a jail take-over. If the sheriff’s office were again confronted with a jail take-over, personnel would handle it in a completely different way from the approach utilized in 1978. Police training and specialization were only starting to appear in the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office when the jail take-over occurred. For example, Deputy Gary Boyce and Deputy Bryan Bartelt used their newly-trained dogs “Smokey” and “Jet” during the assault to retake the jail. ⁵⁶ Both deputies had just returned from a 14-week training school at the Cascade County Sheriff’s K-9 Academy near Great Falls, Montana. In general, the sheriff’s office had few specialized units at the time, and only in the years that followed the jail take-over would the sheriff’s office evolve into a modern, specialized department.

One of the most important areas of specialization which developed after the jail take-over was the formation of elite units. The SWAT team, or Special Weapons and Tactics teams was formed in June 1979. ⁵⁷ At its inception, the SWAT team consisted of five deputies from the sheriff’s office. These five individuals underwent specialized training conducted by the FBI. The idea behind the SWAT team was to have a small unit of sheriff’s deputies who were specially trained in the use of various firearms and techniques for assaults on buildings or other contained areas where a barricaded suspect was located. Members of the SWAT team were also trained in negotiation techniques to handle hostage situations. Another specialized unit that became important for handling special situations was the tactical team. With its roots as far back as 1968, the tactical team developed into a specialized unit that handles large crowds, riots, and strikes. ⁵⁸

Without question. these specialized units would have been involved in ending the jail take-over. The SWAT team would have been in control of the entire operation, with trained negotiators talking to the inmates. Members of the SWAT team and tactical team would have made plans to retake the jail, while regular officers would have secured the scene inside and outside the courthouse. As a result of such specialization and professionalization, the sheriff’s role changed again, for in such a situation the sheriff would no longer be the only individual involved in the decision-making process. While the sheriff ultimately made the final decisions; with the formation of specialized units, he relied increasingly on trained subordinates within the specialized units. Had the specialized forces been in existence in 1978, the sheriff probably would not have been developing plans to retake the jail. Instead, he would have left that duty to the trained supervisor of the SWAT team.

Along with establishment of specialized elite units within the sheriff’s office, training for regular officers dramatically increased during the late 1970s and early 1980s. ⁵⁹ When Chief Ed Misch retired from the sheriff’s office in 1983 after thirty years, he stated that the area that had made the biggest strides through the years was training. ⁶⁰ When Misch joined the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office in 1953, he had simply been given his badge and gun. His only training consisted of reading a book on procedures and two weeks of job-shadowing with a veteran officer. Misch’s experience was typical of officer training during the mid-twentieth century. For most rookie officers, their school was the street. Veteran officers went to great lengths to teach traditional values and practices to new recruits.

By mid-twentieth century, larger cities had begun to develop elaborate police training schools; however, for the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, it was the establishment of a recruit school in the Fox Valley that changed the training of regular officers. ⁶¹ During the 1970s, officers seldom received any formal training. The jail and patrol division did not require attendance at recruit school before starting a job. Once the recruit school was established, new patrol officers were able to receive some training before joining the department, but it was still not uncommon for new officers to spend two years working before attending the recruit school. Inservice training was also established under the direction of a full-time training officer. In 1983, the jail was developing an 80-hour certification program for jailers. ⁶² Currently, the State of Wisconsin requires new jail officers to attended a one hundred-twenty-hour recruit school, while patrol officers must attend a four-hundred-hour course before they become certified law enforcement officers.

The advent of specialization and regular police training occurred at a time of great change and expansion within the sheriff’s office. On June 11, 1980, the new county/city safety building at the corner of Jackson Avenue and Church Street, where the jail and sheriff’s office are currently located, was ready to house the prisoners previously incarcerated at the courthouse, and it was also ready to receive the sheriff’s headquarters.

The new jail could confine 92 inmates. The control module was the focal point of the new jail, including twenty-four cameras, strategically located throughout the jail, which could be viewed from five monitors in the control module. All security doors could be monitored. A printout was produced each time a door was opened and closed. The jail had eleven security doors along with four sally-port doors controlled through a computer by an officer manning the module. The identity of any person entering had to be established before the security doors were opened. The final feature of the new jail was a tunnel connecting the county courthouse with the new jail. This tunnel was used for easy and secure transportation of inmates to court hearings. The new jail was a secure and humane detention facility that provided separate confinement areas in the jail for maximum-security inmates and for female and Huber Law inmates. By the end of the century, in 2000, planning for further expansion was under way, for the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors approved a new sheriff’s headquarters and jail, to be built at a cost of thirty-three million dollars. The new law enforcement complex promised once again to meet the space requirement of both the sheriff’s headquarters and the jail. ⁶³

A standard theme in the growth of the sheriff’s office over the last century has been the increasing emphasis placed on professionalism. Already by the early twentieth century, reformers were calling on law enforcement agencies to professionalize their organizations by increasing educational standards and training. The 1920s and 1930s saw a noticeable rise in organized crime and crime rates. ⁶⁴ Reformers believed that professionalizing law enforcement agencies was one answer to the crime problem, and they saw technology as a tool to improve administration and training, which would in turn lead to better police efficiency and crime control. ⁶⁵

Typically, newly created city, state, and federal agencies were better trained than county sheriff’s offices. Therefore, sheriffs often had a reputation as poorly trained and lacking professional qualifications. During the early years of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office many inexperienced and untrained people served as sheriff. Charles Hamlin (1860-1862) owned a tavern and ran the Winneconne Hotel. Fred Burgess (1884-1886) helped quarry the stone from which the second courthouse was constructed, and Joseph Kloeckner (1890-1892) was a bartender and insurance agent. ⁶⁶ There were exceptions: Peter Kraby (1893-1894) served as Chief of Police in Neenah, and David Williams (1914-1916) served two years on the Oshkosh Police Department before becoming sheriff, but in general the early sheriffs were inexperienced in law enforcement practices and procedures. ⁶⁷ In the extreme cases, some sheriffs were even criminals or questionable political hacks.

The issue of professionalism led to upheaval in the department in 1928, when Sheriff Walter Plummer (1926-1928) was removed from office. The incident started in November 1927 when the County Board of Supervisors considered closing a county workhouse and sending its prisoners to the county jail, which was under the control of Sheriff Plummer. During the deliberations, District Attorney Keefe recommended that the county not abandon the workhouse, and the very next day the District Attorney disclosed some startling information about Sheriff Plummer. After a secret John Doe investigation, District Attorney Keefe filed serious charges with Governor Zimmerman. The governor appointed Hebert Piper as a special commissioner to come to investigate. ⁶⁸

The alleged acts of misconduct were, and still would be considered very serious by today’s standards. They included allegations that the sheriff sponsored beer parties in the jail during prohibition, released one of his prisoners, a certain Miss Connors, to go out on dates with one Luther Davis while she was in jail, accepted bribes and frequently visited a Menasha “disorderly house,” accompanied by a 14-year-old boy, and had sexual relations and intercourse with a female inmate of the jail. Sheriff Plummer strongly denied all the charges, except for the charge that he visited a disorderly Menasha house. Sheriff Plummer shifted the responsibility for such acts, if they had occurred, to his jailer and cook, whom he often left in charge of the jail. ⁶⁹

On March 31, 1928, Governor Zimmerman formally removed Walter Plummer as sheriff. In his formal findings of fact, the governor indicated that the evidence taken before commissioner Herbert Piper convinced him that Sheriff Plummer was guilty of “inefficiency, neglect of duties, official misconduct and malfeasance in office.” ⁷⁰ The governor replaced Plummer with Arthur Hebblewhite, a retired grocer who supported Prohibition. During his time as sheriff, Hebblewhite conducted numerous raids on establishments with dubious reputations. He strictly enforced state law regarding operating an automobile while intoxicated. Perhaps Hebblewhite is best remembered for his campaign against drunken roadside automobile parties, which he attacked by providing more frequent automobile patrols. ⁷¹

The Plummer affair provides a classic example of how some unprofessional and corrupt sheriffs operated during the early part of the twentieth century. Certainly the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office has become more professional since Walter Plummer’s time. But this professionalization did not occur overnight. Development of a trained and specialized staff contributed to the professionalism of the office of sheriff. Reflecting this trend were the changes in the career paths followed by elected sheriffs. Arthur Hebblewhite was the last person to serve as sheriff who had not previous worked in the sheriff’s office. Ironically, Walter Plummer was the first sheriff who had worked in the sheriff’s office prior to being elected sheriff. As the sheriff’s office developed a highly trained staff, there were more qualified individuals who might run for the position. Today, most sheriffs are dedicated law enforcement veterans who are college graduates and who possess specialized training. ⁷² They generally have worked their way up the departmental ladder from jail division to patrol division to administration. Perhaps Walter Plummer was elected sheriff due to a scarcity of trained officers within the sheriff’s office who could compete for the job, combined with the premium that the public placed on seniority in office.

Policy changes instituted by the County Board of Supervisors also made the sheriff’s office more professional. The 1963 reorganization created a new position, the Chief Deputy. The intent of this change was to abolish the position of undersheriff, a paid employee of the sheriff rather than the county, and to relieve the sheriff of some of the routine tasks of the office. Gradually, sheriffs lost many of the “fringe benefits” of office such as the right to retain fees, some of which had helped fuel perceptions that the office was inherently corrupt. ⁷³ For example, the sheriff lost his house, which was connected to the jail operation, as well as his remuneration for feeding the inmates at the county jail. ⁷⁴ A recent development in the sheriff’s position is a State Constitutional Amendment, Enrolled Joint Resolution 18 (Senate Joint Resolution 43), which extended the term of office for the sheriff from the traditional two years to four years, beginning with sheriffs elected at the first gubernatorial election following ratification, which took place on November 3, 1998. ⁷⁵ This change occurred mainly because of the perception that the sheriff acted as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in the county for one year and spent the next year campaigning. Within a four-year term, the sheriff could concentrate more on duties and less on campaigning.

Through the twentieth century, changes in American society, population growth in Winnebago County, and the emergence of new technology adapted for law enforcement all combined to stimulate the growth of specialization and professionalism within the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office and for the position of sheriff itself. The Department was shaped as a complex administrative tool to respond to new challenges in law enforcement. In the process, the office of sheriff was transformed to focus on administration of an organization with a wide range of complex tasks. Training, familiarity with law enforcement techniques, and modern administrative practices replaced the rough and ready procedures of the early twentieth century, while the physical facilities of the sheriff’s department also evolved in response to the changing and expanding needs of county law enforcement.

1 - Clara and William Dawes, History of Oshkosh (Oshkosh, Wisconsin: Morgan Company, 1938), 113. return

2 - Interview with James Goggins, December 14, 2000. return

3 - Clinton Karstaedt, Oshkosh: One Hundred Years of a City (Oshkosh: Castle-Pierce Printing Company, 1953), 113. return

4 - George Kosalos, “An Historical Approach to The Office of Sheriff,” Wisconsin Sheriff and Deputy Magazine, December (1965), XVII: 22. return

5 - Larry A. Giddings, Mark Furstenberg, and Henry J. Noble, “The Sheriff descendant of an ancient tradition,” Wisconsin Law Enforcement Journal, (Summer 1971), 37. return

6 - Donald C. Simmons, Jr., American Justice v. III (New Jersey: Salem Press, 1996), 727. return

7 - Ibid. return

8 - Charles Forward, History: Winnebago County Wisconsin - Its Cities, Towns, Resources, People, v. 1 (Chicago: C.F. Cooper and Company, 1908), 538-541. return

9 - Ibid., 541. return

10 - D.E. McDonald, “History of County, Prepared by Judge, Put in Cornerstone,” Oshkosh Northwestern, July 30, 1927, 3. return

11 - Wisconsin State Statutes, Chapter 53 Counties, 59.27(1) Sheriff Duties, 59.28(1) Peace maintenance; powers and duties, 59.29 Transportation apprehension of criminals. (1999-2000). return

12 - Wilbur Miller, “The Historical Background to Law Enforcement in the United States,” History Today, (August 2000), 29. return

13 - Anonymous, “County Law Officers Article,” unpublished manuscript, Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office Historical Collection, maintained by Deputy Kyle Holewinski. return

14 - See several newspaper articles available in The Paper and Oshkosh Northwestern. Jay Berger, “Sheriff favors reorganization of county jail operations,” The Paper, June 21, 1968, 4. Judy Serwe, “Bill bans meal profit from sheriff’s salary,” Oshkosh Northwestern, May 26, 1987, 9. Barbara A. Schmitz, “Sheriff awarded jail food contract,” Oshkosh Northwestern, December 6. 1989. return

15 - See D.E. McDonald, 3; Forward, 190; “Present Courthouse Is Third In County History,” Oshkosh Northwestern, July 19, 1953. See also A Commemorative Booklet of the New Winnebago County Courthouse, (Oshkosh: Wisconsin, 1938), 16, a copy of which is located at the Oshkosh Public Library: Winnebago County Historical Collection. return

16 - A.E. Hedke, “County Clerk Traces Complete History of Courthouse Movement,” Oshkosh Northwestern, July 30, 1937, 5. Also see “Present Courthouse is Third in County History.” return

17 - James F. Richardson, Urban Police in the United States (New York: National University Publications, 1974), 108. return

18 - “County Motor Police Patrol 896 Miles of Area’s Roads,” Oshkosh Northwestern, June 26, 1953, 40. return

19 - Monty McCord, Police Cars: A Photographic History (Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publication, Inc., 1991), 10. return

20 - The Police Car: In the Pursuit of Justice, prod. and dir. Michael Rose, 60 min., The History Channel, 1997, videocassette. return

21 - Elmer D. Graper, American Police Administration: A Handbook on Police Organization and Methods of Administration in American Cities (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1921), 130. return

22 - Miller, 32. return

23 - William J. Bopp, Donald O. Schultz, and Charles C. Thomas, A Short History of American Law Enforcement (Illinois, 1972), 67. return

24 - McCord, 11. return

25 - Information on the early patrol division can be found in newspaper articles from the Oshkosh Northwestern. “County Motor Police Patrol 896 Miles of Area’s Roads”, 40. “Rural Roads Soon to be Patrolled,” Oshkosh Northwestern, April 11, 1924, 1. return

26 - “Rural Roads Soon to be Patrolled,” 1. return

27 - “Motorcops Are Chosen,” Oshkosh Northwestern January 9, 1926. Also see “Select County Speed Officers,” Oshkosh Northwestern, May 15, 1927. return

28 - For statistics on the WAKE system, see: Clara and William Dawes, 113-115. This information is supported by Karstaedt, 73-74 and “County Motor police Patrol 896 Miles of Area’s Roads,” 40. return

29 - Clara Dawes and William Dawes, 113-114. return

30 - “County Motor Police Patrol 896 Miles of Area’s Roads,” 40. return

31 - Richardson, 110-111. return

32 - “Jordan shows police are human” The Paper, May 15, 1969, 6. return

33 - “Board Hikes Size of Highway Patrol,” Oshkosh Northwestern May 27, 1953, 2. return

34 - “Broad Hikes Size of Highway Patrol,” 2. return

35 - Art Techlow, “Winnebago County has Streamlined Dept.,” Wisconsin Sheriff and Deputy Magazine, September-October (1955), 12. A jail matron is a women manager of the domestic arrangements of a jail or prison. Typically, the jail matron was only a part-time employee used when there were female prisoners at the jail. The term matron is no longer used at the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, as female jailers are now called Correctional Officers. return

36 - “Organizational Changes Made In Winnebago County Sheriff Department,” Appleton Post Crescent, January 5, 1963, 5A-6, B2-1. return

37 - “Organizational Changes Made In Winnebago Sheriff Department.”, 5A-6, B2-1. See also Jay Berger, “Chief Deputy Reviews 30 years of Law Work,” The Paper, January 31, 1968. return

38 - “Organizational Changes Made In Winnebago County Sheriff Department,” 5A-6, B2-1. return

39 - Ibid. return

40 - A Commemorative Booklet, 2. return

41 - Dinah Walter, “New Department Quarters,” Appleton Post Crescent, July 6, 1968. return

42 - A Commemorative Booklet, 14. return

43 - “A good place to avoid-The New County Jail,” Oshkosh Northwestern, June 15, 1938, 13. Also see: A Commemorative Booklet, 14. return

44 - Michael J. Hill, “County court system shows changes in ’70s,” Oshkosh Northwestern, November 9, 1979, 12. Also see “More courtroom remodeling planned,” Oshkosh Northwestern, February 19, 1984, 6. return

45 - Dinah Walter, “New Department Quarters,” Appleton Post Crescent, July 6, 1968. return

46 - Doug Zellmer, “Committee inspects county jail,” Oshkosh Northwestern, May 3, 1979, 4. return

47 - “County jail is flooded,” Oshkosh Northwestern, May 9, 1978, 3. return

48 - “Jailer is attacked,” Oshkosh Northwestern, October 6, 1978, 2. return

49 - “Two treated at Mercy following county jail fire,” Oshkosh Northwestern, October 16, 1978, 4. Ky Rasmussen’s cousin Ron Rasmussen was running for Sheriff at the time. One of his main reasons Ron Rasmussen was running for Sheriff was the contention that Sheriff Marvin Peppler had lost control of the jail. Ron Rasmussen lost the election to Sheriff Marvin Peppler and was never elected Sheriff of Winnebago County. Ky Rasmussen, aged 22 at the time, had only been a jailer for five months when this incident occurred. Perhaps after this unfortunate series of events Rasmussen might have called it a career, but Rasmussen still worked at the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office in 2001, in the Court Services Division. return

50 - Gary Metro and Doug Zellmer, “Charges studied in jail takeover,” Oshkosh Northwestern, December 26, 1978, 1,2,5. Peter Bach, “11 Charged in takeover of county jail,” Appleton Post Crescent, December 26, 1978, 1. return

51- Interview with James Goggins, December 14, 2000. This account of the bungled escape from the jail was not released to the media following the accident. return

52 - Gary Metro and Doug Zellmer, “Charges Studied in jail takeover,” Oshkosh Northwestern, December 26, 1978, 2. This list retains the inmates’original spelling and grammar. return

53 - Gary Metro and Doug Zellmer, 2. return

54 - Doug Zellmer, “Nine are arraigned after jail takeover,” Oshkosh Northwestern, December 27, 1978, 5. return

55 - James Goggins interview, December 14, 2000. return

56 - Michael J. Hill, “First four-legged ‘cops’ in county now on duty,” Oshkosh Northwestern, December 16, 1978, 5. return

57 - “SWAT team is formed in sheriff’s department,” Oshkosh Northwestern, March 1-2, 1980, 3. return

58 - Michael J. Hill, “Sheriff’s department has come a long way during past decade,” Oshkosh Northwestern, December 3, 1979, 7. return

59 - James Goggins interview, December 14, 2000. return

60 - “Sheriff’s department has grown,” Oshkosh Northwestern, February 20-21, 1982, 13. return

61 - Ibid. return

62 - Hill, 7. return

63 - Karl Ebert, “Board hears jail cost,” Oshkosh Northwestern, December 13, 2000, 1, 4. return

64 - Richardson, 135. return

65 - Miller, 32. return

66 - “County Law Officers Article.” return

67 - Ibid. return

68 - “Misconduct As Charged Is Held To Be Verified,” Oshkosh Northwestern, March 30, 1928, 1. return

69 - “Misconduct As Charged Is Held To Be Verified,” 1. This information was cross referenced with an anonymous article “Law Officers” located in the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office Historical Collection. return

70 - “Plummer Out-Hebblewhite In,” Oshkosh Northwestern, March 31, 1928, 1. return

71 - “County Sheriff Passes Away At Local Hospital,” Oshkosh Northwestern, November 21, 1928, 14. return

72 - John L. Sullivan, Introduction to Police Science (New York: McGraw Hill, 1966), 144. return

73 - “Organizational Changes Made In Winnebago Sheriff Department,” Appleton Post Crescent, January 5, 1963, 5A-6. return

74 - Judy Serwe, “Bill bans meal profit from sheriff’s salary,” Oshkosh Northwestern, May 26, 1987, 9. return

75 - Wisconsin Blue Book. Legislative Reference Bureau (1999), 266. return

Copyright Clarence B. Davis 2005. Marian College Press, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 2005.
Electronic publication by Fond du Lac Public Library has been approved by Clarence B. Davis.

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