1956

Littleton Police History

Lee Orendorff
Photo courtesy of Lee Husted

The four member Littleton Police force of 1956 with acting Chief of Police Lee Orendorff (center) in the Town Hall building on Main Street. The uniformed officers covered the Town on a 24-hour basis, working alone, sharing a single police car. They wear a traditional shoulder strap with their Sam Browne gun belts, cross-draw holsters, and bow ties --- accoutrements that are shunned by most police officers today. Their uniforms lack a shoulder patch insignia, which wasn't adopted by the Department until about 1959. Besides serving as acting Police Chief, Lee Orendorff performed many additional Town duties at that time: Clerk-Treasurer, Town Coordinator, and Police Magistrate (municipal court judge). Pictured left-to-right: John Balmer, Art Hill, Lee Orendorff, Lee Husted, Carl Paulsen.