Photo from Star Ledger shows women in training, May 1949 [Photo shows Virginia Garber and Catherine Daly].
When policewoman were hired in 1949 they were considered by the newspaper, and presumably by all, to be the first hired “in 30 years” since the 1918 hiring of Margaret Dugan, Justina Eller and Etta Fallon. Some didn’t remember 1918, and considered the 1949 the “first”.
Still the question of the “first policewomen” is complicated. Police matrons existed even before 1918.
In the early 1940s a group of women was told they would become policewomen upon approval of Civil Service, but in 1944 Public Safety Director Joseph Keenan stated that Civil Service had rejected the promotion. Keenan gave these women the power to make arrests. The list in 1944 was: Josephine K. Allen, Josephine Renz, Caroline MacMillan, Hannah Bernbom, Helen Noble, Clara (Claire) Gonzales, Frieda Epstein, Lydia Grimm, Mary Fitzpatrick, Martha Geisler, Margaret Braun, Florence Condon, Mary Knapp and Edna Melcher.
Therefore, 12 policewomen were listed as “acting” as of 1947 including Renz, Knapp and Gonzalez, but these weren’t considered permanent “real” policewomen and they were still seeking Civil Service approval.
APRIL/MAY CLASS
In 1948, as Etta Fallon retired, the City advertised for policewomen. There was a Civil Service test and results were printed in April 1949 with the top 15 contenders being: Anna Henstch, Catherine Daly, Helen Mihalik, Eleanor Stokes, Edith Manfredi, Sally G Carroll, Martha V Garber, Sarah L Lackey, Helen Pfeifer, Lizzaetta M Smith, Margaret P Carr, Rhoda E Pryor, Mary Regan, Patricia E Keiser (1949), Ella M Walden. Henstch and Walden left, Eleanor Stokes came in, and Keiser waited until Dec 1949. This left 13 women.
The 13 women sworn in on April 28, 1949 were as follows:
- Catherine M. Brown (1923-?)
Catherine M. Brown was a divorced former teacher who lived at 98 Elizabeth Ave. Divorced. She was a single mother, born in Massachusetts, and her daughter was born in New York. Her daughter Elizabeth was 4 years old.
2. Margaret P Carr Levy (1926-2013)
Margaret P Carr lived at 426 West Market. She was later married twice in 1950 and 1967, the second time to William Levy. Catherine had worked as a nurse at Columbus Hospital before becoming a policewoman for 5 years. She returned to nursing and was a First Industrial Occupational Nurse for the Newark Main Post Office until 1977.
3. Catherine H. Daly Salzer (c. 1921-2002)
Catherine H Daly was a former dental assistant and a veteran of WAVE. She married William A Salzer in 1950. Catherine later worked for Celanese Corp. for 30 years as an Executive secretary. On the police exam, she was the #1 scorer in the class.
4. Sarah Pooley Lackey (1919-1996)
Sarah Lackey was a fireman’s wife at the time she was hired, who died in Bloomfield.
5. Edith Manfredi Zoppi (1925-1995).
Edith Zoppi was born in NY in 1927 and was a former stenographer. She lived at 53 Wallace Street and was a class of June 1943 Central High School graduate. Edith served as a policewoman from 1949-1951 and then worked for the Essex Sheriff’s Office for 36 years, retiring as a deputy clerk. Edith died in Cedar Grove. She said, “I’ve wanted to be a cop since I was four years old” (Star Ledger, Dec 5, 1948).
6. Martha Virginia Garber (Haines, Ardito 1927-1979)
Virginia Garber lived at 303 South 18th Street. She was a 1944 West Side Graduate. Virgina married Francis Ardito in 1950 and Henry Haines in 1970. She was a policewoman from 1949-1952. She said, “I’d like to start on the Newark force but ultimately I want to be an espionage agent” (Dec 5, 1948).
7. Helen Mihalik Shotyk (1924-1998):
Helen Mihalik was a former office machine operator and WAVE veteran. She was the daughter of Czech immigrants and lived at 75 Niagra St. She was a Jan 1941 East Side High school graduate . She worked as a police officer in Vailsburg and served for 11 years. Helen married in 1955 (Shotyk).
8. Helen Pfeifer Mason (1926-2008)
Helen Pfeifer was a former secretary who lived at 48 Magazine St. Her mother was a Czech immigrant. She married William Mason, a fellow cop she met on the job, in 1953. Helen was a lifelong resident of the Ironbound. She worked in traffic, youth aide and special investigations, retiring in 1983. She was a member of St. Stephan’s Church in the Ironbound and the Ironbound Senior Citizens Boys and Girls Club. She said, “I thought I could be more useful here than as a secretary.”
9. Rhoda E Pryor (Daniels, 1926-2003)
Rhoda Pryor was a former library assistant. Born in New York, she was a 1944 Barringer graduate, who married in 1950 and became Rhoda Daniels. She was one of three Black women in the class. Later, she worked for United Way and the Essex Welfare Board. In 1969, she was named Director of Information and Referral Services at the Essex-West Hudson Community Fund.
10. Mary K Regan Knowles (1922-1996)
Mary K Regan was a housewife and former clerk who lived at 170 Polk.
11. Lizzetta Smith (1920-1992)
Lizzetta Smith was a former bookkeeper who lived 105 S. 7th St. She never married and served with the department for 38 years before retiring in 1987. Upon her death, she was listed as the first female police sergeant. In 1959, she was first in the class at Seton Hall in police science.
12. Eleanor M Stokes (1919-1983)
Eleanor M. Stoke was a WAC veteran and former typist, born 1919 in Saxton, PA. She lived at 97 Littleton Ave at a boarding house and was one of three Black members of the class. She never married and was a detective with the Police for 34 years before retiring.
13. Sally G Carroll (click for full bio)
Notably there were three Black women hired. From the New York Age:
DECEMBER CLASS
In December, six more women were sworn in:
- Laura M Wussler (1925-2013)
Laura M Wussler lived on Underwood St. She married Charles H Urban in 1951. Laura became a detective and ran the Missing Persons Bureau before retiring to Ocean County.
2. Elizabeth Kohaut (1924-2001)
Elizabeth Kohaut was a former nurse and West Side High graduate. She retired in 1976 after 28 years as a policewoman. She had an affinity for children while working the job; children called her “Betty the Cop”. She never married. Later in life, she worked in nursing again with crime victims and retired in 1976, after which she traveled extensively with her sister. When starting the job she said she had her eye set on “adventure, glamour and stuff like that” (Dec 5, 1948 Star Ledger).
3. Martha Brent Parnell (Greene, 1921-1974)
Martha Brent Parnell was a West Side graduate who lived on 12th Ave. She married Rue Greene and then Oscar Parnell. Martha worked for the Traffic Division and Youth Aid Bureau. (See another photo under Eleanor Stokes).
4. Patricia Keiser (1927-2004)
Patricia Keiser was a married woman, born in Oregon, who lived lived on First Street. She served as a policewoman in Newark until 1953, and then attended nursing school and later moved to California. She said, “My husband doesn’t mind about me being a policewoman. It’s a good job.”
5. Ruth Dargan (1921-2010, click through for full bio)
6. Marion Graham (1921-2004?)
Marion Graham was born in New Jersey. She lived with one other woman at Forest St. She possibly married Johhnie Reese and died in 2004.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Newark – Police”, Newark Picture Collection, Charles F. Cummings NJ Information Center, Newark Public Library
“Police Women Hazard to Newark’s Mashers” Star Ledger March 16, 1947 cites “12 acting policewomen” but not “permanent squad” Names in this article: Claire Gonzales, Josephine B Renz, Mary Knapp
“Policewomen interviews on” Star Ledger May 19, 1948
“Lady Cops Wanted” Star Ledger Sept 10, 1948
“Ex marine topkick heads lady cop list” Star Ledger April 14, 1949
“Lady Cops Get the Know From Their Sisters in New York” Star Ledger May 24, 1949
“Now It’s Official” (photo) Star Ledger Apr 29, 1949
“Newark Gets First Policewomen in 30 Years” Newark News Apr 28, 1949
“The Finest” (photo) Star Ledger Dec 16, 1949
“Female Cops Begin Training” Star Ledger May 5, 1949
“14 Police Matrons Given Power to Make Arrests” Newark News Dec 20, 1944
“Police Always Busy Learning the Laws” Star Ledger Jun 4, 1950
Kukla, Defying the Odds
“Elizabeth Kohaut, 77, Betty the Cop To Kids” Star Ledger Aug 3, 2001
Newark Yearbooks: npl.org/newarkyearbooks
“Helen Shotyk, A Pioneer Newark Policewomen” Star Ledger Jun 17, 1998
“Named” Star Ledger Jun 27, 1969
“Catherine H Salzer, 81, Loving Grandmother” Courier News May 31, 2002
“Margaret P. Levy” Asbury Park Press Dec 3, 2018
“Lackey, Sarah” Star Ledger Nov 13, 1996
“Edith Zoppi” Bloomfield Life Jul 6, 1995
“Virginia Haines” Star Ledger Aug 8, 1979
“Helen S Mason, 81 Newark Police Detective” Star Ledger Mar 4, 2008
“Lizzetta Smith, 71, Police Sergeant” Star Ledger Apr 22, 1992
“Eleanor Stokes, 64, Newark Detective” Star Ledger Nov 17, 1983
“Laura M Urban” Asbury Park Press Aug 6, 2013
“Woman Cop Dies At Home” Star Ledger Jun 23, 1974
“7 lady cops join force” Star Ledger Dec 15, 1949
“Newark’s New Lady Cops are Full of Enthusiasm for the Job” Newark News May 2, 1949
“Distaff Cop Keeps Things Quiet” Newark News May 10 1949
“New Lady Cops Pack Their Guns” and “Female Cops Begin Training”Star LEdger May 5, 1949
“Keenan’s Budget Up” Star Ledger Dec 18, 1949
“Night patrol with lady cops” Star Ledger May 7, 1950
“Brothers have little trouble” Star Ledger Mar 18, 1962
“Guns and pins all part of job” Star Ledger Apr 23, 1952
“After the Ceremony” Star Ledger April 29, 1949
“Lady is First” Star Ledger Jul 10, 1959
“Newark Policewomen”, Ken Gibson Photo Collection, Newark Library
“95 gals” Star Ledger Dec 5, 1948