West Des Moines Police Reserve Unit 50th Anniversary

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away I used to be a member of the WDMPD Reserve Unit - and that same Unit celebrated it's 50th anniversary this month.  Today at the Nature Lodge at Raccoon River Park in WDM there was an Open House from 12-4.  I popped in after church and it was fun seeing some of the guys I was in the Unit with - along with some of the fulltime officers that were with the department.

I do take a little pride in saying I am the first sworn female officer in the City of WDM to carry a weapon.  I joined the Reserve Unit December 1987 and left sometime during 1994 attaining the rank of Sergeant.  Mike always used to love saying he "outranked" me because he was a Lieutenant on the Urbandale Reserve Unit :)

Some interesting tidbits of my time on the Unit:

• Starting with me, there have been a total of four female reserve officers with the fourth currently on the Unit
• I had to draw my weapon twice while riding with a fulltime officer
• While a reserve officer, we also drove the ambulance
• At one time I had my EMT-A level qualification, didn't want to go for the EMT-I level because you could start I.V. lines at that level and that wasn't my deal
• I had a six-shooter (revolver) because when I started on the Unit automatics weren't approved, by the time our reserves could carry automatics we didn't want to spend the money for a new gun for me
• Qualifying with the shotgun wasn't too bad as long as I got it resting in the pocket in my shoulder - but my "pocket" isn't that big compared to all the guys' so if I didn't get the shotgun in just right, when it kicked, it kicked back on my shoulder bone - ouch
• All the guys that were working at the WDMPD and all the ones on the Unit that accepted me (a female) were, are and will always have a special place in my heart

Mike and I had our picture taken one time in our uniforms and I thought I had that saved on my laptop somewhere but I guess I don't. 

This morning during church the youngest bunch of kidlets - our Puddles group - sang a couple of songs.  They are a hoot - check out the picture below.  The adult behind them is our Senior Pastor.  One of his little girls is the sixth child over from the left (kind of looking at daddy) all in pink with her left hand behind her back.  My small group leader's little boy is the second child from the left and he really got into "I'm In The Lord's Army" with his marching :)  His twin cousins are in the picture too!  One is to the left of my pastor's daughter and his twin is the third from the right.  Part of our church of tomorrow.

We had our quarterly membership meeting after the service and I got to hold a friend's little boy that was born in late March/early April.  Now remember I "never birthed no babies" so I didn't realize one minute the little guy could be looking around and the next minute be out like a light - literally.  Wish I could go to sleep that quickly.  And then all of a sudden out of the blue he'd just really jerk while he was sleeping.  After the first couple of jerks I got a better grip on him :)