Photo of the Week, 99: Calling All Cars! Normal Police Department, 1938

Seen here is Normal Police Chief James Clarence Land in mid-January 1938 with the department's new radio hookup (including the loudspeaker atop the desk) enabling him to communicate with fellow officers stationed in squad cars. Land served as chief of the Normal Police Department in the 1930s, and was also a McLean County deputy sheriff for a few years. He passed away on June 5, 1968 at the age of 68.At this time the Normal Police Dept and other Town of Normal offices were located in the Fuller Building, 128 East Beaufort Street. Today, the Fuller Building's ground level is home to Maggie Miley's, an Uptown Normal Irish pub. Also note the H.H. Lemme calendar on the wall. This was a combo shoe repair / beauty shop at 119 North Street, now the location of Victor's Alterations.