The Wisdom of Time...
in the beginning there were just a few . . .
(Editor’s Note: This article was intended as
a “thank you” to Deputy Bobby Leudke for his years of dedicated service
to the District One and, in particular, Huntwick Subdivision;
however, as information was gathered, it became apparent there
were several Sheriff’s Deputies who started their careers out in North
District working along side Deputy Leudke. While many of these
original deputies have retired others are still serving the public
in a variety of law enforcement jobs. In gathering information, it
became apparent there is an interesting story to be told on how North
District developed, and just how dangerous a job law enforcement
was in those early days.)
Street experience can not be taught by words in a book, it takes time
to develop. Years of street experience count when it comes to understanding
the criminal mind. Usually, a good cop can spot a criminal before
the criminal knows he is being watched.
The District One of the Harris County Sheriff’s Department is fortunate
to have several Deputies who started working in the FM 1960
area during the 1970’s. These deputies grew up, so to speak, on knowing
the criminals who crossed their paths.
Some of these original Sheriff’s Department Deputies who are
still working in North District are Sergeant John Trump, Day
Shift Supervisor, Deputy Bobby Leudke, Deputy Paul Depositario, Deputy
Gerry Lewis.
The deputy with the most seniority in District One is Deputy
Bobby Leudke. His law enforcement career began, as some jokingly
say, when God created this area of Harris County. His first-hand
knowledge of criminals, of who is currently in jail or who is “working”
an area is about as good as it gets. The criminals in turn know which
“cops” work where and they know what area of town to avoid.
Deputy Leudke was not around in 1845 when Texas became the 28th state
but he did grow up in this area and his family has long been a part of
this community with Bobby graduating from Klein High School.
To better understand the history of our FM 1960 area, here are a few
facts about the area before subdivisions and businesses occupied the space.
Some of the early settlers of this FM 1960 area were Benjamin Page
(owned land now known as Champions, Huntwick and Kleinwood), George Delesdenier
(owned land now know as Wimbledon, Bammel Forest, and Oak Creek Village),
John Borck owned the land that is now Northampton subdivision.
The three creeks, Cypress, Spring, and Willow Creek offered water to
both the settlers and their live stock. Names such as Strack,
Klein, Kuykendahl, Rosehill, Kohrville, Louetta, Hufsmith, New Kentucky,
Stuebner, Kluge, Malcomson, Wunderlich are a few of those old time
settlements that have survived well into this century. Behind each
of these names was a family with strong community ties. While trees
grew tall, cattle roamed the range, cotton and rice helped shape the early
economy, life was beginning to prosper in the FM 1960 area.
The first Sheriff of Harris County was John W. Moore who also acted
as the tax collector. The Sheriff would announce when he would be
in certain areas of the county to make it easy on the folks when collecting
their taxes. The first County Judge was Andrew Briscoe,
one of the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence.
Long before Harris County was broken down into four districts, Sheriff’s
Deputies were routinely referred to as Resident Deputies. Their telephone
numbers were listed in the phone book and you called the deputy in your
area of the county for help.
Unfortunately, progress also brought the criminal element as
word spread about the wealthy homes under construction.
There were not enough Sheriff’s Deputies and the contract deputy
program began to flourish out of this desperate need for protection.
There were fewer than 20 Sheriff’s Deputies to cover three shifts in an
area roughly from Highway 290 to the Montgomery County Line over to I-45
and down to Parker Road. A lot of miles. The area was growing
by a 1000 people a month as the world discovered what a great place this
would be to live and work.
Champion’s Subdivision was one of the very first contracts under the
direction of the late John Wagner as Security Director.
During the early 1960’s District One Substation had
not been built - the nearest jail was located on Cherry Street in
Tomball. Judges usually worked out of the jail location and would
make their decisions on the spot. Fines were assessed or the prisoner
would be sentenced to jail until a court date could be scheduled.
The building on Cherry Street still stands today and is used by the
city of Tomball in another capacity.
Sheriff Deputies that were unlucky enough to be dispatched to
a call for a drunk that wanted to fight or a violent scene could not count
on assistance from other deputies. There were so few deputies on
duty that to have another one close by was considered lucky.
Wrecker drivers, ambulance attendants or other citizens might help but
most of the time deputies were on their own if they needed help.
During this period, patrol cars had only one radio and the deputy must
be able to get back to the patrol car to radio for additional help or whatever
was needed. There were no such things a bullet proof vest let alone
computers in the patrol cars or the life saving service of 9-1-1.
Missing children, escaped convicts, murder scenes, and any call extending
beyond the deputy’s shift meant working long hours until the call was completed
and the paper work turned into the station. Some shifts turned into
days with only an hour of sleep to keep you going and meals were not given
much consideration until the situation was solved. If someone scheduled
vacation, you could plan on pulling a double shift to let a “buddy” enjoy
a few hours off with families.
These men and women who served our FM 1960 area are really true heroes
in every sense of the word. They never knew what the next call might
be - it could be a missing child, an auto accident claiming a single life
or several lives, a domestic dispute requiring several hours to settle
or a robbery in progress with shots fired. In all types of weather,
hot, cold, rainy or just plain miserable, these few Sheriff’s Deputies
stood tall in their fight to keep us safe.
In addition to the deputies previously mentioned, the following deputies
either started in District One or were assigned to this fast growing area.
Sheriff Tommy Thomas
Deputy Don Sowell (retired, now Sheriff of Grimes County)
Major C. Wedermeyer (retired, now Chief of Police, Jersey Villiage)
Major E. Macaluso (retired)
Lt. L. Horn (retired)
Captain S. Nixon
Captain J. Smith
Captain C. Price
Captain M. Smith
Detective John Gessner
Detective Robert Checzka
Joe Harris (retired)
Deputy Parker (retired)
Jimmy Sample
Buddy Walker
R.L. Polland (deceased)
Roland Brune (retired)
Wayne Schmidt (retired)
This “story” only skims the surface of what life on the streets was
like in the early days. There are many funny stories and, of course, a
lot of not so funny stories. Several deputies were badly hurt, a
few were shot, and most could plan on facing angry residents who waited
hours for a police officer to finally show up so they could file a report
of a crime.
Today, calls are answered within a brief period of time depending on
their severity. Patrol cars have portable radios, computers, and
the latest technology. Most importantly, there are now around 150
deputies patrolling a smaller area with a lot more people. Years ago the
deputy not only took a report but did the investigative work. Presently,
there are top-notched detectives to investigate certain crimes with many
scientific tools to aid in there investigative work.
While life and patrol techniques have changed, nothing has taken the
place of a well-seasoned cop who knows his beat and knows the people living
in his beat. Instinct still plays a keen role.
Thanks to each of the early North District Deputies for the job you
performed so diligently - even when we didn’t know. Especially, thanks
to Deputy Bobby Leudke for his outstanding contribution to Huntwick Subdivision
for all those years he served. Good luck
in Olde Oaks.
(Editor’s Note: The Heritage of North Harris
County was the reference for some of the information contained in this
article. This book is available at the Harris County Library located
on Cypresswood Drive.) |