In addition to the December 2017 article California Highway Patrol by Chaun Mortier at this link, , pp. 6-9 ,we discovered another article that for some reason was not posted to our website. It is from the Summer of 1997, written by Guy F. Coates titled Badge #500. The following is the text of that original article.
Badge # 500
By Guy F. Coates
When officer Bill Gautsche came to Truckee in 1943, he had to contend with speeding drivers, drunks, chain runners and law violators of all kinds. For a while, he was the only California Highway Patrol officer in town. “The mam thoroughfare was old Highway 40, a two-lane highway which was often snowbound and impassable for a week or longer,” he says. “The local substation was located in a three room building across from Truckee High School, which has since been torn down.”
When officer Bill Gautsche came to Truckee in 1943, he had to contend with speeding drivers, drunks, chain runners and law violators of all kinds. For awhile, he was the only California Highway Patrol officer in town. “The main thoroughfare was old Highway 40, a two-lane highway which was often snowbound and impassable for a week or longer,” he says. “The local substation was located in a three room building across from Truckee High School, which has since been torn down.”
Born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1910, Gautsche’s parents immigrated to this country from Switzerland and settled in Galveston. They later moved to San Antonio where his father worked as a night watchman for a department store and later as a logger and cabinetmaker.
Eventually moving to California, Bill lived in the small town of Lotus, Placerville and finally Los Angeles. He went to night school and took correspondence courses for credit to qualify for the Highway Patrol. I became a patrolman on February 2, 1942, and was transferred to Truckee from Colfax.” When the other officers found out I was transferring to Truckee, they said, “have you lost your mind? What’s the matter with you? They just send the goons up there!”
But, Gautsche had already visited the area and was attracted to the unending beauty of the High Sierra, reminiscent of his parent’s homeland in Switzerland.
“All business was downtown, “he recalls. “Most of the bars and restaurants had slot machines. They had girls working on the ‘back street.’ Truckee River Bank was Coffey’s Garage and 1 lived in a duplex across the street. There no two-way radios in the patrol cars. The telephone office was in the red brick building on the comer of Spring Street and Commercial Row. The telephone operators acted as dispatchers. When an officer got a call a red light on top of the Riverside Hotel (now the Truckee Hotel) was activated. That was the signal for me to call in.”
“One day Dick Joseph’s pick-up truck, loaded with slot machines, overturned,” says Gautsche. “When I arrived, he was bleeding very badly and I administered first aid and probably saved his life. He never forgot it. He sold me three lots in Gateway for $800 and loaned my son, Ron, $2000 to help him start his service station downtown.”
The organization that is now the Highway Patrol began in 1929 when a bill was passed creating an enforcement division within the Department of Motor Vehicles. Before that, all local law enforcement was handled by the sheriff or by an elected constable. In 1947, the department broke away and became the Highway Patrol. Truckee was a much smaller town than it is today. There was no freeway and no hospital. Accident victims
had to be transported to Auburn for treatment. CHP officers had to rely on “roadside sobriety tests” in the arrest of an accused drunken driver, since the blood alcohol test had to be performed at the hospital. There were a lot of Italian people in town then,” he recalls. “Dave Cabona was like the mayor. Walt Barrett had the newspaper office. Along with Dick Joseph and Tom Dolley, they ran the entire town. The old newspaper had alot more local news than they do now.”
The old downtown jail on Jibboom and Spring Streets (now a museum) was the only place to hold prisoners at the time. It was in use for 100 years. Infamous criminals, such as Baby Face Nelson, Ma Spinelli and Machine Gun Kelly reportedly all spent a day or two in the local “slammer.”
During bad weather, people frequently requested a night’s lodging at the jail and would be booked in as “sleepers. Of course, criminals usually used fictitious names.
Tom Dolley, the town constable, was always there to back us up,” he says. “ He was a big man. He had an office in the old jail. They used the upstairs part of the jail to put women. Dolley and his deputy, Roy Wallers, did a good job maintaining law and order in town.
In 1950, the local Highway Patrol office was relocated to tire building which is today' the Christian Science building on Donner Pass Road. By 1951, the Truckee squad had grown to 5 members.
There was a ‘y’ in the road where Bank of America is today,” says Gautsche. One leg of the ‘y’ went to Lake Tahoe and the other to Truckee. There was nothing but trees in the middle of the ‘y’.”
One of the earliest patrol officers in this area was Charles E. McKeen, a resident of Hobart Mills, who was widely and favorably known in Truckee. He was followed by Bob Fowler, Paul Narbor, Gautsche and others, including Roy Stallard, Tom Sheehan and later Carroll Maynard, Martin Sturkey, Melvin Peterson, Glenn Virus, Bill Carlson and Ben Short.
Before 1929, officers used their own vehicles with a siren and red light on the roof as the only distinguishing features. Only inspectors and Captains were allowed cars. Later, cars were issued to night patrolmen. Each car was painted white with red sirens on the roof. None of the early vehicles had heaters or other comforts.
“My first patrol car was a 1942 Pontiac,” says Gautsche. “Later, I drove a Plymouth and a Packard. We also had Chryslers. There was no window defroster and the windows constantly iced up. We had to buy our own uniforms, our own gun and our own handcuffs.”
“We didn’t have snow tires,” he says. “They gave us re-caps with ground up walnut shells and pieces of metal embedded in the rubber. We always had to put on our own chains.”
“During the war, most violators were for speeding, especially on Donner grade,” he recalls. The tankers had chain drive and came down the hill in a very low gear. There would be a long line of cars behind. There were few' turnouts and people were always in a hurry to get to Reno to gamble. Cars would make passes and if a car were coming up the grade, they would end up getting run off the road near the old Highway 40 bridge.
Many spots on the old highway 40 grade earned nicknames among patrolmen. There was Iceland Hill, Dead man's curve and Big Shot. During one severe winter in 1952, the old road had to be closed when several semi-trucks were buried under 15 feet of snow. “During that winter we had to escort cars through a hole in the snow',’’ he recalls. “There were avalanches all over the road.” People would still argue at the chain controls and try to get through with no chains on their tires.”
By the late 1950's, things began to change. With the decision to hold the 1960 winter Olympics al Squaw Valley ski resort, state and local officials began the design and construction of an interstate highway over Donner Summit.
Perhaps the most vividly remembered incident in Gautsche’s career was the tragic murder of fellow' officer, Glenn Carlson who was killed by three bank robbers after they had stolen more than $44,000 from the Bank of America in Sacramento and were trying to escape to Reno in a stolen Cadillac.
Tahoe Forest Hospital was built in anticipation of a huge surge of visitors to the Truckee and North Tahoe areas. Worldwide attention was focused on Squaw Valley and many began to dream of living in the mountains. It didn't take long for developers to realize the potential for building and selling second homes. With the completion of Interstate 80 in 1964, traffic began to flow over Donner Summit and more problems were created for the CHP.
On November 15. 1963, Officer Carlson, who was riding alone, observed the vehicle as it approached Donner Lake Gale at well over the speed limit for a chain control area. He promptly slopped the three for a traffic violation, gave them a ticket and let them go and at the same time radioing for a license plate check. A few minutes later, he learned who they were and set off in renewed pursuit.
After stopping the Cadillac again along Donner Lake, the men emerged from the car, one of them with a German. Luger in hand and Carlson was shot and killed. The officers later found Carlson’s body in the snow across the roadway and a manhunt for his murderer’s began. Within six hours, all three suspects had been apprehended, two at the Sacramento Airport and one at a Truckee motel. All three were sentenced to life in prison. The shooting made national headlines and brought recommendations from a state assemblyman for expanded use of two-man cars and resulted in the hiring of 150additional officers. In 1968, the new California Highway Patrol office on Highway 89 was built, but local officers were given orders from the Auburn Department. Today the office has a staff of 23 officers, 3 sergeants, 9 radio dispatchers, a captain and several clerical and maintenance staff members. Gautsche’s son, Ron, works at the Truckee CHP Scales as one of 15 civilian inspectors.
Gautsche retired from the California Highway Patrol in 1965 , at the age of 55. Now at the age of 87, he enjoys sharing his large scrapbook containing photographs and newspaper articles and recalling his 22 years as a patrolman.
“Things are much different today,” says Gautsche. “There were very few nights when I didn’t have to get out of bed 2 or 3 times. The officers get much better pay and have more to work with. My starting pay was $190 per month. When I retired, I made $840 per month. At least we didn’t have to buy our own gasoline,” he laughs. “Now days you need to four year college degree to be accepted. If you don’t have a degree, you’re not going very far. People used to help each other out in Truckee,” he says.” It was a closely knit town. I made a lot of good friends in Truckee,” he says. “I have no regrets.”
When officer Bill Gautsche came to Truckee in 1943, he had to contend with speeding drivers, drunks, chain runners and law violators of all kinds. For awhile, he was the only California Highway Patrol officer in town. “The main thoroughfare was old Highway 40, a two-lane highway which was often snowbound and impassable for a week or longer,” he says. “The local substation was located in a three room building across from Truckee High School, which has since been torn down.”
Born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1910, Gautsche’s parents immigrated to this country from Switzerland and settled in Galveston. They later moved to San Antonio where his father worked as a night watchman for a department store and later as a logger and cabinetmaker.
Eventually moving to California, Bill lived in the small town of Lotus, Placerville and finally Los Angeles. He went to night school and took correspondence courses for credit to qualify for the Highway Patrol. I became a patrolman on February 2, 1942, and was transferred to Truckee from Colfax.” When the other officers found out I was transferring to Truckee, they said, “have you lost your mind? What’s the matter with you? They just send the goons up there!”
But, Gautsche had already visited the area and was attracted to the unending beauty of the High Sierra, reminiscent of his parent’s homeland in Switzerland.
“All business was downtown, “he recalls. “Most of the bars and restaurants had slot machines. They had girls working on the ‘back street.’ Truckee River Bank was Coffey’s Garage and 1 lived in a duplex across the street. There no two-way radios in the patrol cars. The telephone office was in the red brick building on the comer of Spring Street and Commercial Row. The telephone operators acted as dispatchers. When an officer got a call a red light on top of the Riverside Hotel (now the Truckee Hotel) was activated. That was the signal for me to call in.”
“One day Dick Joseph’s pick-up truck, loaded with slot machines, overturned,” says Gautsche. “When I arrived, he was bleeding very badly and I administered first aid and probably saved his life. He never forgot it. He sold me three lots in Gateway for $800 and loaned my son, Ron, $2000 to help him start his service station downtown.”
The organization that is now the Highway Patrol began in 1929 when a bill was passed creating an enforcement division within the Department of Motor Vehicles. Before that, all local law enforcement was handled by the sheriff or by an elected constable. In 1947, the department broke away and became the Highway Patrol. Truckee was a much smaller town than it is today. There was no freeway and no hospital. Accident victims
had to be transported to Auburn for treatment. CHP officers had to rely on “roadside sobriety tests” in the arrest of an accused drunken driver, since the blood alcohol test had to be performed at the hospital. There were a lot of Italian people in town then,” he recalls. “Dave Cabona was like the mayor. Walt Barrett had the newspaper office. Along with Dick Joseph and Tom Dolley, they ran the entire town. The old newspaper had alot more local news than they do now.”
The old downtown jail on Jibboom and Spring Streets (now a museum) was the only place to hold prisoners at the time. It was in use for 100 years. Infamous criminals, such as Baby Face Nelson, Ma Spinelli and Machine Gun Kelly reportedly all spent a day or two in the local “slammer.”
During bad weather, people frequently requested a night’s lodging at the jail and would be booked in as “sleepers. Of course, criminals usually used fictitious names.
Tom Dolley, the town constable, was always there to back us up,” he says. “ He was a big man. He had an office in the old jail. They used the upstairs part of the jail to put women. Dolley and his deputy, Roy Wallers, did a good job maintaining law and order in town.
In 1950, the local Highway Patrol office was relocated to tire building which is today' the Christian Science building on Donner Pass Road. By 1951, the Truckee squad had grown to 5 members.
There was a ‘y’ in the road where Bank of America is today,” says Gautsche. One leg of the ‘y’ went to Lake Tahoe and the other to Truckee. There was nothing but trees in the middle of the ‘y’.”
One of the earliest patrol officers in this area was Charles E. McKeen, a resident of Hobart Mills, who was widely and favorably known in Truckee. He was followed by Bob Fowler, Paul Narbor, Gautsche and others, including Roy Stallard, Tom Sheehan and later Carroll Maynard, Martin Sturkey, Melvin Peterson, Glenn Virus, Bill Carlson and Ben Short.
Before 1929, officers used their own vehicles with a siren and red light on the roof as the only distinguishing features. Only inspectors and Captains were allowed cars. Later, cars were issued to night patrolmen. Each car was painted white with red sirens on the roof. None of the early vehicles had heaters or other comforts.
“My first patrol car was a 1942 Pontiac,” says Gautsche. “Later, I drove a Plymouth and a Packard. We also had Chryslers. There was no window defroster and the windows constantly iced up. We had to buy our own uniforms, our own gun and our own handcuffs.”
“We didn’t have snow tires,” he says. “They gave us re-caps with ground up walnut shells and pieces of metal embedded in the rubber. We always had to put on our own chains.”
“During the war, most violators were for speeding, especially on Donner grade,” he recalls. The tankers had chain drive and came down the hill in a very low gear. There would be a long line of cars behind. There were few' turnouts and people were always in a hurry to get to Reno to gamble. Cars would make passes and if a car were coming up the grade, they would end up getting run off the road near the old Highway 40 bridge.
Many spots on the old highway 40 grade earned nicknames among patrolmen. There was Iceland Hill, Dead man's curve and Big Shot. During one severe winter in 1952, the old road had to be closed when several semi-trucks were buried under 15 feet of snow. “During that winter we had to escort cars through a hole in the snow',’’ he recalls. “There were avalanches all over the road.” People would still argue at the chain controls and try to get through with no chains on their tires.”
By the late 1950's, things began to change. With the decision to hold the 1960 winter Olympics al Squaw Valley ski resort, state and local officials began the design and construction of an interstate highway over Donner Summit.
Perhaps the most vividly remembered incident in Gautsche’s career was the tragic murder of fellow' officer, Glenn Carlson who was killed by three bank robbers after they had stolen more than $44,000 from the Bank of America in Sacramento and were trying to escape to Reno in a stolen Cadillac.
Tahoe Forest Hospital was built in anticipation of a huge surge of visitors to the Truckee and North Tahoe areas. Worldwide attention was focused on Squaw Valley and many began to dream of living in the mountains. It didn't take long for developers to realize the potential for building and selling second homes. With the completion of Interstate 80 in 1964, traffic began to flow over Donner Summit and more problems were created for the CHP.
On November 15. 1963, Officer Carlson, who was riding alone, observed the vehicle as it approached Donner Lake Gale at well over the speed limit for a chain control area. He promptly slopped the three for a traffic violation, gave them a ticket and let them go and at the same time radioing for a license plate check. A few minutes later, he learned who they were and set off in renewed pursuit.
After stopping the Cadillac again along Donner Lake, the men emerged from the car, one of them with a German. Luger in hand and Carlson was shot and killed. The officers later found Carlson’s body in the snow across the roadway and a manhunt for his murderer’s began. Within six hours, all three suspects had been apprehended, two at the Sacramento Airport and one at a Truckee motel. All three were sentenced to life in prison. The shooting made national headlines and brought recommendations from a state assemblyman for expanded use of two-man cars and resulted in the hiring of 150additional officers. In 1968, the new California Highway Patrol office on Highway 89 was built, but local officers were given orders from the Auburn Department. Today the office has a staff of 23 officers, 3 sergeants, 9 radio dispatchers, a captain and several clerical and maintenance staff members. Gautsche’s son, Ron, works at the Truckee CHP Scales as one of 15 civilian inspectors.
Gautsche retired from the California Highway Patrol in 1965 , at the age of 55. Now at the age of 87, he enjoys sharing his large scrapbook containing photographs and newspaper articles and recalling his 22 years as a patrolman.
“Things are much different today,” says Gautsche. “There were very few nights when I didn’t have to get out of bed 2 or 3 times. The officers get much better pay and have more to work with. My starting pay was $190 per month. When I retired, I made $840 per month. At least we didn’t have to buy our own gasoline,” he laughs. “Now days you need to four year college degree to be accepted. If you don’t have a degree, you’re not going very far. People used to help each other out in Truckee,” he says.” It was a closely knit town. I made a lot of good friends in Truckee,” he says. “I have no regrets.”
HCS 12/21/2023
