Pennsylvania Game News - Feburary 2011 - 5

sign of things to come. After a few years, Dick had become somewhat of a legend within the Commission, and to the hunters who traveled to Potter County. Nine years after Dick graduated I was a trainee, in the 13th Class. Along with many of my classmates, I hoped to be assigned to Dick during field training, but that didn’t happen. During the years Dick was running his district he was also assigned to several undercover cases. He told me about one case in particular, in which he and another officer made contact with an individual who was under investigation. They went with the individual to several bars, which led to them accompanying the suspect on an excursion to kill a deer at night. As luck would have it, they did not see any deer the first night. After several more night outings, the suspect wanted Dick and the other officer to meet a relative of his, but Dick had not only previously met the relative, but had also arrested him. Dick quickly made up an excuse, saying that he was feeling ill and went as far as having the man stop the car so he could fake vomiting. Instead of going to meet the relative, the violator took Dick back to his motel. Later, the suspect was arrested, but because he avoided a hearing by pleading guilty in court, he never found out that Dick was an officer. In the early 1980s a court ruling made some big changes to a game protector’s job. Up until that time officers worked out of their homes and were on call 24 hours a day. The court ruling stated the Commission had to pay game protectors overtime when they worked more than 40 hours a week. Because the Commission did not have the money to pay the overtime, they tried several ways to solve this problem. In 1987, the Commission came up with an experimental unit office that would cover two or three counties, with one officer in charge. All the officers would work out of this office to answer calls. Dick was put in charge of one of those unit offices.
FEBRUARY 2011

After only one year, though, the agency did away with the unit office, and all calls went to a region office. Dick also did a 6-week stint as a Land Management Supervisor at the Northcentral Office. After four weeks in the position, however, he requested a transfer back to the field. Two weeks later he was back in Potter County — where he belonged. Throughout my interview with Dick, he repeatedly said that he owed much of his success to his family, especially his wife — his unpaid secretary. Constant phone calls, relaying 2way radio messages, and having their home used as an office, where people came to pay fines, etc, were all things endured by Betty and their children. Dick also praised the unsung heroes (his deputy force), who without them he would not have been able to do the job the way he preferred. He also mentioned many people in Potter County who through the years supplied him with information. Much appreciation was given to Bill Fish Jr., publisher of the Coudersport Newspaper, who had always been supportive of the Game Commission, informing people in the area about the agency’s activities. During his career Dick was showered with many awards. The Shikar Safari Award; Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement Award presented by the Law Enforcement Chiefs Association; the Pennsylvania Game Commission Outstanding Employee Award; Wildlife Officer of the Year in 1977; Fish Commission Award and the Conservation Education Award by the Potter County Conservation District are but a few. Upon Dick’s retirement, one newspaper wrote that Dick had the reputation for being able to give game law violators sufficient rope to hang themselves (figuratively). One day after pulling into the
5

Pennsylvania Game News - Feburary 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - Feburary 2011