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Iron River — Squad cars didn't have radios back when Howard Fuhrmann joined the Wisconsin State Patrol.
The agency didn't even provide police cruisers or firearms. Fuhrmann drove his own Ford while chasing after drunks and speeders in northern Wisconsin. Given Badge No. 8, Fuhrmann is the only officer still alive from the first group hired after the Wisconsin State Patrol was formed on Sept. 1, 1939.
Fuhrmann, who turned 100 in February, was working as a Bayfield County sheriff's deputy when he volunteered for the new State Patrol. He admitted it could be lonely and sometimes he felt vulnerable with backup far away in case he found trouble.
"I just liked that kind of work," Fuhrmann said in his room filled with photos and mementos of his career including an autographed photo of President Dwight Eisenhower.
"Reckless driving? Oh yeah. These youngsters liked to pound the wheel."
With traffic fatalities skyrocketing and roads damaged by overweight trucks, the State Patrol was formed to enforce motor carrier and traffic laws throughout Wisconsin.
In the face of opposition from county sheriffs and local law enforcement agencies, it took several years before the state Legislature passed the law creating the Motor Vehicle Department that consisted of three divisions: registration and licensing, highway safety promotion, and inspection and enforcement. The latter would eventually become what's now known as the Wisconsin State Patrol.
To celebrate the agency's 75th anniversary, State Patrol vehicles are sporting special decals and license plates this year. Next month a banquet is scheduled in Wisconsin Dells for current and former State Patrol employees.
The agency has changed quite a bit since officers like Fuhrmann patrolled roads and highways with first aid kits they brought from home while staying in touch with dispatchers via telephone.
Only men at least 6 feet tall were hired to become troopers. There was no official training program. And they couldn't arrest anyone, only hand out citations.
But the mission hasn't changed — keeping motorists safe, enforcing the state's traffic laws and inspecting trucks.
"Back in those days we had no criminal authority whatsoever. We couldn't make an arrest unless a felony was committed in our presence," said Bruce Bishop, 89, who joined the State Patrol in 1949.
In the beginning officers bought their own patrol cars, receiving $30 per month for their vehicles plus gas, oil and grease. They were given a siren, flashing red light and police license plates while on duty.
When they used their cars while off-duty they had to switch to personal license plates. A large part of their time was spent weighing and inspecting trucks, giving driver license tests, taking registration applications and collecting fees.
When Bishop joined the agency he drove his 1948 Dodge, earning seven cents a mile, outfitted with a huge siren/flashing red light gizmo on the front bumper. Radios were available by then — two large boxes for the transmitter and receiver.
"We called them turkey roasters. They took up the whole trunk space," recalled Bishop, who lives in Tomahawk. "We didn't even have first aid kits issued to us. We had to cobble together what we thought we'd need in an emergency."
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