Ludlow Auxiliary Police
The group was established in 1942 as the Ludlow Civil Defense. Their main duty was to patrol the streets during blackouts to ensure that no lights could be seen. Plans were also developed by this group to evacuate the city during bombing raids.
Following the war, the name of the group was changed to the Ludlow Auxiliary Police. The early chiefs of the group included: Carl Mershon (1942-1946), Walter Millenkamp (1946-1951), and Martin Voll.
The Ludlow Auxiliary Police assisted the regular Ludlow Police force at large events like the annual 4th of July Festival, parades and Ludlow High School sporting activities.
By 1990, insurance costs to cover the auxiliary force, which carried firearms, had risen dramatically. In 1990, the city council passed an ordinance forbidding the auxiliary police to carry firearms. In the months prior to Ludlow’s 1991 Fourth of July celebration, the issue of firearms again became contentious. At this time, city officials seriously began discussing the discontinuation of the force. At the March 1991 council meeting a petition signed by 620 residents was presented to the council. The petition requested that the auxiliary police not be disbanded. A majority of the council, however, voted to disband the force. The last president of the auxiliary was Don Woolley and the last chief was John “Dutch” Rolfsen.
Kentucky Post, March 12, 1991, p. 4k; News Enterprise, November 1, 1962, p. 1.
