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34 - CAPE GAZETTE, Friday, June 9 - June 15, 2000
Trooper Dan retires; SK. Dan now on active state police duty
By Sgt. Alice Bailey
Delaware State Police
Daniel Bramble Sr. began his
career with the Delaware State
Police Feb. 1, 1958. He served
three assignments at Troop 1 in
Penny Hill, two assignments in
the Public Information Office,
one temporary term in the crimi-
nal section of headquarters, and in
the Internal Affairs Office. He
eventually rose to the rank of staff
captain. Do we know for sure that
he w)rked with elementary
school kids? He was never as-
signed to Youth Aid. He retired
Sept. 30, 1976 in failing health
and died shortly thereafter.
At the urging of Bramble Sr., a
lieutenant in the Public Informa-
tion Office in 1970, Capt, Thomas
E. Logullo drew illustrations and
created a coloring book to offer
children safety pointers. He
Rogers Signs Company photos
According to Lynn Rogers,
Rogers Sign Company own-
er, the structural integrity of
Sgt. Dan's roof is in tact. The
hat is not only aerodynamic
enough to stay on the roof of
the VW and able to with-
stand the vibrations of travel
but mirrors the angle at
which troopers are expected
to wear their hats.
called the book, "Trooper Dan
Presents His Coloring Book."
The drawings depicted a trooper
with a friendly squirrel who of-
fered tips on bicycle and road
safety to children. The back cov-
er of the coloring book announced
a contest that ended Jan. 15, 1971,
for children to name Trooper
Dan's squirrel friend.
Trooper Dan, the vehicle
The green 1971 Volkswagen
Beetle was a seized vehicle, used
as an undercover car in the
Delaware State Police Drug Unit.
Its front end was wrecked in a col-
lision. Oral tradition would have
it the detectives were glad to get
rid of the VW because it was less-
than-ideal as a drug car. With the
approval of Col. James L. Ford
and Lt. Col. Joe Rowan, a number
of troopers, civilians and commu-
nity friends fixed and converted
the bug into something akin to
Disney's talking car, Herbie, the
Love Bug. The logical choice of
names for the vehicle followed
the precedent set by the coloring
book, and Trooper Dan the car
was born.
S. Paul Hudson of Milton and
Jerry Marvel of Seaford, both re-
tired troopers, spearheaded the
rescue efforts. Michael A. Hud-
son of Milton, Paul's son, re-
paired the front end, the fenders
and the trim. Marvel spent be-
tween one and two days running
the'cables and wires for the re-
mote console in the back seat. In
those days, the groups of wires
had to be bunched by hand and
didn't come in ready-made, pre-
sealed cables. Plus, he had to use
soap to lubricate the wires to run
them through the rear floorboard.
David Hudson of Hudson's
Garage in Milton repaired and
painted the bug a Herbie-like
white. John and Ruth Gardoski of
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Milton, art teachers, helped de-
sign Dan and fabricated the hat
seal with a stamp in aluminum.
Robert Smith of Smith's Can-
vas in Lewes created the band
around the trooper hat. C. Robin
Joseph of Seaford helped weld the
fabricated hat and took two full
days of filing and sanding the
metal and wood contraption. Carl
Maine was, at the time, a new em-
ployee with the division's graph-
ics section. He applied the origi-
nal seals and trooper stripes.
Capt. Russell W. McNatt Sr.
used spray enamel to give Troop-
er Dan his red smile. Raymond
Deputy was Trooper Dan's first
voice, projected from a command
vehicle. S. Paul Hudson and Jerry
Marvel installed the large eyes on
the windshield wipers.
In 1974, Trooper Dan made his
debut to present safety programs
to children at the Delaware State
Fair. Trooper Dan was the first
police vehicle of his kind in the
country. As of May 2000, only
three other agencies are known to
have similar character vehicles.
Raymond Deputy, known for his
distinctive laugh, was Trooper
Dan's first voice, using a micro-
phone to speak to children who
approached and cables to make
the big eyes on the windshield
Continued on page 35
Rogers Sign Company of Milton designed and painted Sgt.
Dan, as Trooper Dan, the 1971 Volkswagen Beetle, was trans-
formed into the familiar instructional vehicle.
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