The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-15

ran between Birmingham and East Lake. After year at this he secured position as a car repairer In the Southern rail- road shops; year later went to the Ala bama Great Southern shops and a few months after that went to the Louisville and Nashville shops in the same posi- ton but for higher wages.
 John Dean, then an alderman of the city, was foreman over young Bodeker and the two soon became great friends. Bodelser was good worker and a sober, wide-awake young man and Dean found it out. One evening he walked up to Bodeker.
 George, how'd you like to be on the police force?" he asked.
 Great" answered the young car re- pairer as his little black eyes danced with the realization of one more of his dreams. Next night the city council of Birmingham elected George H. Bodeker, erstwhile farmer and detective aspir- ant, to the city police department as a patrolman. That was August 2, 1890, and ever since George Bodeker has been member of the Birmingham po- lice department.
 When Bodeker was d patrolman 1t was a saying about the. police head quarters when anyone wanted to know the description or particulars about a certain criminal or a certain crime, "go to Bodeker." Carefully slowed away 'in the chiefs desk right now are little pocket ledgers dating from the first day he served as policeman until he
 was elected chief. and they are filled with names of criminals, their descrip- 'tion and rewards offered for them. Many and many of them have a pecu- liarly conspicuous blue pencil mark drawn through them
 s.yNhat does that n1aanot tho chi ief was asked, and he answered loconi- cally:
 q got him."
 The second day Bodeker was on the
 police force in Birmingham he cap
 tured a man wanted in Anniston for
 murder and received a reward of S25.
 Bodeker's familiarity with crimes and
 criminals all over the country caused
 him to be detailed on many detective
 cases by Chiefs Pickard, Norton and
 Mcdonald. In 1900 the position of city detective was created in this city and
 Bodeker and Detective Disheroon were appointed to the new offices The remarkable memory and keen perception of the man was strongly il- lustrated recently. He was showing one of his devices, the only thing of
 it's kind in the south, and there are but few of them in the entire country. It WdS d llit Ol d IldSdAlile called l 1t
 Detective" and dated from years long
 before Bodeker was on the police force up until the current issue. It was neatly bound in great volumes and Chief Bodeker is reasonably proud of it. The most remarkable feature of the whole thing is, however. that Bodeker knows every face that is pictured in those volumes, from the old and musty ones until those of the present year He not only can look at the photo graphs and tell the name of the man or woman, but he can describe what crime they are connected with, where when, how and all about it. The chief greatly enjoys running through those old volumes. His eyes sparkle and the big scar on his cheek, placed there by a fighting criminal, turns redder as he lays his big hand over the page and with only one first glimpse at the pie ture on the page, tells all about the
 mans crime and whether or not he has ever been captured. Bodeker is the born detective, his mind and body are saturated with his work.
 Bodeker's record as detective here is familiar to almost all of the older cit iZens of the city. In 1905 he was re- appointed, with Sam Hamilton, to the city detective department, and in 190I elected chief of the Birmingham police department.
 The plowboy's dreams were realized. The young fellow who had worked havoc to the negro and the trunks
 away back in Georgy' is chief of polio, of one of the south's greatest cities. June 20, 1888, Mir. Bodeker was mar ried to Miss Mary K. Allen, a Bir. | mingham girl. They have a beautiful | home in Norwood now and seven young | detectives tsome of them are girls, bu they will be Mrs. Detectives,,) gather about Chief Bodeker's supper ta blt every evening.
 That's the story. A country boy witt dreams, ambition to fulfill them, en- ergy to work and now chief of police o the Magic City of Alabama.