New Britain herald., 1930-02-01
Retirement Claims
 Veteran Policeman.

OIdDlt SSTN lCtE III lIlt lttiIh9 oL VI S pensioners he must go to the mat with sterner foe than he has yet encountered in a battle for health, and he will be chccred as he fights by the realization that he has the best wishes of the public in whose interests and for whose safety and welfare he has spent the best years Of his life.
 Gus Hellbcrg was something more than just a policeman. He was an institution. New Britain has had some fine men in her police depart ment, strong men with stout hearts and good minds, brave and willing, loyal and honest, and not the least Of. them was the wcarer of Badge No. l.
 He typificd the old school Of po- lice officer, the 5talWarts who made their way about q darkened cl'N, through alleyHays and over fences, in thick mud and deep snow, never knowing when they would be put to the test against uneven odds. He went through the various stages Of reorganization which have brought the department up 10 a manual ding Of the traffic problem and all or the modern facilities for the 15- lection and prevention of crime. ana the enforcement of statutes and or dinances, not to mention the han ding of the traffic problem ad all the other demands that progress has made on the important branch Of the city government, yet he neNCr lost the distinctivencss Of a pollc2- man who was on the job when ai- most every nights duty taxed the strength and the rcsourcefulness It the whole department.
 Gus IIellberg did police work 1lth the late John Rowe, Adam Selpe! Thomas Shelton, John Sloan, Fra 1N English, Captain Patricl; Lee. Can- tain Thomas W. Grace. Captain John O'Donnel, Clarence Lanphar, Joseph Tatem, Captain FlannerN, Chief Joseph R. Johnson and others whose graves are marked with the the department insignia. He and Michael J. Cosgrove, also a pcnsicH- CT, were appointed 10 the regular force at the same time, May l. 694. For several years as night doormrn at police headquarters he brought in hundreds of prisoners, some ol them helpless and submissive an1 others fighting and unruly, but Hc never met one who was more than his match although not a few of them tried him out before they were convinced
 Supcrnumerary Officer Thomas ". Riley drove the patrol on the night shift for several years with Oftlc1r Hellberg "in the back" and tha!r by-word was Drive on, Riley de- rived from the veterans checrY cal 10 the driver as a signal that thHlr prisoners were safely in custody an1 no time was to be lost getting back to hcaduuartors. Every police signal box in the circuit has had the "waGon" drive up to 1t with Riley in front and HellberG in back, ani in recent years with Supernumera'y Officer Michael Brophy at the WfeH'.
 Gus never sought the plaudits of the multitude and he cared not f he did not get them. From the Ve:y first night he donncd a uniform as a supernumerary in 1891 to the last night of his service he held 10 1he principle that a policeman should be
 f1S name, and anyone who sought to i'e otherwise had no place in his regard. Whether he was sent out to lnNeSl- gate a family squabble or to brl7G in a wagon load of intoxicated fig iE- CTS, he looked on the assignment as part of his duty, and he could 'I- ways be depended upon to do t!'c right thing, regardless whose to- presented themselves for stepplns on. He made friends who never passed by an opportunity of demoA- strating the feeling they held Tor him, and it pleased him 10 know or their regard, but as between duty and good fellowship he always WIS loyal 10 his service.
 Gus Hellbors will be missed al the police station. not alone by tue men with whom he worked, but by the unfortunate whose failings arI mistakes brought themselves into lis charge while they awaited ar raignmcnt in court. Many an ln@- briatc who might not have be:n ;,, 0F Sl0.1t more easily on the hard plank n his cell after lis parched throat WIS rnoistencd with the water Cr,'5 brought him time after tune as l'G long night wore on many a pa"h- age of cigarettes was slipped throurll the grated doors to the eager lips of a. "down-and- outer" When theV were in the mood for it, he liked to refer to their quarters as the pest room in the hotel" but none of them were ridiculed or unduly shamed at his instance.
 That the strength that was once his will return is too optimistic hope to nurture, for the strenuous work he chose to do has taken IS toll of his vitality, but the rest ani quiet attendant upon his retirement are counted on 10 improve his Se1- cral condition. In his family circle, where most Of his time will he spent, he cannot but be cheercd and made glad that he was able to step out of the uniform he wore with credit 10 himself and the depart ment, leaving behind a clean record and taking with him the memory that he was always what he bound himself by oath 10 be-a real pollc2- man.
 Traffic Delays Reported
 Costing s2,OOO, 100000 Annually
 4 Isl, tft t,rf nT11