1956

At the city council meeting that May, as they discussed whether the town needed its own police department, Merle Wheeler brought up a good point. He said, “I don’t think it’s good for a town not to have some kind of law and order. It looks like we don’t care.”

“I agree,” added Glenn Warren. “And we don’t want to have to call in the Joplin Police every time we have a little problem. Besides, we have to think about the future. I heard this new rock and roll music is a Communist plot to lower the morals of our young people. Have you seen that Elvis Presley guy? Who knows what they will start doing next? We need to be ready.” It was put to a vote and passed.

At the same meeting, Mayor Ted Nordstrom brought up another excellent point. “Listen, while we’re at this, don’t you all think it’s time for us to have an election? I’ve been doing this for a long time, and somebody else might want a chance to run for mayor.”

Herbert Jenkins quickly spoke up. “It would just be a waste of time and money, Ted. Nobody is going to run against you…and for God’s sake, don’t give my wife any ideas about running for mayor. She’s never home as it is.”

Later, when newspaper owner and editor Cooter Calvert covered the meeting, he reported the yes vote to create a local police department. But he did not include anything about a possible mayoral election. He knew it was withholding information from the public, but Ida Jenkins was already driving everyone in town crazy with all of her hare-brained projects. If she ever became mayor, there’d be no telling what the woman might do.