http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/local/scn-gt-car2jul25,0,3928714.story?coll=green-news-local-headlines
By Martin B. Cassidy
Staff Writer
July 25, 2005
When he drives his 1964 Plymouth Savoy police cruiser around Greenwich, older residents introduce themselves and reminisce with Officer Mark Wilson about the town's earlier police cars, he said.
"They remember when the police cars in town were green," Wilson said.
The 26-year department veteran and town native bought the Savoy in New Philadelphia, Ohio, in 1987 and overhauled it to produce a historically faithful Greenwich police cruiser from that era. The car can be seen at the town's Memorial Day Parade or at Silver Shield Association functions.
"I wanted to do something different, which combined my profession and hobby together," the 49-year-old said.
On Aug. 1, Wilson will retire as a Greenwich police officer, but continue to do the same job as a civilian dispatcher as the town implements a system replacing uniformed police officers with civilians to handle emergency calls, he said. After working in the patrol division from 1978 to 1991, Wilson has worked as a dispatcher full time, he said.
Officer Stanley Ouimette, another dispatcher, said he is happy that Wilson will continue to dispatch, because Wilson is good at handling high-pressure situations.
"He's very good with the public on the phone and calming them down by offering assurances," Ouimette said.
Wilson has been a car buff since his teens, and speaks fluently about the history and evolution of 1960s Plymouth cars, which were favored by teenagers of that era for drag racing.
While a student at Greenwich High School, Wilson drove a souped-up 1964 Plymouth Fury, and occasionally took it to a racetrack in Englishtown, N.J.
"All the Plymouths looked the same then," Wilson said. "I've always just loved the body styling and look of Chrysler cars."
Today Wilson drives the car only to keep it in shape, and the car only has about 25,000 miles on the odometer, he said.
In restoring the car he found many spare parts lying around in storage, unearthing the cruiser's running lights in the Greenwich Police Department garage and the old fashioned air-driven siren from the Fleet Department.
A Glenville artist painted the gold leaf lettering and town seal on the doors of the car, Wilson said.
Wilson said on Interstate 95 lead-footed motorists hit the brakes when they spot the car, despite its old-fashioned look.
"The radar gun still works," Wilson said.
Wilson lives in Milford with his wife, Peggy, and has three children, two daughters, and a son.
In recent years Wilson has found another hobby that lets him share his passion for history. Wilson and several other officers take part in competitive World War II re-enactments as part of the Connecticut Combat Team. The events can draw thousands of spectators, and his group impersonates the 101st Airborne Division during skirmishes with other groups of German re-enactors.
During the staged battles, judges assess the authenticity of the equipment and appearance of the units.
"I'm really interested in that and making sure things are authentic," Wilson said. "I really enjoy history."
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