50 years ago: Lincoln PD on target in competition

50 years ago Population 3,179 (U.S. Census 1960 and 1970) LPD: The Lincoln Police Department officer loads his weapon and holsters it. He stands ready and calm waiting for instruction. "Is the line ready? The line is ready. Ready on the right, ready on the left, all ready on the firing line." With the sound of the starting buzzer, he braces himself against the post at the 50-yard line and shoots six rounds, strong arm braced, six rounds weak arm braced, six rounds sitting, and six rounds prone. In all, he empties the 24 lead slugs into the cardboard target at the end of the range within the two-minute and 45-second time limit. At the conclusion of the rounds, the officer holsters an empty weapon and advances forward to inspect the target that has withstood 12 rounds standing from the 7-yard line and 12 rounds from the 25-yard line as well as the 50-yard line. After the competition is over and the scoring is completed, the Lincoln Police Department officer has placed as the highest shooter in his category. That's not too surprising, though. In the past several years, the five members of the Lincoln Police Department's pistol team has managed to place in the top or right near the top in its class as both individuals and two-man teams in competition held throughout the state with other law enforcement agencies such as sheriff's departments, the California Highway Patrol, local departments and others. "Target shooting is like a hammer to a carpenter," explains Lincoln police sergeant Robert Barroso. "The weapon is a tool of the police officer's trade." Barroso notes there are numerous advantages for the local department to have a pistol team. It is considered a morale booster for the department, it gives the City of Lincoln recognition as its police department continues to make impressive showings across the state, it allows the officers to meet other enforcement personnel from other agencies and areas of the state, and it gives the officers the vehicle in which to keep familiar with their small arms. Barroso notes the local officers have a very apt instructor in the form of California Highway Patrol Officer Bob Landreth, who is rated number two in marksmanship in the state of California. "We haven't had a solid team until last year," adds Barroso. "It's just beautiful." Two two-man teams made up from officers Barroso, Danny Hayward, Doyle Sykes, Rick Bartucco and Rocky Clark make up this year's competing squad. The officers practice two or three times a week on the Placer Foothills Shooters range located just east of Lincoln at the abandoned Titan missile base. "The team has managed to generate good enthusiasm in the department," notes Barroso. "It's a good feeling when you travel to other matches and people come up to you and say, 'You're the team from Lincoln, aren't you? We've been hearing a lot about you.' " The team received a boost, according to Barroso, when the council purchased a loader for the officers to make lead slugs from. The loader comes in handy as the team competes in many of the 22 sanctioned pistol competitions and numerous practice competitions held yearly throughout the state. Altogether, there are six total pistol classes. They include the open class, marksman, sharpshooter, expert, grandmaster and distinguished grandmaster. Out of the final category come the law enforcement officers who have the 10 highest scores in the state and earn a position on the elite Governor's Top Ten list. More Lincoln history: Continuing our story about the Lincoln Opera House. The ground floor housed commercial enterprises; the second floor was a community hall. Dances, concerts, plays, vaudeville shows, school graduations and meetings kept the hall busy. The first commercial business on the first floor was the Landis family's True Blue Store. It was a general store featuring groceries, dry goods, clothing, furniture, farm machinery, etc. Hollywood came to Lincoln in 1908. Silent films illuminated the new screen in the Lincoln Opera House at that time. The News Messenger editorialized that novelty of moving pictures would prove attractive for a while but would soon die out. A second movie theater opened in town in 1913 at 625 5th Street, the Photo Theatre. (Currently a martial arts studio.) Ben Logan owned both movie franchises by 1916. It appears that when he sold out that year, the name Lincoln Opera House became more or less official. Before then the True Blue Hall was the official name. The True Blue Store downstairs was gone by this time. A grand opera performance actually took place in November of 1917. Italian artisans from the pottery, who often went to San Francisco to attend the opera, sponsored this appearance in Lincoln, formal dress, reserved seats, etc. Almost nobody came; it was an embarrassing failure. Lincoln appeared to be more of a horse opera town. Fire destroyed the Lincon Opera House, aka the True Blue Hall, on Sunday, Feb. 13, 1919. The blaze started in the Zellner Garage, which occupied the ground floor at the time. Flames spread quickly upstairs and to three small buildings adjoining the garage. Many cars parked in the garage were lost. Across G Street, the Lincoln Hotel caught fire several times, but the blazes were extinguished. All of the hotel windows on the G Street side of the hotel shattered from the intense heat. The role of Lincoln's opera house was soon filled by two new buildings. In 1920, the Aerodome Theatre was built on the lot at 570 5th Street, owned by the Native Sons. Now this building houses offices; before that, it was Bank of America. Source: "Fortuitous Findings in the Lincoln Area Archives" by Jerry Logan. This book and others written by Mr. Logan, a Lincon Area Archives Museum co-founder, may be purchased at a nominal price from the museum in Beermann Plaza, 640 5th Street. Also available are postcards featuring old Lincoln and other items. Hours are Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Come in for a fun look at Lincon's history. The museum is looking for volunteers of all ages, no experience necessary. Thank you for reading! MBO