Philip Breyer Chief of Police 1950

From the Bi-State Weekly April 28, 1950

PHILIP S. BREYER NAMED TOWN COP

Philip S. Breyer, age 31, has been named by the Mayor and Council of Delmar, Delaware, to the position of Town Cop. Mr. Breyer succeeds George E. Hearn, who resigned this week due to failing health.

Mr. Breyer is a veteran of World War II having served 6 years in the U. S. Army. One year of this time was spent as a member of the Military Police.

He is married to the former Miss Thelma Carmine, whose home is near Delmar on the Maryland side. They have three children.

He was born at Greenlane, Pa.

Mr. Breyer's only statement was "I'm glad to receive this appointment and will do my utmost to preserve law and order in Delmar."

Cop Hearn, who is nearing his 75th birthday, has been the local police man for the past 30 years. He will still hold the position of Constable for Sussex County.

Philip Breyer served as Chief of Police in Delmar, Delaware from 1950 to 1952.  The article had a few mistakes in it; his name was Philip Frederick Breyer (1919-1974), he was born in 1919 to Alvin and Mary Erb Breyer in Sumneytown, Pennsylvania.  He was born into a large family.  His father died when Philip was fifteen.  At the beginning of World War Two he went into the military and part of that time he served in the Military Police.  Sometime after being discharged he found Thelma Carmean (1925-2017) and after their marriage was the reason he stayed in the area instead of returning to Pennsylvania.    Thelma also came from a large family and had a difficult upbringing in the Eden, Maryland area.  Her parents were Homer Sidney Carmean and Betty Virginia Townsend Carmean. 

Bryer was hired when certification for police work wasn’t required, just nerve.  He worked with the Delmar Maryland Chief of Police; John Livingston, the railroad police and Delaware and Maryland State troopers.   Chief Breyer had the title of Chief of Police but in truth he was the only police officer on the Delaware side of town.  When he first started work the town did not have a police car.  The town policeman just walked around town and stayed to the corporate limits of town.  Not having a car meant speeders could do as they wanted, so in 1951 the town purchased their first police car.  On Saturday October 27th 1951 Delmar put it's first police car into action. It was a new black Ford (Does new mean 1952 or 1951) with "Delmar Police" on each door panel and the word "Police", all in gold lettering, on the trunk lid. The car was equipped with a siren on the top and a "stop" light on the right fender.

above from The Bi-State Weekly 

Shown left to right in the clipping photo are; Councilman Howard King, Automobile Salesman Leslie Evans, Mayor A. E. Hantwerker, Officer Philip Breyer, Councilman Gene Hammond, and Councilman Alton Truitt.

After two years of law enforcement in a small town Chief Breyer gave it up and resigned.  His family moved to Pennsylvania and he took other jobs beside police work. 

The Breyer men had short life spans, Philip’s father died when he was 45, Philip would die when he was 55.  Philip and Thelma Breyer also had a large family

Thelma however had good genes and she would live to be ninety-one.