Still My Story, And I'm Sticking to It!

     If Andy Griffith had not found Mayberry, NC for his TV show a few years later, he could have patterned it after Ridgeway and Constable Brindley.  Ernie was just what Ridgeway was looking for to slow down the traffic and put a few dollars in the town’s treasury.  Besides, with his Hudson and a minimum of uniform allowance it was a low overhead operation.  He seemed to be everywhere along that stretch of road pulling violators over whenever he “judged” them to be a few miles over the limit. Multiple arrests were the norm, followed by a caravan of cars for a short trip to the Justice of the Peace. Ernie would be back out within a few minutes to nail the next perpetrator.  Even when word got out to locals passing through who now held their breath as they dropped down to below 25 mph, Ernie never lacked for customers and made quite a reputation for him self and the town in the annals of southern Wisconsin law enforcement. Not always a good reputation.