Saturday’s 25th Annual Ripon Police and Menlo Park Police Emergency Vehicle Show was dedicated to the late Ripon Chief Red Nutt.

Hundreds of first responder vehicles were parked on the Ripon Community Center lawn in a traditional public display drawing police, fire and ambulance vehicles from all over the north state.

Of special note was a 1931 Lincoln Series K Phaeton Town Car that was driven by the chief of police in San Francisco during the Depression that cost $4,400 new.  The San Francisco Department also purchased seven Model A Ford patrol cars at the same time at a cost of $435 each. 

Chief Nutt’s family members rode in the Lincoln at the head of the parade of present and former emergency vehicles. The noon procession featured red lights and sirens blaring as participants made their way through the community.

Nutt’s wife Bonnie and her daughters Debbie and Diana and son John along with other family members  stepped proudly into the vehicle.

Ripon’s volunteers in police service, VIPS, had set up a food booth to take care of all the participants with barbecued hots dogs and provided drinks as well.  When the air ambulance REACH out of Stockton Airport approached the park, the Ripon Police Explorers stood around the perimeter of the “landing zone” to provide a save area for the helicopter to set down.

In addition to providing an opportunity for members of the public to inspect the air ambulance and meet with officers from the Central Valley, Sacramento Valley and the Bay Area, there was also the opportunity to talk to law enforcement officials about making a job application tojust about all of the departments.

Longtime fleet manager for the San Francisco Police Department was quoted as saying in past years that the police departments rarely kept old equipment for its historic value in comparison to fire departments. They typically junked them in lieu of newer vehicles.

The 1931 Lincoln has become a pride of the department’s past when the chief was a major player in the city’s administration — his car exemplified that.