Ann Arbor’s Annie Oakley: Our City’s First Policewoman
Anna N. Schweizer was born August 25, 1902 in Springville, New York. She graduated from Springville High School and then attended Hurst Private School, a business college in Buffalo. On New Year’s Day of 1924, she married Milton H. Vanderpool. By the mid-1930s, her marriage was falling apart and she moved to Ann Arbor. Why she relocated to Michigan is unknown, but she found employment at the McDonald Ice Cream Company. In September 1940 her divorce from Milton was finalized and, two months later, she was hired by the Ann Arbor Police Department. She probably had no idea that the AAPD was where she would create a career for herself.
In November 1940, Chief Norman E. Cook announced the appointment of Miss Ann Vanderpool to the Ann Arbor Police Department. Her official start day was November 25, 1940, the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. She assumed a full-time role as stenographer in the traffic and records bureau, and officially became the first female employee in the history of the AAPD.
Ann Vanderpool’s 1940 starting salary as an AAPD stenographer was $960 a year. Ann Arbor’s City Council voted for police department salary increases in May of 1941, and she received an $84 raise, bumping her up to $1,044 a year. By comparison, first year police officer salaries were raised to $1,560 a year.
In February 1942, members of the Ann Arbor Police Department gathered in City Hall for their annual chicken dinner banquet. Awards were given to officers for excellence in pistol marksmanship and, for the first time in the department’s history, a woman won an award. It was Ann Vanderpool, of course, who was awarded a medal in the marksman class. When honors were announced in the Ann Arbor News, she was referred to as “record clerk and police woman”. Although she did not serve as a police officer, she received much of the same training as incoming recruits. She had never fired a gun when she joined the force in 1940, but was proving herself to be more than capable. Everything changed that spring when Ann received a promotion. Male police officers were being called away to serve in World War II, making it the perfect opportunity to elevate a competent, female employee. City of Ann Arbor records show that Ann Vanderpool was officially sworn in as a police officer on April 27, 1942. The following day, the Ann Arbor News ran the article “Miss Vanderpool Will Head Traffic Bureau”. She had officially become Ann Arbor’s first policewoman.
June 1942 brought another major change into Ann’s life when she married Grover Tapp. Grover, who was also a native of the greater Buffalo area and divorced from his first spouse, worked as a steward for Ann Arbor’s Moose Lodge. They honeymooned in their home state of New York and moved into an apartment on Huron Street. In 2002, Sergeant Michael Logghe wrote “True Crimes and the History of the Ann Arbor Police Department”. He noted, “I have found many conflicting accounts of who was the first female police officer in the department…there is no doubt that either Ann Tapp or Ann Vanderpool was the first female police officer.” We now know that Ann Tapp and Ann Vanderpool were actually the same person.
In January 1943, the annual police banquet was held at the Allenel hotel. The following day’s Ann Arbor News ran the headline “Mrs. Tapp, Police Woman, Shows The Men How To Wield Revolver”. Her 73.83 per cent average for 1942 target practice took honors in the sharpshooter’s division, and she was presented with an award at the banquet.
February 1944 brought another turn in Ann’s life when her husband died. Grover Tapp was buried in Springville, New York’s Maplewood Cemetery near Ann’s parents, Frederick & Anna Schweizer. Despite this setback, she continued to excel in her role in the Ann Arbor Police Department, especially when it came to firing weapons. Her colleagues called her Annie Oakley, after the famous female sharpshooter. "Woman Officer Sets Pace For Pistol Shooters" ran in the Ann Arbor News in January 1945. By the end of 1946, Ann was earning $2,532 a year for her role as head of the traffic & records bureau. In January 1947 "Mrs. Tapp Shows Male Officers How To Shoot" was published in the Ann Arbor News. Describing how she was outscored only by the chief of police, the article lauded her target practice average of 76.15 and how she was awarded for expert classification. "Mrs. Ann Tapp, who would frown at being called a "Pistol-Packin' Mama, continues to show the way to most of Ann Arbor's pistol-packing policemen when it comes to firing a gun."
In the early 1950s, Ann moved to an apartment on Lawrence Street, on the corner of Division Street, which put her within walking distance of the police station. In 1957 Ann's brother-in-law, Clyde Harmon, died. After his death, Lura Schweizer Harmon, Ann's sister, moved in with Ann. The two sisters lived together on Lawrence Street until Lura's death in 1965.
Ann Tapp, Ann Arbor Police Department Group Photo, May 1953
On August 25, 1967 Ann celebrated her 65th birthday. One week later, after 27 years with the Ann Arbor Police Department, she retired. Police Chief Walter E. Krasny, who announced her departure, said Ann Tapp was "most loyal, greatly devoted to her work...a person who lived her job and took it home with her...". She had worked for five police chiefs: Norman E. Cook, Sherman Mortenson, Casper M. Enkemann, Rolland J. Gainsley, and Krasny. In her later years with the department, she had served as executive secretary to the chief.
Despite her longevity with the AAPD, her dedication, and her closet full of marksmanship trophies, Ann Tapp never served on equal footing with the men in the department. In 1971 that glass ceiling was finally broken when Tanya L. Padgett, Martha E. Parks, and Tommie A. Stewart became the first patrolwomen in the history of the Ann Arbor Police. Some local historians point to this group as Ann Arbor's first true policewomen, finally serving with the same rights and responsibilities of their male counterparts. Whatever your opinion is on the question of "first", it's clear that Ann Tapp should be recognized and celebrated along with Tanya, Martha, and Tommie. All of these women were trailblazers in a predominately male line of work.
In 1979, Ann moved to Florida to live with Dorothy Mae Schweizer. Dorothy was the widow of Richard Lord Schweizer, Ann's nephew. Ann remained in Florida for the rest of her life and died near Orlando on September 27, 1991. She was 89 years old. Her brief obituary in The Orlando Sentinel noted "She was a retired police officer". Ann Arbor's first policewoman, Ann Tapp, returned to New York and now rests in Springville’s Maplewood Cemetery, next to her husband Grover. We are thankful for her service.
Ann Arbor policewoman dies at 89
- Read more about Ann Arbor policewoman dies at 89
- Log in or register to post comments
Police Average 73 In Monthly Shoots
- Read more about Police Average 73 In Monthly Shoots
- Log in or register to post comments
Mrs. Tapp Shows Male Officers How To Shoot
- Read more about Mrs. Tapp Shows Male Officers How To Shoot
- Log in or register to post comments
Woman Officer Sets Pace For Pistol Shooters
- Read more about Woman Officer Sets Pace For Pistol Shooters
- Log in or register to post comments
Mrs. Tapp, Police Woman, Shows The Men How To Wield Revolver
Miss Vanderpool Will Head Traffic Bureau
- Read more about Miss Vanderpool Will Head Traffic Bureau
- Log in or register to post comments
Women Run The Ann Arbor Police Department Traffic & Records Bureau, January 1943 Photographer: Eck Stanger
Year:
1943
Ann Arbor News, January 20, 1943
Caption:
ONLY LICENSE BUREAU STAFFED BY WOMEN IN STATE: Operator's licenses are issued to residents of Ann Arbor by the three women shown above, who comprise the only license bureau in Michigan completely manned by women. From left to right are Mrs. Ann Tapp, bureau head and policewoman, and Miss Lorraine Hicks and Miss Julia Hughes. Since May 1, 1942, when they took over the bureau from men police officers, they have issued about 2,500 licenses and collected about $6,000 in fees and traffic fines. Police Chief Sherman H. Mortenson says that the bureau was made feminine in anticipation of the shortage of manpower. The three women also keep track of all arrests and other records for the police department. Mrs. Tapp joined the department in 1940. Miss Hicks and Miss Hughes were hired early last year.
Women Run The Ann Arbor Police Department Traffic & Records Bureau, January 1943 Photographer: Eck Stanger
Year:
1943
Female Law Enforcement Officers Learn To Fire Sub-Machine Guns In FBI School, May 1947 Photographer: Maiteland Robert La Motte
Year:
1947
Ann Arbor News, May 22, 1947
Caption:
LADY TOMMY-GUNNERS TAKE AIM: A trio of feminine law enforcement officers prepares to blast the bulls-eye to bits with Thompson sub-machine guns in firing instructions given as the final feature of the FBI school for local police and sheriff's officers. Left to right are: Mrs. Jewel Reynolds, policewoman; Mrs. Ethel Slittler, sheriff's officer deputy; and Mrs. Ann Tapp, also a policewoman. Coaching the gunners is Special Agent George L. Blue, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.