Thiede Went from Garbageman to Police Chief
Published on December 20, 2012 – Conley Publishing Group
Village of Grafton’s former Chief of Police Howard Thiede started his law enforcement career in a rather unusual way: on the back of a garbage truck.
“I was making my collection rounds and the chief of police, at the time, stopped by and said he heard I was a Marine. He asked if I’d be
interested working in law enforcement,” he said.
Thiede, who at the time was in his early 20s, had just come back from serving in Korea. He jumped at the opportunity to become a patrol officer,
and after several years, worked his way up the ranks where he eventually became chief of police. He served as chief for nearly 30 years (beginning
March 1, 1972) until he retired in 2001, serving 43 years on the force.