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Espantoon Reference Private

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Read Time: 43 mins

Published: 28 December 2022

Espantoon

Espantoon Info/History

Webster's Third Edition: "An Espantoon In Baltimore, a policeman's stick" We would like to start out by saying we collect Nightsticks, Espantoons, Batons, Truncheons, Billy Clubs Etc. - If you have one for sale, or donation let us know as we are interested. For what might be obvious reasons we particularly like Baltimore style sticks, aside from their being the sticks carried by our brothers they also show a progression not just in what we carried, or had made, but what the department had made for us. While we like Baltimore sticks, we collect them all, from any state in the US to any country in the world. We hope to start a Baltimore Police Museum and would like to have as many we can to show what police have used for years to protect themselves and the public. Initially, it could be a rolling museum, and they will be used to show the differences over the years, as well to show how they wear, due to their having been carried everywhere with an officer over his or her career. As for the Museum, Commissioner Batts has promised us the old Headquarters Museum again, so as soon as possible we will be trying to get back into that museum, and able to show off our history to the public.

Wallpaper

Woodworkers that Turned Baltimore Espantoons
1939 / 2007

1939 / 1957 – Rev W. Gibbs McKenney - Made BPD Issue - Sold to Howard Uniform - 10,000 hickory 2,000 redwood over 20 yrs

1957 / 1977 – Rev. John D. Longenecker - Made BPD Issue - Sold to Howard Uniform - 10,000 hickory 2,000 redwood over 20 yrs

1955 / 1979 – Carl Hagen - Made BPD Issue & his own Stick - Sold to Howard Uniform and Officers - 2.000 various wood types over 24 yrs

1974 / 1977 – Edward Bremer - Made his own Stick – Sold to Officers - 300 various wood types over 3 yrs

1977 / 2007 – P/O Joe Hlafka - Made his own Stick - Sold to Officers and Police Supply Shops - 10,000 various wood types over 37 yrs

What makes a Baltimore Officer's Nightstick an Espantoon.
After years of using one, seeing them used and years of studying them, through
Photos, and conversation, I would say, it is the way we hold them. Knowing the nomenclature of the stick helps, so we'll include that information below
burrell Barrell

The Blue portion of the Espantoon is mistaken most often as the handle of the stick, This is actually
the striking end, it is called a Barrel Head, this too most likely comes as the result of an error
As in most Blunt force weapons, the striking end is called Burl Head. In the Tomahawk

1920's Baltimore Police Issue

21317920 10211220883901382 1881911624495296007 n

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker

Stick 1

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker
This has one edge shaved flat so it would stay in place without popping out every time we turn a sharp corner or hit a pothole.
The flat spot helps keep it in place when it's forced between the dashboard padding and the transmission hump.

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker
There was a time in the mid 50's that officers would shave the Barrel Head of their Espantoon
Taking it from convex to flat/straight then add or re-cut grooves in the new Barrelhead

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Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker
This is another case of someone attempting to straighten the convex, "Barrelhead"

Issued Stick 1987

Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker

Jim Brock
Perfection Collection
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker Model
Circa 2015

Non-Issue Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker

Stick 2

Non-Issued Stick 1937 - 1977
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Rev. John D. Longenecker
This belonged to a family friend named Dorothy Wilham aka Aunt Dotty
Aunt Dotty was an older lady, she worked Security at Sparrows Point
When she gave it to my mother i was about 12 years old
and she told us it was a former City Police officer friend of hers

Carl Hagen turned sold through Howard Uniform
circa 1965

Carl Hagen

Carl Hagen

This is an early Carl Hagen Stick, it came while he was still turning them to the size of an issue stick, and isn't too far off of the standard issue stick, he just added a few things to make it stand out from the issue stick, and turned it from an oak.

1img169

P/O Wheatley holding a Carl Hagen Stick, notice how Carl rounded the top of his stick,

Carl Hagen
1955 - 1979
This is one of Carls first unique designs, it was done solely by him and became a popular design from his sticks. In the next pic, we'll see Officer Ray Wheatley holding a Carl Hagen Espantoon, it is more of an issue cut, but with a modern (at the time) cut, the cut that ended up being refined into the sticks we saw turned by Ed Bremer and Joe Hlafka.

Jim Brock
Perfection Collection
Carl Hagen Model
Circa 2015

Jim Brock
Perfection Collection Thin Blue Line Stick
Carl Hagen Model
Circa 2015

Prior to Issued Sticks 1954 - 1960
Rev. W. Gibbs McKenney & Carl Hagen
At some point when McKenney had retired from turning sticks, he had donated his lathe and tools to a boy's school out west, and before meeting Reverend Longenecker, McKenney he had met Carl Hagen and showed him how to turn sticks, for whatever reason, Carl turned some sticks for Howard Uniform, he just didn't get the 500+ stick a year contracts from Howard Uniform that the Reverends McKenney & Longenecker received.

Carl Hagen
1955 - 1979

Jim Brock
Perfection Collection Lignum vitae #001 Stick
Lignum vitae is on top 10 lists of hardest woods
depending on the list it is either 2nd or 4th
One might be how dense the wood is, while the other might be
how dense the guy/gal is that is trying to spelling Lignum Vitae
Joe Hlafka Model
Circa 2015

Ed Bremer
1974 - 1977

Jim Brock
Edward Bremer Model
Circa 2015

1977 - 2007
P/O Joe Hlafka

Joe Hlafka

1987 - I bought this from Joe Hlafka direct apparently someone ordered it, paid half down and before it was done they found their stick and told Joe, they didn't need it anymore, could he sell it to someone for the remainder of the balance, I was the lucky guy that talked to Joe about a stick, and he gave me the stick for $12.00. I have replaced the thong twice, had it I say stolen once, the guy that took it, called it found. How you can find an espantoon in the trunk of a patrol car and not think it must belong to someone. Not to mention DRISCOLL is written around the stick in blue sharpie by the Ring Stop - Anyway, it is a 30 plus-year-old stick.

I turned this myself

1990 - I put the extra groove on the shaft because after carrying it for a day or two I realized the stick felt good, weight was nice, but the shaft was too think to hold on while swinging it, So I taped the thong to the Barrelhead with Duct tape, and put the stick back on the lathe. After shaving the shaft to a comfortable grip, I was done, pulled the tape and it was a spinner, or umm, I mean a winner,

72 irish DSC5119

Irish Shillelagh

This is to point out the striking part of this weapon, that blunt looking rock, or fist shaped portion at the end of this weapon and any blunt force weapon is called the "Burl Head". On the Espantoon the blunt striking end resembles and is often mistaken for the weapon's handle is called the "Barrel Head." Most likely stemming from a misunderstanding caused by Baltimore's southern drawl or bad "accent," causing a listener to misunderstand what a speaker may have said, Burl Head to thinking the speaker said, "Barrel Head." In 1987 when an old timer told me, he even pointed to the shape and, said, this is because this looks like a wine or whiskey barrel. Truth be told, it wasn't a barrel at all, it's a burl.

Truncheon

The Truncheon was not an American Nightstick, Daystick or Baton, and while one might think they would work perfect as a daytime stick. Most officers found simply cutting off an old espantoon worked best because of the way we were trained to use and Espantoon. A cut off version fit our training better than these other impact weapons.

72 DSC5234

A Daystick

During day work officers were not allowed to carry a nightstick, so they carried a shorter version that could be kept out of public view, Some officers were known to take an older nightstick, cut it down to about half it's normal length on the shaft and cary those during day shifts. During winter months these slipped into the officer coat pocket, summer months they slipped into the back pocket. Officers also carried, Blackjacks, and later Slapjacks.

Carl Hagen 1957 77s

Barrel Head

This is the Barrel or Burl Head of one of Carl Hagen's early sticks - This Rounded off top end was exclusive to Carl Hagen, and was found more on the West side of Baltimore than the East. The Eastside Espantoons saw more of a two or three tiered layers each with a hard edge that sat atop the espantoon like a crown on top the barrel head end of the stick. If we look at Carl's earlier stuff, he had a two or three-tiered top edge also, but it wasn't a hard edge. Carl had a super soft, smooth transition going tier to tier on the barrel head.

Ed Bremer 1974 77s

Barrel Head

This is the Barrel Head from one of Ed Bremer's early sticks, he put what he called a "Nib" on the top of all his Barrel head. Mr. Bremer felt he saved lives, both of Officers and Suspects because as he once said, "Nightsticks Save Lives, Preventing Officers from a need to escalate from hand-to-hand combat to the use of a firearm." The faster we can get a suspect into cuffs the safer it is for both the officer and the suspect. This stick is turned from Lignum vitae, a wood that was banned by the department as it was too heavy, hard and they felt could cause serious injury or death.

Some Reference Articles for Our Private Use

http://www.baltimorepolicemuseum.org/Espantoon/The_Baltimore_Sun_Sun__Nov_20__1960__1a.jpg
http://www.baltimorepolicemuseum.org/Espantoon/The_Baltimore_Sun_Sun__Nov_20__1960__2a.jpg
http://www.baltimorepolicemuseum.org/Espantoon/The_Baltimore_Sun_Sun__Nov_20__1960__3a.jpg
http://www.baltimorepolicemuseum.org/Espantoon/The_Baltimore_Sun_Sun__Nov_20__1960__4a.jpg

**** Theories are as plentiful in the word Espantoon as they are in just about anything police related, and there are a lot of theories!

Therefore we won't present anything in this section as fact, just something to think about.

Ideas, suggestions and theories that have come about from newspaper articles, and conversations with guys that have used them, collected, and studied them for years. Some of this will be covered throughout this page, but we will try to mention it and other ideas about the name(s) for Baltimore's baton in this section.

For many years there have been suggestions that Espantoon was a spelling error for Espontoon - A "Spontoon," also known by the variant in the spelling of "Espontoon" is a half-pike, a type of European polearm that came into being alongside the pike. The spontoon was in wide use by the mid 17th century, and it continued to be used until the mid to late 19th century. Others say Espantoon could have derived from the Spanish verb "espan·tar" which, is said to mean, "Frighten, Terrify, or to chase one off?" This theory has often been used, in fact, many Spanish-speaking researchers have suggested that it could be intentional; due to ESPANTO's meaning. So putting the two together we would have Espanto and spontoon which equals Espantoon a pike weapon made to scare. or chase off a potential threat. We will find elsewhere on this page how the Espantoon can end a threat just as the racking of a shotgun or growl of a K9. I am sure anyone that has ever drawn an Espantoon or Baton from a nightstick ring will tell you, the act of taking out the weapon will often stop a threat, or potential threat before ever having to be used.

Mispronunciations, in looking at the parts of the Espantoon. Starting with the striking end; for years everyone that knew the parts called this the "Barrel-Head." Old timers not only said it was the Barrel-Head but pointed out how it is convex and looks like a Barrel as a reason for it's receiving it's name. We are including a photo below of our "Nomenclature stick," in the photo the Barrel-Head is painted "Blue." This looks like and is often mistaken for the handle of our baton, however, for us [ Baltimore Police ] it is the "Striking" or "Jabbing" end. We hold it by the shaft, [ The section painted "Black" and labeled "Grip" ] which in other agencies, would be the striking end. If we were using the baton to jab, we would put our strong-hand on the lower end of the shaft, and our weak-hand just under the "Ring-Stop." With this, we could easily thrust the Barrel-Head forward [generally into the stomach] in a jabbing motion, hopefully ending their attack, or threat quickly and with little to no injury to ourselves of the adversary." ]

Oddly enough in other such blunt-end weapons, such as the "Irish Shillelagh" or the "African Knobkierrie" both having either a naturally formed or man-made blunt striking end. The defense-end on these weapons is called the "Burl head." Which raises the question; could it be that someone years ago, heard, or perhaps even said, "Burl-Head" but was misunderstood and believed to have said, "Barrel head?" After all, Baltimore has a mix of Southern and Northern accents that can often be misunderstood.

This mispronunciation brings us to another theory, in that perhaps Espantoon, isn't a misspelling of Espontoon, but a mispronunciation or misunderstanding of, "A spontoon." Said fast enough, and with a Baltimore accent that turned, Burl-Head into Barrel head; could give us Espantoon out of, "A spontoon."

Again, this is just theory, something to think about. Because after more than 200 years no matter how, or why it became an Espantoon, with a Barrel head; it is now and will remain an Espantoon, with a Barrel head.

If you look at most photographs, you'll notice officers carrying their espantoon with the barrel head out. This practice has been the way Baltimore police officers have carried their sticks going back to the late 1700's and the early 1800s. It is what makes a nightstick in Baltimore an espantoon. The espantoon, known as a nightstick in other jurisdictions, is a traditional symbol of authority for Baltimore police officers. Its unique design with the barrel (or burl) head carried outward, is for self-defense and crowd control. Its uniqueness is believed to have originated here in the late 18^th century and has been consistently followed by our police ever since. With the barrel head facing outward, it allows for quick and effective strikes, and or jabs while maintaining a non-threatening appearance. This longstanding practice showcases the rich history and traditions of the Baltimore police force. The distinctive carrying style has become an iconic feature of Baltimore's law enforcement history and also serves as a visual representation of their role in maintaining law and order while reflecting the city's deep-rooted connection to its policing heritage.

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