Drug loan, candy bar, and prison escape memories all tied to passing of sheriff:
Dothan The death of former Houston County Sheriff Lamar Hadden ends a life dedicated to old fashioned law enforcement investigation.
Hadden, by all accounts, did whatever it took to bring criminals to justice even if it meant spending his own money and leaving a good friend with nothing but a candy bar to munch on for a day and a half. His sixth sense of how to find illegal drugs and moonshine earned him the nickname "Bird Dog."
Hadden died Monday at the age of 89 after injuring his head during a recent fall. He served as sheriff from 1983-1995. Previously, he retired from the Alabama Alcohol Beverage Control Board. His law enforcement career began in the late 1950 when he was a sheriff’s deputy for the office he would, over two decades later, lead.
“He had a bigger impact on my life than anybody I’ve ever known,” Charles Blount said. He and Hadden were partners with the ABC Board before the latter became sheriff. Despite Hadden retiring more than 30 years ago, and Blount following in 1995, they remained close friends.
So did Hadden and current sheriff Donald Valenza---as did Hadden and Lt. Randy Anderson. Both were hired by Hadden in the 1980’s.
“Sheriff Hadden was so dedicated he would take his own money and make undercover drug buys,” said Anderson. “He wanted that bad to get the crooks off the street but then he would turn around and help them.”
Valenza remembers Hadden once borrowed $40,000 from a bank to make an undercover buy. “He told us (when we went to make arrests) to go after the drugs and he’d go after the money.” He recovered it, likely about a year’s salary for a sheriff, and repaid the loan.
One of Blount’s most vivid memories isn’t near as Miami Vice like but, instead, about a Coke and candy bar. The now 70-year old former agent recalls he and Hadden were working on an illegal liquor case together decades ago. As part of the investigation, Hadden assigned Blount to conduct surveillance from a pump house---for 38 hours.
“I had nothing to eat until Bird Dog drove by and threw a Snickers candy bar and a canned Coca-Cola out the window. “You can imagine what happened when I opened the Coke but the candy bar was sure good,” he chuckled.
Hadden, in a roundabout way, had a tie to the Clint Eastwood movie “Escape from Alcatraz.” It was the biographical story of three men who made what may have been the only successful escape from the prison on a San Francisco Bay island.
Two of the men, Clarence and John Anglin, were serving time for robbing a bank in the small Houston County town of Columbia. It was Hadden who, in 1958, investigated the robbery and wrote the offense report. He is said to have even tracked the men into southwest Georgia.
The Anglin brothers, together with inmate Frank Morris, used spoons to dig holes in the walls of their prison cells, climbed up a utility vent and with a raft made of raincoats escaped from the supposedly escape-proof prison 1962. They were never seen again.
Whether they survived the swim will long be debated though federal agents were, only a few years ago, in southeast Alabama looking for the Anglin brothers.
What isn’t debated is the contributions of Lamar Hadden to law enforcement and those who serve in the profession. Anderson terms Hadden a father figure. Above all, he cites integrity and honesty as the things he’ll remember most about his mentor.
Valenza agrees. “He was a great friend, taught me a lot, and was a dedicated law enforcement officer. “Bird Dog set the example,” he said.
According to Blount, the two often reminisced about old times. A few months ago the two former partners and their wives went to dinner. “He still would discuss how to catch moonshiners and drug pushers. He still had the fire. We would talk about old times but I can’t call him anymore and that’s sad.”
A short time after Hadden passed Monday his son, Lamar, Jr., walked out of the Southeast Alabama Medical Center holding a small bouquet of slightly wilted flowers. “He practiced tough love but I know he loved me,” he said. Perhaps the greatest tribute to his father was when Hadden identified himself as “Bird Dog, Jr.”
Funeral services will be Wednesday 11:00 a.m. at Southside Baptist Church. Visitation is scheduled Tuesday 5:00 p.m.-until at Ward-Wilson Funeral Home.
By: Ken Curtis, WTVY News
----------
James Lamar "Birddog" Hadden
James Lamar "Birddog" Hadden, 89, a lifelong resident of Houston County passed away Monday, June 22, 2015. Sheriff Hadden served his country faithfully in World War II. Upon his return to the states he served the people of Alabama for 23 years as an agent for the Alcohol Beverage Control Board. Upon his retirement from the ABC Board he was elected Sheriff of Houston County and held that office for twelve years before retiring. He served as Supernumerary Sheriff until his death. Many in the Wiregrass area knew him through his passion for stock car racing. He was preceded in death by his parents Hosey and Amertine Hadden. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 65 years, Willadean W. Hadden; three children, Kerry Key (Jimmy), Pamela Hebert (Randy), James Lamar Hadden, Jr.; six grandchildren, six great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. Pall bearers will be the Houston County Sheriff Department Honor Guard. Honorary pall bearers will be fellow law enforcement officers from the county and state, as well as his Sunday School Class, the Frank Newton Sunday School Class from Southside Baptist Church. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, June 23, 2015 from Ward-Wilson Funeral Home beginning at 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at Southside Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama with Reverend Stacy Stafford officiating beginning at 11:00 am. Burial will follow in Memory Hill Cemetery. Flowers will be accepted or memorial contributions may be made to the Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranch, 4450 Ligon Springs Rd, Russellville, AL 35654. Ward Wilson Memory Hill Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematory 334-792-4194, is in charge of arrangements.
Dothan Eagle
June 23, 2015
Dothan The death of former Houston County Sheriff Lamar Hadden ends a life dedicated to old fashioned law enforcement investigation.
Hadden, by all accounts, did whatever it took to bring criminals to justice even if it meant spending his own money and leaving a good friend with nothing but a candy bar to munch on for a day and a half. His sixth sense of how to find illegal drugs and moonshine earned him the nickname "Bird Dog."
Hadden died Monday at the age of 89 after injuring his head during a recent fall. He served as sheriff from 1983-1995. Previously, he retired from the Alabama Alcohol Beverage Control Board. His law enforcement career began in the late 1950 when he was a sheriff’s deputy for the office he would, over two decades later, lead.
“He had a bigger impact on my life than anybody I’ve ever known,” Charles Blount said. He and Hadden were partners with the ABC Board before the latter became sheriff. Despite Hadden retiring more than 30 years ago, and Blount following in 1995, they remained close friends.
So did Hadden and current sheriff Donald Valenza---as did Hadden and Lt. Randy Anderson. Both were hired by Hadden in the 1980’s.
“Sheriff Hadden was so dedicated he would take his own money and make undercover drug buys,” said Anderson. “He wanted that bad to get the crooks off the street but then he would turn around and help them.”
Valenza remembers Hadden once borrowed $40,000 from a bank to make an undercover buy. “He told us (when we went to make arrests) to go after the drugs and he’d go after the money.” He recovered it, likely about a year’s salary for a sheriff, and repaid the loan.
One of Blount’s most vivid memories isn’t near as Miami Vice like but, instead, about a Coke and candy bar. The now 70-year old former agent recalls he and Hadden were working on an illegal liquor case together decades ago. As part of the investigation, Hadden assigned Blount to conduct surveillance from a pump house---for 38 hours.
“I had nothing to eat until Bird Dog drove by and threw a Snickers candy bar and a canned Coca-Cola out the window. “You can imagine what happened when I opened the Coke but the candy bar was sure good,” he chuckled.
Hadden, in a roundabout way, had a tie to the Clint Eastwood movie “Escape from Alcatraz.” It was the biographical story of three men who made what may have been the only successful escape from the prison on a San Francisco Bay island.
Two of the men, Clarence and John Anglin, were serving time for robbing a bank in the small Houston County town of Columbia. It was Hadden who, in 1958, investigated the robbery and wrote the offense report. He is said to have even tracked the men into southwest Georgia.
The Anglin brothers, together with inmate Frank Morris, used spoons to dig holes in the walls of their prison cells, climbed up a utility vent and with a raft made of raincoats escaped from the supposedly escape-proof prison 1962. They were never seen again.
Whether they survived the swim will long be debated though federal agents were, only a few years ago, in southeast Alabama looking for the Anglin brothers.
What isn’t debated is the contributions of Lamar Hadden to law enforcement and those who serve in the profession. Anderson terms Hadden a father figure. Above all, he cites integrity and honesty as the things he’ll remember most about his mentor.
Valenza agrees. “He was a great friend, taught me a lot, and was a dedicated law enforcement officer. “Bird Dog set the example,” he said.
According to Blount, the two often reminisced about old times. A few months ago the two former partners and their wives went to dinner. “He still would discuss how to catch moonshiners and drug pushers. He still had the fire. We would talk about old times but I can’t call him anymore and that’s sad.”
A short time after Hadden passed Monday his son, Lamar, Jr., walked out of the Southeast Alabama Medical Center holding a small bouquet of slightly wilted flowers. “He practiced tough love but I know he loved me,” he said. Perhaps the greatest tribute to his father was when Hadden identified himself as “Bird Dog, Jr.”
Funeral services will be Wednesday 11:00 a.m. at Southside Baptist Church. Visitation is scheduled Tuesday 5:00 p.m.-until at Ward-Wilson Funeral Home.
By: Ken Curtis, WTVY News
----------
James Lamar "Birddog" Hadden
James Lamar "Birddog" Hadden, 89, a lifelong resident of Houston County passed away Monday, June 22, 2015. Sheriff Hadden served his country faithfully in World War II. Upon his return to the states he served the people of Alabama for 23 years as an agent for the Alcohol Beverage Control Board. Upon his retirement from the ABC Board he was elected Sheriff of Houston County and held that office for twelve years before retiring. He served as Supernumerary Sheriff until his death. Many in the Wiregrass area knew him through his passion for stock car racing. He was preceded in death by his parents Hosey and Amertine Hadden. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 65 years, Willadean W. Hadden; three children, Kerry Key (Jimmy), Pamela Hebert (Randy), James Lamar Hadden, Jr.; six grandchildren, six great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. Pall bearers will be the Houston County Sheriff Department Honor Guard. Honorary pall bearers will be fellow law enforcement officers from the county and state, as well as his Sunday School Class, the Frank Newton Sunday School Class from Southside Baptist Church. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, June 23, 2015 from Ward-Wilson Funeral Home beginning at 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at Southside Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama with Reverend Stacy Stafford officiating beginning at 11:00 am. Burial will follow in Memory Hill Cemetery. Flowers will be accepted or memorial contributions may be made to the Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranch, 4450 Ligon Springs Rd, Russellville, AL 35654. Ward Wilson Memory Hill Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematory 334-792-4194, is in charge of arrangements.
Dothan Eagle
June 23, 2015
Drug loan, candy bar, and prison escape memories all tied to passing of sheriff:
Dothan The death of former Houston County Sheriff Lamar Hadden ends a life dedicated to old fashioned law enforcement investigation.
Hadden, by all accounts, did whatever it took to bring criminals to justice even if it meant spending his own money and leaving a good friend with nothing but a candy bar to munch on for a day and a half. His sixth sense of how to find illegal drugs and moonshine earned him the nickname "Bird Dog."
Hadden died Monday at the age of 89 after injuring his head during a recent fall. He served as sheriff from 1983-1995. Previously, he retired from the Alabama Alcohol Beverage Control Board. His law enforcement career began in the late 1950 when he was a sheriff’s deputy for the office he would, over two decades later, lead.
“He had a bigger impact on my life than anybody I’ve ever known,” Charles Blount said. He and Hadden were partners with the ABC Board before the latter became sheriff. Despite Hadden retiring more than 30 years ago, and Blount following in 1995, they remained close friends.
So did Hadden and current sheriff Donald Valenza---as did Hadden and Lt. Randy Anderson. Both were hired by Hadden in the 1980’s.
“Sheriff Hadden was so dedicated he would take his own money and make undercover drug buys,” said Anderson. “He wanted that bad to get the crooks off the street but then he would turn around and help them.”
Valenza remembers Hadden once borrowed $40,000 from a bank to make an undercover buy. “He told us (when we went to make arrests) to go after the drugs and he’d go after the money.” He recovered it, likely about a year’s salary for a sheriff, and repaid the loan.
One of Blount’s most vivid memories isn’t near as Miami Vice like but, instead, about a Coke and candy bar. The now 70-year old former agent recalls he and Hadden were working on an illegal liquor case together decades ago. As part of the investigation, Hadden assigned Blount to conduct surveillance from a pump house---for 38 hours.
“I had nothing to eat until Bird Dog drove by and threw a Snickers candy bar and a canned Coca-Cola out the window. “You can imagine what happened when I opened the Coke but the candy bar was sure good,” he chuckled.
Hadden, in a roundabout way, had a tie to the Clint Eastwood movie “Escape from Alcatraz.” It was the biographical story of three men who made what may have been the only successful escape from the prison on a San Francisco Bay island.
Two of the men, Clarence and John Anglin, were serving time for robbing a bank in the small Houston County town of Columbia. It was Hadden who, in 1958, investigated the robbery and wrote the offense report. He is said to have even tracked the men into southwest Georgia.
The Anglin brothers, together with inmate Frank Morris, used spoons to dig holes in the walls of their prison cells, climbed up a utility vent and with a raft made of raincoats escaped from the supposedly escape-proof prison 1962. They were never seen again.
Whether they survived the swim will long be debated though federal agents were, only a few years ago, in southeast Alabama looking for the Anglin brothers.
What isn’t debated is the contributions of Lamar Hadden to law enforcement and those who serve in the profession. Anderson terms Hadden a father figure. Above all, he cites integrity and honesty as the things he’ll remember most about his mentor.
Valenza agrees. “He was a great friend, taught me a lot, and was a dedicated law enforcement officer. “Bird Dog set the example,” he said.
According to Blount, the two often reminisced about old times. A few months ago the two former partners and their wives went to dinner. “He still would discuss how to catch moonshiners and drug pushers. He still had the fire. We would talk about old times but I can’t call him anymore and that’s sad.”
A short time after Hadden passed Monday his son, Lamar, Jr., walked out of the Southeast Alabama Medical Center holding a small bouquet of slightly wilted flowers. “He practiced tough love but I know he loved me,” he said. Perhaps the greatest tribute to his father was when Hadden identified himself as “Bird Dog, Jr.”
Funeral services will be Wednesday 11:00 a.m. at Southside Baptist Church. Visitation is scheduled Tuesday 5:00 p.m.-until at Ward-Wilson Funeral Home.
By: Ken Curtis, WTVY News
----------
James Lamar "Birddog" Hadden
James Lamar "Birddog" Hadden, 89, a lifelong resident of Houston County passed away Monday, June 22, 2015. Sheriff Hadden served his country faithfully in World War II. Upon his return to the states he served the people of Alabama for 23 years as an agent for the Alcohol Beverage Control Board. Upon his retirement from the ABC Board he was elected Sheriff of Houston County and held that office for twelve years before retiring. He served as Supernumerary Sheriff until his death. Many in the Wiregrass area knew him through his passion for stock car racing. He was preceded in death by his parents Hosey and Amertine Hadden. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 65 years, Willadean W. Hadden; three children, Kerry Key (Jimmy), Pamela Hebert (Randy), James Lamar Hadden, Jr.; six grandchildren, six great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. Pall bearers will be the Houston County Sheriff Department Honor Guard. Honorary pall bearers will be fellow law enforcement officers from the county and state, as well as his Sunday School Class, the Frank Newton Sunday School Class from Southside Baptist Church. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, June 23, 2015 from Ward-Wilson Funeral Home beginning at 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at Southside Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama with Reverend Stacy Stafford officiating beginning at 11:00 am. Burial will follow in Memory Hill Cemetery. Flowers will be accepted or memorial contributions may be made to the Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranch, 4450 Ligon Springs Rd, Russellville, AL 35654. Ward Wilson Memory Hill Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematory 334-792-4194, is in charge of arrangements.
Dothan Eagle
June 23, 2015
Dothan The death of former Houston County Sheriff Lamar Hadden ends a life dedicated to old fashioned law enforcement investigation.
Hadden, by all accounts, did whatever it took to bring criminals to justice even if it meant spending his own money and leaving a good friend with nothing but a candy bar to munch on for a day and a half. His sixth sense of how to find illegal drugs and moonshine earned him the nickname "Bird Dog."
Hadden died Monday at the age of 89 after injuring his head during a recent fall. He served as sheriff from 1983-1995. Previously, he retired from the Alabama Alcohol Beverage Control Board. His law enforcement career began in the late 1950 when he was a sheriff’s deputy for the office he would, over two decades later, lead.
“He had a bigger impact on my life than anybody I’ve ever known,” Charles Blount said. He and Hadden were partners with the ABC Board before the latter became sheriff. Despite Hadden retiring more than 30 years ago, and Blount following in 1995, they remained close friends.
So did Hadden and current sheriff Donald Valenza---as did Hadden and Lt. Randy Anderson. Both were hired by Hadden in the 1980’s.
“Sheriff Hadden was so dedicated he would take his own money and make undercover drug buys,” said Anderson. “He wanted that bad to get the crooks off the street but then he would turn around and help them.”
Valenza remembers Hadden once borrowed $40,000 from a bank to make an undercover buy. “He told us (when we went to make arrests) to go after the drugs and he’d go after the money.” He recovered it, likely about a year’s salary for a sheriff, and repaid the loan.
One of Blount’s most vivid memories isn’t near as Miami Vice like but, instead, about a Coke and candy bar. The now 70-year old former agent recalls he and Hadden were working on an illegal liquor case together decades ago. As part of the investigation, Hadden assigned Blount to conduct surveillance from a pump house---for 38 hours.
“I had nothing to eat until Bird Dog drove by and threw a Snickers candy bar and a canned Coca-Cola out the window. “You can imagine what happened when I opened the Coke but the candy bar was sure good,” he chuckled.
Hadden, in a roundabout way, had a tie to the Clint Eastwood movie “Escape from Alcatraz.” It was the biographical story of three men who made what may have been the only successful escape from the prison on a San Francisco Bay island.
Two of the men, Clarence and John Anglin, were serving time for robbing a bank in the small Houston County town of Columbia. It was Hadden who, in 1958, investigated the robbery and wrote the offense report. He is said to have even tracked the men into southwest Georgia.
The Anglin brothers, together with inmate Frank Morris, used spoons to dig holes in the walls of their prison cells, climbed up a utility vent and with a raft made of raincoats escaped from the supposedly escape-proof prison 1962. They were never seen again.
Whether they survived the swim will long be debated though federal agents were, only a few years ago, in southeast Alabama looking for the Anglin brothers.
What isn’t debated is the contributions of Lamar Hadden to law enforcement and those who serve in the profession. Anderson terms Hadden a father figure. Above all, he cites integrity and honesty as the things he’ll remember most about his mentor.
Valenza agrees. “He was a great friend, taught me a lot, and was a dedicated law enforcement officer. “Bird Dog set the example,” he said.
According to Blount, the two often reminisced about old times. A few months ago the two former partners and their wives went to dinner. “He still would discuss how to catch moonshiners and drug pushers. He still had the fire. We would talk about old times but I can’t call him anymore and that’s sad.”
A short time after Hadden passed Monday his son, Lamar, Jr., walked out of the Southeast Alabama Medical Center holding a small bouquet of slightly wilted flowers. “He practiced tough love but I know he loved me,” he said. Perhaps the greatest tribute to his father was when Hadden identified himself as “Bird Dog, Jr.”
Funeral services will be Wednesday 11:00 a.m. at Southside Baptist Church. Visitation is scheduled Tuesday 5:00 p.m.-until at Ward-Wilson Funeral Home.
By: Ken Curtis, WTVY News
----------
James Lamar "Birddog" Hadden
James Lamar "Birddog" Hadden, 89, a lifelong resident of Houston County passed away Monday, June 22, 2015. Sheriff Hadden served his country faithfully in World War II. Upon his return to the states he served the people of Alabama for 23 years as an agent for the Alcohol Beverage Control Board. Upon his retirement from the ABC Board he was elected Sheriff of Houston County and held that office for twelve years before retiring. He served as Supernumerary Sheriff until his death. Many in the Wiregrass area knew him through his passion for stock car racing. He was preceded in death by his parents Hosey and Amertine Hadden. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 65 years, Willadean W. Hadden; three children, Kerry Key (Jimmy), Pamela Hebert (Randy), James Lamar Hadden, Jr.; six grandchildren, six great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren. Pall bearers will be the Houston County Sheriff Department Honor Guard. Honorary pall bearers will be fellow law enforcement officers from the county and state, as well as his Sunday School Class, the Frank Newton Sunday School Class from Southside Baptist Church. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, June 23, 2015 from Ward-Wilson Funeral Home beginning at 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at Southside Baptist Church in Dothan, Alabama with Reverend Stacy Stafford officiating beginning at 11:00 am. Burial will follow in Memory Hill Cemetery. Flowers will be accepted or memorial contributions may be made to the Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranch, 4450 Ligon Springs Rd, Russellville, AL 35654. Ward Wilson Memory Hill Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematory 334-792-4194, is in charge of arrangements.
Dothan Eagle
June 23, 2015
