Hugh T. Gordon, left, and Don E. Merry — who may be among Battle Creek's longest serving police officers — work in what the archival envelope describes as the city jail in 1915. Gordon joined the department in 1899 and was appointed chief of police in 1927, serving in that position for 14 years before his retirement in 1941. Merry, who had risen to the rank of lieutenant, retired as a clerk of records in 1939 after 39 years on the force.