The Pensacola Police Historic Society

A tapestry is one or more pictures woven into cloth. In ancient times, tapestries had several purposes, one of which was to tell stories of historical events. Originally, they related historical events to an illiterate community. However, they also offered warmth and feeling, something that mere words couldn’t do.

In tapestry weaving, two types of threads are used – weft and warp. The weft threads are the colorful ones that are seen. They are the ones that illustrate the story. They are often brightly-colored, even made of shiny metal sometimes. The weft threads are credited with making the picture attractive.

The warp threads are the strong ones on the inside. Often called the skeleton of the tapestry, they hold the picture together. Completely hidden, they are constantly under stress and form the backbone of the story.

Picture an American Pensacola tapestry. Beginning with the changing of the flags on July 17, 1821, it includes the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels, statehood, the Civil War, the lumber boom, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, and the restoration of downtown. The beautiful colors of the white sand, the water, the longleaf pines, and the Spanish moss create, along with dazzling sunrises and sunsets, a magnificent tapestry. The weft threads paint a picture that is uniquely ours.

But the warp threads…those that can’t be seen, are there. They hold the town together, as they have done for generations. They can’t always be seen, and they often aren’t as pretty as the wefts, but they are there, strong and steady, pulled tightly by tension and stress.

The Pensacola Tapestry warp threads are blue – deep blue. They are held taught by the men and women of the Pensacola Police Department. At one end of the threads is James Craig, the first Pensacola Police Officer, commissioned on July 19, 1821, by Andrew Jackson. At the other end are the officers who make up the Pensacola Police Department today.

From the beginning, those holding Pensacola’s warp threads have been depended on to keep peace and maintain order. Nineteen of them perished holding the thread; while thirteen were rewarded for valor.

Hundreds have grasped the thread that holds our town together, and they have passed on a tradition and a legacy for keeping it taut. Thanks to them, it holds today as strongly as it did in 1821.

Keep the thread taut.

– Mike Simmons