THOMASVILLE —
Tracy Tabb grew up doing things about which most little boys can only dream.
Tabb, commander of Thomasville Post 12 Georgia State Patrol (GSP), spent childhood summers with his grandparents in Colquitt, where his paternal grandfather was police and fire chief. A great-grandfather was alternating police chief.
His great-uncle, Felix Tabb, was Miller County sheriff, and a great-grandfather, Will Tabb, served three terms as Miller County sheriff in the 1920s and ’30s.
“They both were in office for 40 years,” Tabb said, in reference to his police chief grandfather, Buck Tabb, and his great-uncle Felix Tabb, Buck’s brother.
Tom Williams, a great-grandfather, also was a Colquitt police chief. “They called him the night chief. They had one at night and one in the day. They called them chiefs,” Tabb said.
Skip, a German shepherd and Williams’ constant companion, was shot and killed by notorious bad guys, Tabb recalled. Williams was taken into the countryside and tied up. The bad guys returned to Colquitt, stole store keys from the police station and burglarized businesses.
The culprits were believed to be the Anglin brothers from nearby Seminole County. The duo eventually wound up in Alcatraz prison and escaped in 1962, never to be captured. A movie, “Escape from Alcatraz” starring Clint Eastwood, was made about the escape.
Tabb’s grandparents, Estelle and Buck Tabb, lived a block from the Colquitt courthouse square. Tabb would walk the block to “uptown” Colquitt, making his way by a service station on the square. He would wave to the owner and continue his journey to the nearby police department, which was housed in a tiny structure on Miller County Courthouse property in the center of town. Uptown’s only phone booth was next to the police station.
“I’d hang around the police department pretty much most of the afternoon,” the trooper explained.
See Sunday's edition for more details.
Local News
Related Photos
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Tracy Tabb, Thomasville Post 12 Georgia State Patrol commander, recalls childhood summers spent in Colquitt, where generations of his ancestors were in law enforcement. Patti Dozier/Time-Enterprise
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Buck Tabb, Colquitt police and fire chief, watches over a moonshine still discovered by Miller County lawmen. Submitted photo
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Tom Williams with Skip, his constant companion. The dog was fatally shot by bad guys, who tied up Williams and burglarized Colquitt businesses. Submitted photo
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