Keeping Equine Thievery At Bay For Another Year

A job well done must be celebrated. Once again a year has passed, and no horses have been stolen in East Windsor.

About 75 members of  the East Windsor Society for the Detection of Thieves and Robbers convened their 171st annual meeting. While four-wheeled horseless carriages are the current mode of travel, this group stands ready to thwart and capture those who practice equine thievery.

The members, affectionately known as The Horse Thieves, celebrate by smoking cigars, telling jokes and having a few drinks. They are promptly served a meal of soup, salad, and prime rib with Roast Potato a a la Pagani and a vegetable medley as they sit at tables in the dining room of the Liedertafel Singing Society Hall (German Club).

“We didn’t catch any horse thieves this year,” Pursuer Christopher Davis, who also works as a state representative, says during a toast. “To drinks, cigars and catching as many horse thieves as possible.”

First Selectwoman Denise E. Menard congratulates the members on keeping East Windsor safe from those who would steal horses. This being the 171st meeting, Menard said she suspects the 175th meeting will be a big ta do.

Two of Menard's predecessors, Robert Watts and John Rajala, are also in attendance.

After welcoming five new members, the Horse Thieves vote to allow 20 new members to be added in the coming year. The cost of a lifetime membership is a $1.

“I think we accomplished something,” Society President Mark Simmons quips.

The society traces its origins to Jan. 18, 1841. It was then that 29 would-be vigilantes assembled in all seriousness at the Windsorville "public house" of Jonah B. Griswold and decided to organize the town's first volunteer force.

Eight "pursuers" were chosen. These men were charged "to hold themselves in readiness with each a good horse to pursue forthwith" any escaping evildoers. Each pursuer is still allowed 14 cents per mile “for their services, horse hire & expenses, together with such sum or sums they shall pay in passing any toll bridge, turnpike gate & ferries . . .”

There hasn’t been much work for the pursuers in recent years.

“We pursue with our minds,” Lou Lamphier, a pursuer said. “We think about it a lot.”
Also on the agenda tonight, is the election of officers, Simmons asks if anyone wants to take his and the other positions.

“I like it the way it is,” someone shouts. The room votes to keep the current officers.

“It’s an honor,” Simmons says on his re-election. “I kid around, it’s really an honor.”

In past years, members have traveled from as far as Camp LeJeune, N.C. , and Vermont to attend the meeting. The farthest travelers were two members from Rhode Island. They were given a horse’s ass trophy by Society President Mark Simmons to share for their efforts.

One club member who traveled from Vermont for years to attend will no longer be able to attend, Treasure Craig Mendola said. Ira Hatch has advanced in years and is no longer able to make the trip.

Simmons said Hatch and his late brother would rent a hotel room nearby and make the annual meeting an event.

That kind of loyalty to the Horse Thieves is not unusual, Simmons, a 40-year member, said.

“Some people are really into it,” Simmons said. “ I don’t know how to describe it. It’s in their hearts, they don’t want . . . these people do not want this to die.”