The Singing Policeman

The Dean P. Taylor Library and Archive contains a number of small family collections. They contain combinations of photos, letters, news clippings, and other paper items saved by families in Rensselaer County through the years and are now accessible for research. The Dunn-Harehill Collection is emblematic of these collections, with photos ranging from tintypes of the 1870s to family snaps taken in the 1950s. Materials are from both the Dunn and Harehill families of Troy, but the collection also contains a small loose-leaf notebook, dating from about 1930-1940, with mostly typed entries of occasions, places, dates and amounts, usually $5 or $10. This was puzzling until the cataloguer read the obituary of John B. Dunn.

John Dunn (1896-1963) was born in South Troy and educated at St. John’s Parochial School. He apprenticed as a machinist at a shop in the city, then went to work at the Watervliet Arsenal. When World War I began, he enlisted and served in the Quartermaster’s Corps in Syracuse. He graduated from the N.Y.S. Police School, and in 1922 was appointed a Troy city patrolman. He served in almost every ward in the city until about 1935 when he was promoted to Sergeant and began serving in the Mayor’s office. When Frank Hogan became Mayor in 1938, Dunn became his “right-hand man.” Everyone knew “Johnny” Dunn.

So, what about the little notebook? Dunn loved to sing, especially before a crowd. He was a tenor and a long-time member of the St. Joseph’s church choir. He was also a member of the Columbia Social Club where a fellow policeman, Frank Barry, who was “an old-time minstrel man,” held singing “tryouts” of club members. He recognized Dunn’s talent and advised him to get some voice training, which he did under John Lloyd at the Troy Conservatory.

And the notebook? Dunn began to get gigs singing at funerals, weddings, banquets, and other social occasions and the notebook records the jobs and the fees he received. Most months he had two to five jobs, but in February 1936 he sang at eight funerals, three dinners, and one wake, taking in $55. A member of the Elks, he sang at their functions for free, noting them in the notebook as well as his paying jobs.

Dunn retired from the police department in 1953. He worked as a security guard at a couple of downtown banks until the day before his death in 1963. He was married to the former Julianna Harehill (1901-1987). They lived on Collins Avenue in Troy. This collection is a great example of how Hart Cluett Museum seeks to meet our mission to recognize every face and every story.