Department History

The Town Marshal: Amo Angeletti

On November 9, 1948, the Town Commission approved the hiring of a town marshal. His salary was set at $150 per month, with his home and utilities being furnished by the town. He would serve as sheriff, fireman, watchman (handling meters and bills); he was to clean the roads and the beach, keep the town's books and dispense town information; and he would be in charge of fishing permits and similar licenses.

In January 1949, Hillsboro Mayor Ernest Wooler was attending the air show in Pompano Beach when he approached Amo Angeletti, a policeman on the Pompano Beach police force. Angeletti, married and the father of twin boys in 1945, was subsequently hired as the first town marshall. Angeletti, who was responsible for designing the Hillsboro Beach logo, established the numbers on all residences and many artifacts that still exist today, such as the small lighthouse on the roof of today's town hall.

Angeletti had begun his career in the U.S. military service as a first sergeant in the Military Police. Then came his stint on the Pompano Beach police force and his job as town marshal of Hillsboro Beach. He went on to school in Philadelphia and became an electrical engineer, designing for various companies, among them DuPont, Monsanto, IBM, and Pratt & Whitney. Having retired in 1994, Amo is writing a book about the pants burglar.

The First Patrolman: Charles V. Kanode Jr.

"Chuck" Kanode was born in Lakeland, Florida. He attended Lakeland High School, then transferred to the Lodwick School of Aeronautics in Lakeland to become a flight line instructor. He was too young for the U.S. armed services during World War II, but as a flight line instructor he could still serve his country by training British cadets. He later attended Polk School of Business, completed a course in business administration and management, and received a certificate for completion of the Federal Bureauof Investigation (FBI) Training School. 

He later became a member of the U.S. Coast Guard and was discharged in 1947. In 1950, he was recalled to active duty in the Korean War. During this tour of duty he was stationed at Hillsboro Inlet Light Station.

From 1952-57, Chuck became a part of Hillsboro Beach as the town's first patrolman, hired by Mayor French.

Chuck fondly remembers many of the residents, among them Ernest Wooler, who kept the engine he had designed for Rolls Royce in his living room. "Wooler was a fantastic engineer--unreachable--astonishing with his knowledge of science, an incredible perfectionist," recalls Chuck.

Description

 "Magnificent Mile: A History of Hillsboro Beach," written by local historian, Carmen McGarry,  is a fascinating look at Hillsboro Beach history including chapters on the Hillsboro Lighthouse and the Barefoot Mailman.