Police honor first lake patrol officer on his centenary
Daughter thrilled by research sergeant did on her father.
Mickey Robertson suddenly was at a loss for words.
Robertson was holding a framed picture of her father, Austin police lake patrol officer Frank Jester Fouse, who died in 1951 when she was just 2 years old.
The picture, given to Robertson by the Austin Police Department at Walsh Boat Landing on Lake Austin, depicted her father looking out from a small boat, as he prepared to begin his first lake patrol shift.
“He seems so real to me now,” Robertson said as she fought through tears Thursday, on what would have been his 100th birthday. “All of the pictures I have of him are staged. This is my favorite picture of him; this is a professional picture.”
On April 23, 1940, Fouse began his career with Austin police as the first lake patrol officer, thanks to a boat donation from one of Austin’s most notable political figures and philanthropists.
According to the de- partment, the boat Fouse piloted was donated by Andrew Zilker, the last private owner of Barton Springs, “who stipulated that he wanted Fouse to be the Lake Officer.”
Fouse’s daughter said Andrew Zilker Jr. and her father were close friends, noting that Fouse would occasionally ferry the Zilkers across the lake when he was on duty so they could avoid traffic.
Sgt. Glen Kreger helped organize the event once he became aware that Thursday would have been Fouse’s 100th birthday.
Kreger said he even went to the Texas State University archives to verify some of the information that Robertson told him.
“I can’t verify that Andrew Zilker gave that boat to him ... but I checked Fouse’s records, and the first day he is here it says he is on lake patrol, which basically verified it for us because you don’t just get on lake patrol your first day,” he said with a laugh.
Robertson was more than appreciative of the effort Kreger put into the event.
“He’s done so much investigating into the history, and into my dad,” she said. “I’m really glad he is getting his recognition for his history, his part of Austin’s history.”
Robertson, now in her 60s, said she did not have any memories of her father, but her older brother told her about trips they would take around the lake.
“My mother, my broth- er — he took everybody out on patrol with him,” she said.
The ceremony was capped with a quick ride around Lake Austin, as Robertson recalled some of her happiest memories on the lake.
“I used to water ski when I was a teenager, you know,” Robertson joked when the officers asked if she wanted to swim.
On April 23, 1940, Frank Jester Fouse began his career with Austin police as the first lake patrol officer, thanks to a boat donation from Andrew Zilker, one of Austin’s most notable political figures.