By Guy Coates

As we previously noted, Ken Lindley was held in high regard by those who worked with him and under him and was an inspiration to many in the Prescott community. He was a role model for Lt. Dan Olson who currently serves with the Phoenix Police Department. Ken and his wife Karen were Dan’s neighbors in the late 1960s and early 1970s. "As a boy I thought it was very exciting having the police chief as my neighbor," recalled Olson. "I was fascinated with his police car and the fact that he was chief. Being around Ken piqued my interest in police work and, as a result, in 1982 I became a Phoenix police officer." Olson’s son, Christopher, is also currently a Phoenix police officer.

One of the largest crowds ever to attend a Prescott funeral paid tribute to Chief Lindley, including nearly the entire force of the Prescott Police Department; representatives of the Yavapai County, Coconino County and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Departments; Arizona Department of Public Safety; and members of police departments from Phoenix, Scottsdale, Glendale, Clarkdale, Kingman and Tempe. "It was the largest group of police officers and vehicles I had ever seen," said Olson. "I was amazed at the turnout and what I would later realize was the camaraderie of all the police officers." Over the years, Lt. Olson has attended a number of funerals for police officers who have died in the line of duty and he is always reminded of Ken’s. "Ken’s life gave me the inspiration to be a police officer," he said.

Following the automobile accident which claimed his life in September of 1971, the citizens of Prescott considered ways to honor the town’s fallen chief. Since 1924, City Park, located on East Gurley Street, had been Prescott’s only baseball field. It was here that Lindley spent 16 years coaching and guiding local kids to become better players and productive citizens. It was also here that Ken, a pitcher, played many games with his Budweiser teammates culminating in a trip to the Softball tournament in St. Louis just days before the accident.

It was fitting that Jim Garner, then-publisher of "The Paper" and later "The Daily Courier," suggested that City Park be dedicated to Lindley. Two weeks later, Mayor Taylor T. Hicks, Sr. and the Prescott City Council unanimously passed a resolution renaming City Park to Ken Lindley Field.

In addition to naming of the baseball park, the Kenneth D. Lindley Memorial Drug Information Center was established in his memory at the Prescott Public Library to recognize the need for information on the drug problem.

In September 1971, a Resolution in Memoriam was presented to Lindley’s widow by Mayor Hicks. The gold sealed Resolution proclaims that it’s beloved chief, Kenneth D. Lindley, "served the citizens of Prescott unselfishly as a dedicated police officer, husband, father and son, in the highest traditions of a law enforcement officer, instilled respect for the administration of justice and thereby enhanced and contributed to the heritage of our city, state and nation."

The bronze plaque that adorns the entrance to Lindley Field serves as a tangible reminder of the principles that Ken Lindley and the Prescott Police Department stood for and fought to maintain. It reminds us of the example he set for all the kids in this community that he loved so much. It represents Ken Lindley’s "Field of Dreams." The City Park and Ballfield, now Ken Lindley Field, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

(Guy Coates is a researcher and author of many historical articles, most of which were published in the Sierra Sun of Truckee, NV.)

Ed. Note: Ken’s widow, Karen Lindley Despain, retired as managing editor of the Daily Courier in 2005 and continues her interests in community service and free-lance writing. She is the District 1 representative for the Yavapai County Arizona Centennial Committee planning for Arizona’s 100th year celebration in 2012.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(courtesy photo) Reuse only bypermission.

The bronze plaque that adorns the entrance to Lindley Field on East Gurley Street honors Police Chief Ken Lindley and stands as a memorial for his service to Prescott.

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(courtesy photo) Reuse only bypermission.

City Park, renamed Ken Lindley Field, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.