Post by the Scribe on Jan 6, 2022 19:08:41 GMT
Peter Ronstadt describes his childhood at the family hardware store and shares some memories of downtown’s seedier side from the 1940s to 1960s.
Tucson, Arizona. Have lived here since I was born.
Have traveled in Europe, Mexico, Canada and various
parts of the US both for work and for fun.
FAMILY:
Married in 1964 to Jackie Castle, who was from
Scottsdale. we met at the Uof A. Have two children;
Philip, who works for Disney Studios in burbank Ca,
and Melinda who lives in Tucson. Both children are
married, and I now have three grandchildren.
EDUCATION AND CAREER:
I went to the U of A, dropped out in 1963 and joined
the Tucson Police Department, I figured that if Nagle
could do it, anyone could. Of course, he bailed out
after a couple of years and went to work for the
Navy. I stuck around,went back to school while
working midnights, held a variety of assignments over
the course of seveal years. I competed for and was
appointed to the position of Chief of Police in 1981.
I retired in 1991. I eventually got my degree--major
in Spanish, minors in Latin American History and Latin
American Government, went to several police management schools including the FBI Academy, and was involved in police administrative organizations at the national level. I feel lucky to have been able to make a career of something I believed strongly in.
AVOCATIONS:
Had a chance to do a little singing with my sister
Linda over the years, and am probably the only cop in
America to have a gold album (for "Canciones de Mi
Padre',a mariachi album that Linda did back in the 80s).
I still like the outdoors.
xcobre@msn.com
Archive Tucson
www.archivetucson.com/people/2020/8/12/ronstadt-peter
Ronstadt, Peter 1
This interview was recorded on February 3rd, 2020 in Tucson, Arizona and it covers the following themes:
listen: www.archivetucson.com/people/2020/8/12/ronstadt-peter
b. 1942
Father’s home construction near Rillito River after Second World War. High groundwater tables. Planting eucalyptus. Valley of the Moon. Horseback riding.
Exploring downtown Tucson as a child. Congress Street bars.
Religion and singing in choir. Tucson Boys Chorus.
Hunting and camping with parents in the Altar Valley. Aircraft noise.
Development in the 1950s. Winterhaven.
Building small house on family’s property.
Attending Tucson High. Opening of Catalina High School.
Tucson’s eastward expansion.
Interest in playing rock music. Attending University of Arizona in early 1960s, ROTC, dating, car culture.
Childhood interest in music.
Dropping out of UA in 1964. Traveling in Europe as a young adult.
Attitudes towards police as a child. Joining the Tucson Police Department in 1965. Bernard Garmire department changes. Father’s attitude towards police.
Drugs and organized crime in Tucson: tongs, Joe Bonano.
The reforms of TPD chief Garmire.
Crime in downtown Tucson in the 1960s.
Trying to professionalize police force.
Getting shot at in Tucson during the night of Los Angeles’ Watts Riot. Reconsidering police/community relations.
Work as beat cop. Policing and race in 1960s Tucson.
Miranda rights. Changing police training.
1960s/1970s protests and interaction with activists. El Rio Golf Course occupation. Development of City infrastructure for more community involvement.
Peter Ronstadt 2
This interview was recorded on February 10th, 2020 in Tucson, Arizona and it covers the following themes:
listen: www.archivetucson.com/people/2020/8/12/ronstadt-peter
Reasons for leaving UA as an undergraduate.
Working on maintaining stock well pumps for family business.
Resuming UA degree while working at TPD.
Decision to pursue police administration in 1970s. Interest in changing officer training: teaching officers about local culture, working with indigenous and Hispanic groups.
Changing shifts and staffing patterns.
Introduction of computers and data analytics.
More non-officers joining Police Department.
Policing in the 1970s. Perceptions of police are national. Interest in greater communication skills.
1980s gang culture, fragmenting of drug organizations, and “war on drugs.” Local Tucson gangs.
Militarization of police and public armament.
Work as police captain.
Tenure as chief of police.
Retirement.
Being a police officer with a famous relative and a well-known local family.
Description of Ronstadt Hardware Company’s store. Decline of downtown and industrial retail.
AT Shorts: The Seedier Side of Downtown, 1940s-1960s
Midcentury Life:
Peter Ronstadt talks about spending weekends at the family’s hardware store in downtown Tucson in the 1940s and a few observations about the city’s seedier side from the 1940s to 1960s.
listen: www.archivetucson.com/short-edits/2021/4/29/at-shorts-the-seedier-side-of-downtown-tucson-1940s-1960s
Ronstadt, Peter
Ronstadt, Peter … . Being a police officer with a famous relative and a well-known local family. Description of Ronstadt …
AT Shorts: The Seedier Side of Downtown, 1940s-1960s
Peter Ronstadt talks about spending weekends at the family’s hardware store in downtown Tucson in …
Index By Name
" R Ring, Bob Risner, William "Bill" Rollings, Donald Ronstadt, Peter Rosano, Aureleo Rosenfeld …
Hallums, Paul
. Rising drug trafficking and violence in the 1980s. Chief Peter Ronstadt’s tenure. Neighborhood Watch …
AT Shorts: Interviews on Race
and Congress. And right down the street, you had Ronstadt’s Hardware. On Sixth Avenue. And right up … from Ronstadt’s Hardware, you had a bicycle motorcycle shop. And I went in there and I had $25 that …
New Page
tastefully vandalizing pin-up calendars at the Arizona Highway Department. Peter Ronstadt describes his …
www.archivetucson.com/search?q=ronstadt
Ronstadt, Peter … . Being a police officer with a famous relative and a well-known local family. Description of Ronstadt …
AT Shorts: The Seedier Side of Downtown, 1940s-1960s
Peter Ronstadt talks about spending weekends at the family’s hardware store in downtown Tucson in …
Index By Name
" R Ring, Bob Risner, William "Bill" Rollings, Donald Ronstadt, Peter Rosano, Aureleo Rosenfeld …
Hallums, Paul
. Rising drug trafficking and violence in the 1980s. Chief Peter Ronstadt’s tenure. Neighborhood Watch …
AT Shorts: Interviews on Race
and Congress. And right down the street, you had Ronstadt’s Hardware. On Sixth Avenue. And right up … from Ronstadt’s Hardware, you had a bicycle motorcycle shop. And I went in there and I had $25 that …
New Page
tastefully vandalizing pin-up calendars at the Arizona Highway Department. Peter Ronstadt describes his …
www.archivetucson.com/search?q=ronstadt
www.instantcheckmate.com/people/jacqueline-ronstadt/
