Sidney Clayton Crenshaw

In May 2026, Orlando-native Jack Recker suggested that Orlando Memory include a post on Orlando Police Department Motorcycle Patrolman Sidney “Big Sid” Crenshaw, explaining, “I came to know Big Sid as a teen while I was attending the Orlando Youth Center. I observed his kindness and care for people, and he presented a positive example of the police.”

After learning about Big Sid’s 25 years with the OPD, his volunteer work with various community organizations, his special interest in the youth of Orlando, his untimely death, and the fact that he was mentioned in local newspapers around 200 times between 1940 and 1966, we agreed wholeheartedly, with one proviso, that Jack Recker would write the Introduction!

Memories of Big Sid by Jack Recker

In 1948 my Mother, when questioned why she was not worried about her 5-year-old son climbing high in the Kentucky wild persimmon trees, replied simply: “I never worry about Jackie; his guardian angel protects him.” Looking back, I have concluded that I have had many mentors, protectors, and angels to guide and protect me from myself and others.

One such guardian was Sidney Crenshaw, a police officer for the “Old Orlando Police Department.” He stood 6’ 4” and weighed 200+ lbs. and was affectionately known by our 1950’s-60’s tribe as “Big Sid”.

When I knew him, he was riding a Harley Davidson Duo Glide motorcycle. He wore the Orlando brown uniform with black motorcycle boots.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him regularly stationed; safeguarding the crowd at Orlando Youth Center, and additionally at the Winter Park “Steak N Shake” drive through. In those days teenagers who were licensed would drive through to see who was parked in the lot and who was inside the restaurant.

In those settings we could show off our cars, our dates, and our personalities. The building was on the northwest corner of South Orlando Avenue at Aragon, which conveniently permitted ’round the block’ circling and a “pull through” every few minutes.

Big Sid was stationed primarily behind the building in plain view of all those passing through and most of those in the parking lot. We all looked for “Big Sid” knowing that he was our authority, guardian, and friend. He was not Superman, but he was a solid man who the community respected. He loved the young and did much to set a good example for them.

I was away at college when Sid was critically injured on July 20, 1965, assisting two of his police officer brothers who had pulled over a driver on West Colonial Drive (US Route 50) near Fairvilla Road. He died 16 months later on November 20, 1966, as a result of the brain injuries he sustained. The loss of this gentle giant was a serious loss to the beautiful community of Old Orlando. While pondering our loss we came to understand why our community was deemed the “City Beautiful”.

Jack Recker
May 2026            

The Rest of the Story

From all accounts, Police Officer Sid Crenshaw was a good-natured, congenial fellow, well-liked by the people of Orlando – young and old. He was a promoter of motorcycle, stock car, hot rod and even scooter races. Sid was active in veterans’ associations, OPD charities, community organizations and local events. According to OPD records and articles in Orlando newspapers, Sid loved working with young people, and his hobbies included promoting races, shuffleboard, fishing, boating, baseball, and flowers. He also seemed to be very popular with the local newspaper writers and photographers. Sid was even featured for many years with well-known Orlandoans in the Orlando Evening Star’s STARDUST column on his birthday.

Perhaps, through newspaper articles and Sid’s OPD records we can keep memories of Big Sid alive and tag along as he promotes motorcycle and car races, patrols the Orlando Youth Center and the Steak n Shake keeping teens safe, and serves the people in the community he loved.

Georgia to Orlando 1910-1940

There’s no dispute that Sidney Clayton Crenshaw was born in Georgia on September 30, 1910, but the question is, where? His draft registration dated October 16, 1940, states that he was born in Hawkinsville in Pulaski County, but his OPD application shows he was born in Fitzgerald in Ben Hill County and attended elementary and junior high school in Tifton in Tift County, completing the 8th grade.

Odd Jobs and Traveling 1926-1935

It appears that Sid moved from Georgia to Orlando with his parents Flora and David around 1925. Sid’s OPD application for promotion, completed in March 1941, traces his life from 1926 to 1940 when he first joined OPD.

Beginning in May 1926, at the age of 15, Sid worked as a laborer in Orlando and did odd jobs for about a year. He took a job as a baker’s helper with the Ideal Bakery in March 1927, and then as a salesman for the Orlando Bakery for two months before returning to Georgia to live with his grandmother in December 1927. For over five years, Sid “traveled all over the country working now and then.” In 1933, he worked as a hotel clerk and then as a filling station operator in Waycross, Georgia. For 18 months he worked as an assistant foreman at Civilian Conservation Corps camps in Waycross and Folkston, Georgia, before returning to Orlando.

Marriage 1935

Sidney Clayton Crenshaw married Mary Madalyn Mason in Bainbridge, Georgia on January 12, 1935, returning to Orlando in November 1935. Sid, his wife Mary and his mother Flora resided at 616 Louise Avenue until 1937 when he bought a home at 1318 Noble Street. At that time, Sid was a salesman at Orlando Linen and Towel Supply, and his mother Flora was a seamstress in the alternations department at the Dickson-Ives Company.

Orlando Motorcycle Club

DLMRacing.Blogspot.com contains excellent information on the Orlando Motorcycle Club formed in 1940, by Lewis Puckett, owner of Puckett’s Motorcycle Shop on South Orange Avenue with help from Sid Crenshaw and Charlie Adams. The club sponsored many races, and Sid was likely the “spokesman” mentioned in newspaper articles. The advertisement for the races on November 7, 1948, is one example of a club sponsored event.

Orlando Troop No. 1, Motorcycle Corps 1940

By October 1940, it seemed inevitable that the United States would be drawn into the war in Europe. On the same day that Sid registered for the draft, he helped form Orlando Troop No. 1, Motorcycle Corps.

A notice published in the Orlando Evening Star on October 16, 1940, urged “all motorcycle riders within a radius of 50 miles of Orlando” to attend an organizational meeting the following night to form Orlando Troop No. 1, Motorcycle Corps to assist the Home Guards. The officers of the Orlando Troop were Captain Sid Crenshaw, Second Lieutenant Ben Lawton, and First Lieutenant Homer Jones.

David L. Morril explains that groups of civilian motorcycle riders formed into Motorcycle Troops to assist in patrolling Florida’s coastline should the U.S. enter the war brewing in Europe. This never came to fruition because a large number of the male troop members were called into military service at the end of 1941. Many used their riding skills as dispatch riders in all branches of the service.

Orlando Centennial Celebration 1942

As an amusing tribute to Orlando’s founders and pioneers for the Orlando Centennial Celebration, April 15-16, 1942, a group was formed called the “Bearded Mujiks of the Palmettoes.” Sid joined the Bearded Mujiks at their inception and is in the photo, above, taken on the steps of the Albertson Public Library on March 20, 1942.

Described as “a fun organization to promote interest and create atmosphere for the Centennial” by refusing to shave for over a month until the Celebration, they enjoyed weekly meetings and walking in the grand Centennial Celebration Parade. Several photos of the Bearded Mujiks marching in the parade were published in the local newspaper.

U.S. Naval Construction Battalion 1942-1945

Sid Crenshaw registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, and began serving two years later on August 5, 1942. He achieved the rank of Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class, V6 while serving as a heavy equipment operator with the 43rd and 89th Naval Construction Battalions “Seabees” operating heavy-duty trucks, bulldozers, dragline and graders. His military service record shows that he saw combat in the Aleutian Islands Dec. 28, 1942; Hawaiian Islands June 22, 1944, and Saipan Nov. 1944. He was awarded American Theatre, Asiatic, and Pacific Campaign ribbons, and received an honorable discharge on October 31, 1945, Jacksonville, Florida.

Sid Crenshaw participated in veteran related events and was a member of the Orlando American Legion Post 19. He participated in the yearly Orlando American Legion Post 19’s caravan to the Bay Pines Veterans Hospital near St. Petersburg. Local entertainers, with the help of Post 19 members and Orlandoans, staged up to two-hour shows in the hospital auditorium and distributed gifts to all the veterans at the hospital. The caravan to the 1953 event included over 300 people traveling in cars, three Orlando Transit buses, and Patrolman Sid Crenshaw bringing up the rear in an OPD patrol car.

Racing Promoter 1946-1951

As strange as it might seem, while employed by the OPD as a Motorcycle Patrolman working 48 hours a week, Sid Crenshaw had a side gig as a promoter of motorcycle, hot rod, stock car and even scooter races from at least 1946 to 1951. He was also involved in organizing races sponsored by the Orlando Motorcycle Club which was formed in 1940, like the race in November 1948.

The events were staged on dirt tracks in and around Orlando – at the Seminole Speedway (Azalea Driving Park) in Casselberry, the Ben White Raceway at the Florida Livestock and Exposition Grounds, Sunbrock Speedway on the old Winter Garden Road at Ferguson Drive, and the DeLand Speedway at the Volusia County fairgrounds.

Seminole Speedway – Azalea Park

Sid Crenshaw was involved in organizing many races but not mentioned by name, such as in the advertisement above for the motorcycle race at the Seminole Speedway in Casselberry on November 17, 1946. In an article published in the Sunday Sentinel-Star on April 13, 1947, Sid is shown paying two racers money due them from the race “last November in Orlando.” Since there was only one motorcycle race in Orlando in November 1946, Sid has to have been the promoter of that race.

Ben White Raceway

The motorcycle races on April 13, 1947 were historically significant as they were the first half-mile motorcycle races staged in Orlando and the first ever staged at the Florida Livestock Exposition Grounds later renamed the Ben White Raceway as stated in an article in the Orlando Evening Star on April 11, 1947. This confirms the connection between the Orlando Motorcycle Club, Sid, and early motorcycle races in Central Florida in the 1940s. Sid is likely the unnamed racing “spokesman” mentioned in local newspapers.

Tragedy on the Track

The earliest auto race for which Sid is identified as the promoter took place on October 26, 1947, at the Ben White Raceway. St. Augustine’s Buck Mathis and Jacksonville’s Al Bignall were involved in a deadly yet “spectacular smashup” as described by the Orlando Evening Star. Photographs of the tumbling cars and lifeless body of Buck Mathis hanging by his seatbelt from the door of his vehicle were published in the Orlando Evening Star the following day.

Scooter Races

A flat-track motorcycle event on April 25, 1948, at the Ben White Raceway featured Bill “Wild Bill” Huguley of Miami known for his daredevil capers and 30 other “handlebar jockeys.” As a novelty, members of the Orlando Scooter Club competed in three races at the event.

Amateur Drivers

Sid announced on May 19, 1948, in the Orlando Evening-Star that special races for amateur drivers from Central Florida would be included in the upcoming races at the Ben White Speedway to encourage interest in the sport. Popular drivers from around the south raced on the half-mile dirt oval including hot rod racers John Fortenberry and Turk Adkins and stock car racers Wild Bill Snowden and Louie Taylor. Sid described the event as a “stock car – hot rod free for all.”

Florida State Motorcycle Championship “Negro Racing Champions”

Between May and August 1950, Sid staged several motorcycle races at the Ben White Speedway with what the newspaper called an “all Negro card.” The events included a battle for the Florida State Championship featuring African American racing champions Tommy Thompson and Jacksonville’s own trick riding champion Boots Stockling.

DeLand Speedway

The majority of the Central Florida Auto Racing Club drivers went on strike in October 1950, demanding that the promoters and local track owners pay them 50 percent of the gate. Promoters Sid Crenshaw and Chuck Beeler met their demands, opening a half-mile banked dirt track at the fairgrounds in DeLand culminating in the 25-mile Central Florida Stock Car Championship race in December 1950. The event featured an Orlando driver, Joe Garano, who also specialized in parachute jumping and made a jump as part of the event!

Sunbrock Speedway

A March 19, 1951, article about a 30-lap American Legion Handicap hot rod race at the Sunbrock Speedway on Old Winter Garden Road is the last time Sid’s involvement with a racing event was mentioned in the local newspaper.

Florida Motorcycle Association Gypsy Tour and Rally

Without a doubt, the most spectacular events that Sid helped organize were the 1950, and 1951 multi-day Florida Motorcycle Association Gypsy Tour and Rally with over 1,400 motorcycle riders from all over the state in attendance in 1950.

During the events staged during the July 29-20, 1950, gathering, motorcycle riders and fans converged on the Pine Castle Airport for time trials followed by a parade riding from the airport to the Ben White Speedway for a club uniform contest ending with the State Championship Race the following day.

The Gypsy Tour and Rally from July 27-28, 1951, followed the same basic schedule with one exception – speed trials were conducted on Saturday on a highway in Winter Garden, drawing complaints from locals. The cyclists formed a parade through downtown Orlando to the Ben White Speedway for a field meet, and the State Championship races touted as having the largest turnout in the history of the state event were conducted on Sunday.

Orlando Police Department 1940-1965

Sid Crenshaw registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, and joined the Orlando Police Department a month later on November 15th. When Sid joined the OPD he was described as being 6 feet 4 1/4 inches tall, 210 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion.

Sid began his career at OPD as a Patrolman and continued at that rank until returning to Orlando after being discharged from the Navy on October 31, 1945. On January 1, 1946, Sid was promoted to Patrolman 1st Class and assigned to Traffic duties as a Motorman – in layman’s terms, he was a motorcycle patrolman. Sid was promoted to Sergeant June 14, 1954 and demoted to Patrolman 1st Class on August 19, 1959.

There are over 55 mentions of Sid Crenshaw in local newspapers relating to his time in the OPD. Everything from community events and humorous staged photos, to rescues and tragedies. All are worth reading but one story from October 20, 1955, involving an elderly African American man with epilepsy exemplifies his respect and compassion for all Orlando’s residents during a time of segregation in the South.

Training at OPD

During his years at the OPD, Sid provided training to both new and veteran motorcycle patrolmen, school patrol boys, and completed a variety of training courses himself. Sid completed an FBI course and Traffic School at the University of Florida, a Traffic Investigation course at the Miami Police Academy, and courses through the Orlando Police Academy including traffic control and riot control. In 1954, Sid attended a traffic safety conference in Miami with Orlando City Commissioner George Barker and Orange County Safety Committee member Harrison Quinby.

In December 1963, the city added ten new radio-equipped Harley Davidson motorcycles and four new recruits who were put through a rigorous two-week training period under the guidance of veteran cycle officer Sid Crenshaw.

Caught in the Act

Below are a few photographs of Patrolman Sid Crenshaw “caught in the act” as it were while on the job with the Orlando Police Department.

In May 1946, Sid participated in the OPD sponsored automobile safety inspection event at Exposition Park in downtown Orlando. Patrolmen Crenshaw performed safety checks of the brakes, lights, tires, and windshield wipers for Orlando automobile owners in an effort to insure safer driving.

Radio and television personality Sky King came to town in January 1949 to speak on safety at local grammar schools. Patrolman Sid Crenshaw and Lt. Vernon Rogers were part of the delegation that met him at the airport when he and “Peter Pan” arrived.

Patrolman 1st Class Crenshaw, Sgt. Gatrell, and Meter Maid Bedikian and Lt. McCoy issued pilot Roy Beatty a ticket for parking his plane on Orange Avenue. But it was all in fun during a parade advertising the Orlando JayCee Air Show at the Herndon Airport October 5-6, 1963.

Accidents and Close Calls

Sid Crenshaw had a few close calls and accidents while with the Orlando Police Department from 1940 to 1965. The events below and many other events were mentioned in the local newspaper.

February 19, 1953 – Local Realtor Charged As Gun Wielder
On the night of February 19, 1953, local realtor N. O. McDowell, Sr., shot at Patrolman Sidney Crenshaw after he had arrested him for breaching the peace at a dance at the American Legion Hall. Sid Crenshaw said that the discharge from a .32 caliber Smith-Wesson pistol left powder burns on his left ear and would have killed him if he hadn’t have ducked.

November 1955 – Cycle Officer Take Spill, Survives, Nabs Air Force Driver
According to the article published in the Orlando Sentinel on November 29, 1955, OPD Sgt. Crenshaw had his first spill in eight years while chasing a speeding car down Primrose Avenue. His cycle struck an eight-inch-deep hole in the road, flipped in the air and tossed him onto the street. Sid suffered abrasions of the hips and elbows, a skinned shoulder and multiple “skinnings” about his body. Despite his injuries, he got up and issued the driver a ticket for speeding.

March 29, 1957 – Oops, It Can Happen To Best, Eh Sarge?
The Orlando Evening-Star reported an accident that injured Sid’s ego more than his body. “Sidney C. Crenshaw is a police sergeant and a man ‘born’ to cycles. He’s been riding solos since he was 14… His long frame, astride a two-wheeler, has been the epitome of self-assurance, a familiar figure on Orlando streets for years. There in the presence of his fellow officers, Crenshaw suffered an ignominious fall. As he backed away from the station last Friday his foot slipped off the clutch, he lost his balance and fell into the side of a squad car…”

Charitable Pursuits and Focus on Youth

Patrolman Sidney Crenshaw was active in many charitable and civic organizations in Orlando related to his position at the Orlando Police Department and his desire to help the youth, often taking a leading role.

American Legion Post 19

OPERATION TOT CAMPAIGN 1949-1950

The Orlando American Legion Post 19 participated in the 1949-1950 national “Operation TOT” campaign to collect and ship toys to needy children in Europe. As chairman of the Legion’s collection committee, Sid reported in early January 1950, that more than 3,000 toys had already been collected, resulting in the filling of 18 to 20 large wooden crates, including 10 crates of dolls to be distributed through CARE. Many of the dolls and toys were donated by the Dickson-Ives company.

Girl Scouts from Orlando Troop 33 are pictured in front of American Legion Post 19, atop crates filled with 4,000 to 5,000 toys contributed by children of Orlando for poor youngsters in Europe through the Operation TOT campaign led by OPD Patrolman Sid Crenshaw.

40 ET 8 – FORTY AND EIGHT

Sid Crenshaw, served as garde de la porte of the 176-member Voiture 40 et 8 or Forty and Eight arm of the Orange County American Legion Orlando Memorial Post 19. The organization was known for its charitable work focused on child welfare, often raising money to aid crippled and critically ill children. An article published in March 1951 reported that the Orange County 40 et 8 group had cared for six “blue babies” (infants born with cyanosis) over the previous five-year period with all of the children being cured.

OPD Police Benevolent Association

Sid Crenshaw was also active in the Police Benevolent Association, for many years serving in various positions on the Welfare Committee. On January 28, 1955, as chairman of the welfare committee, OPD Sergeant Sid Crenshaw and Patrolman Ben Chada, President of the Police Benevolent Association, presented a $50 check from the association to James Caton, chairman of the 1955 Orange County March of Dimes Campaign.

Orlando Police Relief Club

The Orlando Police Relief Club raised funds to provide support and financial assistance to families of police officers through the Welfare, Pension and Dance committees. In 1947, Sid was elected president of the Orlando Police Relief Club and in 1950, Sid headed the Welfare committee.

Junior Police Force – Junior Police Club

Sid Crenshaw along with others from the OPD and Police Reserve members mentored youngsters participating in the Orlando Junior Police Force in 1949 later becoming Junior Police Clubs in the early 1950s. The clubs were formed to help youngsters become responsible citizens and demonstrate to them that a policeman is their friend. In April 1949, Sid, as Chief of the Orlando Junior Police Force, announced that a benefit was in the works to raise funds for equipment and to pay for activities for the club members.

In 1950, there were about 1,000 boys in four Orlando precincts meeting every Friday night to participate in supervised sports, recreation activities, and community service events. Club members raised money for Easter Seals and built racers for the annual Orange Crate Steeplechase. Sid even promoted participation in the clubs on the YMCA Hour on WLOF radio in 1949.

School Patrol

Sid participated in safety training events sponsored by the OPD to prepare Orlando School Patrol crossing guards for the new school year. This photo is from a training event for 64 students conducted on Saturday, September 3, 1955. Sergeant Sid Crenshaw and Captain Stone are instructing the students on safety precautions using a drawing of an intersection.

In Gratitude

Sid Crenshaw received many letters of appreciation in gratitude for his kindness, courtesy and assistance in the commission of his duties as a police officer and for participation in community events. Some additional compliments or kudos were even published in the local newspaper.

The entry on October 2, 1958, really piqued my curiosity – “Escorting Missile thru Orlando.”

1951. On April 23, 1951, the Orlando Evening Star’s Around The Town columnist Hanley Pogue wrote: “Traffic Patrolman Sid Crenshaw came in for some deserved praise this week. A motorist stopped by the office to say that Crenshaw was one of the nicest policemen he had ever encountered and that more of the law enforcement officers should follow his example.”

1956. The January 19, 1956, Orlando Evening Star included this compliment from the editor. “Sid Crenshaw, one of Orlando’s most popular traffic officers is receiving the plaudits of several of our winter visitors. It seems that when they stop Crenshaw and ask directions to some of the places in Orlando that are really hard to locate, Sid mounts his motorcycle and guides them until he is sure they can get where they are going without getting lost. This is making a lot of friends for Crenshaw and the City of Orlando. People do not forget these courtesies.”

1965. Orlando resident Ken Hickey shared similar sentiments in a letter published in the Orlando Sentinel July 31, 1965, eleven days after Sid was struck by an intoxicated driver. He wrote:
“Why not give some credit to “Big Sid” Crenshaw which he has more than earned? Sid held the respect of us all. We who know Sid took the attitude that if Sid was near all was well in hand. Orange County, Orlando, the police department, and its many citizens all feel that the credit “Big Sid” Crenshaw has earned should now be expressed with these words: Thank you, Sid, for the too numerous to mention number of deeds you have done as a citizen and officer of the law, and I along with many other grateful citizens of Orlando hope you are back in your boots very soon.”

Family Matters

Sidney Crenshaw married Mary Madalyn Mason in Bainbridge, Georgia on January 12,1935, relocating to Orlando around October that year. Between 1951-1957 Mary was mentioned in several newspaper articles regarding her involvement in the Police Officers Auxiliary. Their only child, Madalyn Flora was born on Feb. 4, 1945, while Sid was serving in the U.S. Navy.

It is unclear when Sid and Mary’s marital problems began, but they divorced in Brevard County in December 1959. Later that month, Mary Crenshaw married Herbert Varian in Orange County and Sid married divorcee Sarah Gooden Morton in Lake County.

Sid and Sarah had one child – Lesa Diane – whose birth at Florida Sanitarium and Hospital was announced in the Orlando Evening Star on March 18, 1960.

In the Line of Duty

OPD Motorcycle Patrolman Sidney Clayton Crenshaw was struck by an intoxicated driver on July 20, 1965. Sid had stopped to assist two police officers who had pulled over another driver on Colonial Drive (Hwy. 50) near Fairvilla. His motorcycle was knocked 130 feet in the impact and Sid was found 30 feet away.

Sid never recovered from the injuries he sustained and died 16 months later. There were around 40 articles published in local newspapers about the accident, Sid’s gradual decline and death.

August 1965. An article in the August 6, 1965, edition of the Orlando Sentinel stated that Sid was still in critical condition at Orange Memorial Hospital after having brain surgery to remove a blood clot on his brain.

October 1965. When it was determined that nothing more could be done for Sid, Charlie Wadsworth in his Hush Puppies column published in the Orlando Sentinel on October 14, 1965, made the announcement that Sid had been moved to a nursing home.

“Sid Crenshaw, the long-time Orlando police veteran of 25 years who suffered permanent head injuries while on duty on July 20, has been removed from Orange Memorial Hospital to the Barrington Terrace Nursing Home at 215 Annie just off Delaney Street. He is allowed visitors, but visitors are asked not to stay too long with him at present.”

February 1966. It was announced in the Orlando Sentinel on February 24,1966, that Sid had been adjudged by the court to be an incompetent person.

June 1966. In June 1966, it was learned that the agency handling the OPD’s workmen’s compensation insurance was contemplating sending Sid to Denver, Colorado. This upset many people in Orlando including Mrs. J. G. B. who wrote: “Why is it necessary to send Sid Crenshaw to a rehabilitation center as far away as Denver? Surely there must be one closer so his family and friends can visit him.”

September 1966. Sid Crenshaw was transported to the Florida State Mental Hospital at MacClenny, Florida in Baker County just west of Jacksonville in late September 1966.

November 1966. Two months after arriving in MacClenny, Sid suffered a stroke. Sidney Clayton Crenshaw died four days later on Sunday, November 20th, far from the community that he loved and the people who loved him.

Orlando Police Department Chief Johnstone, when advised of Sid’s death said, “Sid was highly respected in the community, not only among the adults but also among the young people.”

End of Watch

Sidney Clayton Crenshaw’s funeral was conducted at Garden Chapel Home for Funerals on Wednesday, November 23, 1966, with Rev. John Fletcher of Goss Memorial Methodist Church officiating. The Orlando Police Department provided an Honor Guard and members of the Motorcycle Squad were his casket bearers. Sid was laid to rest in the historic Greenwood Cemetery in Orlando all by himself – not with his family who are buried across Georgia, South Carolina and Florida – but among the Orlandoans he served in the community he loved.

In the years after his death, Sid’s name was added to the Police and Firefighter Memorial erected at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Gotha to honor police and firefighters from Central Florida who made the ultimate sacrifice and died in the in line of duty.

As Jack Recker said, “Sid was not Superman, but he was a solid man whom the community respected.” A man who cared greatly for the people of Orlando especially the young. Sid had faults as do we all, but the citizens of Orlando – adults and young alike – knew Orlando was a safer and better place when Big Sid was around.

And, as radio broadcaster Paul Harvey was known to say: “Now you know the rest of the story.”

Rest in peace, Big Sid. I wish I’d known you.

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