First Police Chief
Before Powell was incorporated as a village in 1947, it relied on a constable from Liberty Township for police protection. There were no streetlights or traffic lights and just a volunteer fire department. The new Mayor and Council appointed William “Bill” Muladore as Village Marshal. No special training was required back then. Among his many friends, Bill was known as being fair but tough. His duties included directing traffic at the four corners, watching the children exiting the Powell School as they came down the hill to cross Powell Road, and keeping order on Saturday nights at the busy and noisy Powell Speedway. His daughter Donna Lawrence, in her “Glimpses of the Past” article written for the Olentangy Valley News in 1997, said her father was known as the “ambassador of good will of Powell” and knew every adult, child, dog, and cat among the 350 residents of the town. Bill served as police chief until his death in 1962 at the age of 75.
