Maybe Marty Elmore wasn’t sure what employment path to take immediately after graduating from Houston High School in 1977.
But a few years later, Elmore decided which way he wanted to go, and stuck with it. The result was a career with the Missouri State Highway Patrol that spanned more than 31 years and came to a conclusion March 28.
After high school, Elmore attended Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield (now Missouri State) for about three semesters. But he decided to return to Houston and worked in management at a local restaurant and then at a manufacturing plant.
As a youngster, Elmore always thought being a trooper sounded good. His career with the MSHP ultimately began as a result of his acquaintance with a trio of Troop G troopers.
Two were Larry Southern and Mike Pace, whom Elmore knew when he was a teenager.
“I always thought they were both neat guys and I really respected them and looked up to them,” he said.
The third was a neighbor in Houston.
“When I came back from SMS, I bought a house on Dooley Street right across from a young trooper – Wesley Mann,” Elmore said. “We got acquainted and one night he invited me over for a barbecue. We’re standing on the deck and he’s flipping burgers and he said, ‘Have you ever thought of being a trooper?’ I said, ‘As a matter of fact I have.’ One thing led to another and I rode with him in his patrol car –– which was easier for civilians to do back then.
“That caused the little spark that had always been there to really kindle.”
After being accepted into the patrol academy, Elmore began his training in January 1983 and a few months later began his first on-the-road stint as a trooper in Cuba. He stayed there until his first wife died of childbirth complications, and then returned to Houston to work with Troop G in September 1984.
From there, he went on to meet and married his current wife, Patti, and ended up in Gainesville after he was promoted to corporal. Elmore for years had an interest in becoming a public information officer, and got his chance in September 1993. He then moved his family to Willow Springs to be close to the Troop G headquarters, and he and Patti raised their daughter and three sons there before moving to West Plains in 2007.
Elmore said being a trooper in 2014 is vastly different than in 1983.
“There have been lots of changes,” he said. “I think the 31 years represents a period of dramatic shifts, mainly because of technology. A trooper’s primary mission is to enforce traffic laws and promote safety on the highways –– that’s what we did back in ’83 and that’s what we’re still doing now. The line-level job hasn’t really changed much –– and probably never will –– but the way we carry out duties is a lot different, in terms of recording and processing information and even issuing tickets.”
The long-time state lawman said technology isn’t the only thing that has evolved and changed in 31 years.
“I would have to say that peoples’ attitudes have really shifted,” Elmore said. “I didn’t work the road full time in the last 20 years of my career, but I did it enough and talked to people who were in the trenches every day to know what was going on. I think people are a little less patient today than they were when I started.
“That’s not to say there weren’t always some people out there who represented that dangerous tiny percentage who would hurt you given a chance –– they’ve always been there and probably always will be. But I think there’s been a big change in ordinary folks who maybe aren’t as patient as they once were. The world is a crazy place today and we all know that. There’s a lot of stress and a lot of things people are dealing with, and the negative byproduct of that is that people are a little quicker to erupt.”
Being in a patrol vehicle as often as he was over the years, Elmore had ample opportunity to view unusual and extraordinary sights. Two such memorable moments happened in his early days in Cuba.
One was when he did a major double-take when he saw the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile traveling along Interstate 44.
“My first perception as it was way off in the distance was, ‘That’s a strange color for a car,’” Elmore said. “When it got close, I thought, ‘That’s also a strange shape for a car.’”
Another occurred when he was still riding with his training officer, Rick Wilhoit. The pair was about finished with their shift, when at about 11 p.m. they began seeing exotic cars zoom by on I-44 at speeds well in excess of 100 miles per hour.
They were witnessing participants in the infamous Four Ball Rally, a cross-country race from Boston to San Diego that ran from 1981 to 1984.
“There were Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsche 911 Turbo Carreras, things like that,” Elmore said. “We thought, ‘This isn’t normal.’ We ended up writing several tickets.”
Some of Elmore’s other memories aren’t as humorous. Several of his cohorts were killed in the line of duty during his career, and he saw a fatal firefight during his assignment in Ozark County.
“We got called to house one afternoon because a guy hadn’t shown up for an appointment with his probation officer,” Elmore said. “He was a former Marine who was having some stability issues. He had been shooting at some officers, so we surrounded the house and finally tear-gassed it. He came out holding an AK-47 with a bayonet affixed to it.
“The county sheriff shot him with a 12-gauge shotgun two or three times and knocked him to the ground, but he came up trying to raise the weapon. Another trooper shot him again and I watched him take his last breath. That was one of those times you go home and get on your knees and thank the good Lord you lived through it.”
As Troop G’s public information officer, Elmore made countless appearances at schools and other public functions, sharing the message of safety and citizenship. He also worked as a recruiter for the patrol, taught for seven years at the American Legion’s Missouri Boys State and was on duty when then vice president George H.W. Bush spoke in Mountain Grove (a few months before being elected president in 1987).
“They put me on the roof of the Rexall drug store,” Elmore said. “I didn’t get to meet him or shake his hand like a lot of people did because I was up there with my rifle and binoculars.”
Elmore said one thing that drew him to being a trooper was something he perceived even before he became one.
“I picked up on the camaraderie that existed,” he said. “There’s a very real feeling of togetherness, and I’ve been privileged to work with some wonderful folks.”
His attraction to public information stemmed from the chance to be a positive influence in the lives of kids.
“I really like people and I really like young folks,” he said. “I like to think that in going around talking to people that maybe I helped some of them rethink their position if they weren’t wearing a seatbelt, or they were dabbling in drugs or whatever the case might be. I’m not naïve enough to think I could affect everyone, but I’ve heard from people who said they gained something from it. That’s really rewarding.”
Elmore plans to work part time in real estate and continue traveling and singing with Patti as the gospel music duo “The Elmores.” He retired as a sergeant.
“I got to do some things I never dreamed of doing while growing up in Houston, Mo.,” Elmore said. “I’ve enjoyed it, it’s been a great and I hope I’m remembered as somebody who genuinely liked people and tried to have a positive attitude most of the time.
“The Lord looked after me during the course of my career, and I’m a guy who was really blessed to have done what I did with the patrol. I have no regrets.”
The Lord looked after me during the course of my career, and I’m a guy who was really blessed to have done what I did with the patrol. I have no regrets.”
A great article about a great guy!