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Obituary

When duty called at all hours, he answered

Residents turned to Carl Schneider, who died last week, for official business - and when "their toilets stopped up."

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published March 12, 2006

MADEIRA BEACH - After he was severely scratched and bitten while arresting a woman, residents and businesses here gave Carl W. Schneider a first-aid kit to keep in his patrol car.

He continued to carry that first-aid kit during the years he served as chief of police in Madeira Beach.

Mr. Schneider, 85, who died Sunday (March 5, 2006) at Bay Pines VA Medical Center, would go on to serve as a city commissioner and mayor before moving to Seminole and entering the business world.

His wife, Elsie, remembers their telephone ringing at all hours of the night, but not all the calls were about crimes in progress.

"The police department telephone was connected to our house and people called when their lights went out or their toilets stopped up," she says.

Clippings in a scrapbook kept by his daughter, Caryl Sue Schneider, tell an intriguing story of Madeira Beach politics in the 1950s.

"People thought a lot of my dad. He was a hard worker and had very high moral standards. He will be missed," says Caryl Sue.

Mr. Schneider was hired as Madeira Beach's second police chief in 1949. Before that, he was a sheriff's deputy in Ohio.

In 1951, a little more than two years after he was hired, Mr. Schneider suddenly resigned. He charged the city's mayor, police commissioner and city commission with asking him to "look the other way" when enforcing the town's laws, particularly as they related to gambling.

Those charges were sharply denied by city officials, but were backed by a citizen's group, the Greater Gulf Beaches Good Government League. A citizen petition calling for his reinstatement was rejected by the city commission.

"Everybody knew everybody. The town was not used to a real policeman who tried to go by the law," says Elsie.

Mr. Schneider stayed involved in city politics, first running unsuccessfully for mayor in 1953. He didn't give up, and in 1955 was elected as a city commissioner. Two years later, he was elected mayor.

Campaign issues were not that different from today - lower taxes, beach erosion, city infrastructure and growth, and lack of "decorum" at City Commission meetings.

While mayor, he fought against a move to abandon the city manager form of government.

He was forced to resign a year later when he sold his home in Madeira Beach and purchased a home in Seminole.

"We had too many kids and the house was too small," says Elsie.

By that time, Mr. Schneider had entered the automotive business, working for years at Adcock Buick (now Scott Buick) in St. Petersburg.

Mr. Schneider also was a longtime member of the Pin-Mar Antique Car Club, which his family says he helped to found.

His love of old cars led to a collection of antique automobiles that included a 1931 Buick, a 1936 Ford Phaeton, a "woody" station wagon, and Model A and Model T Fords. A 1938 Cadillac was sold to an antique car museum in Reno.

"They transported it by rail. I think it is still on exhibit," says Caryl Sue.

After he retired at the age of 63, Mr. Schneider kept busy helping his son, Carl W. Schneider II, manage a Largo home contracting business.

Mr. Schneider, a World War II veteran, also volunteered for many years at the VA hospital at Bay Pines.

Throughout his life, Mr. Schneider loved dogs. Last year he registered at the SPCA for a replacement for a beagle who had recently died. One day, he visited the animal shelter and was smitten with a two-year old schnauzer named Rocco.

Rocco came home with him as a surprise for Elsie.

"Rocco is still here with us," says Caryl Sue, who now lives in Tallahassee.

Mr. Schneider also leaves his son, two other daughters - Patricia Lee Schneider of Miami, and Betsy Jo Schneider of Hialeah - and two grandchildren.

Mr. Schneider's extended family gathered this week for services at the Lewis W. Mohn Funeral Home. Mr. Schneider will be buried in a private ceremony at Bay Pines.

[Last modified March 12, 2006, 01:18:21]