When he graduated from University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1983, Ed Mahon thought serving as a police officer for a couple of years would be a great stepping stone to becoming a game warden.
There was just one small problem -- he loved police work so much that the idea of chasing turkey poachers faded from his memory.
After 42 years in law enforcement, all of it as a member of the South Sioux City Police Department, Mahon will be hanging up his holster and retiring from law enforcement work at the end of this month.
The 1979 South Sioux City High School graduate had spent a couple of summers working for the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission out in Bassett after earning his degree in wildlife range management.
"It was the summer of 1983, and I was out doing some labor work and the game warden radioed me and said he was looking for some turkey poachers," Mahon said. "I had advised where I was at and was checking things out, and thought that was exciting and thought would be a cool job."
He came home that summer and was hired by then-chief Gene Claxton as a patrolman, figuring he'd work here for a couple of years and use that experience to become a game warden.
The problem was -- he loved what he was doing so much with the SSCPD that he never followed through.
"I had tested once and then just never pursued it again," he said. "I figured I loved what I was doing and liked where I was at, so I decided to stay."
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