Vietnam was in full swing. Communist China lost a UN admission vote. The appointment of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court was approved by the U.S. Senate. Disco was coming on strong with polyester bell bottom suits.
It all happened in 1967. That was also the year a 22-year-old idealist was elected to his first term as justice of the peace in Fairfax County and promptly began lobbying for the abolition of the office to which he had just been elected.
His name was and is Karl Weickhardt. Last Wednesday night at the Mount Vernon Government Center on Parkers Lane the community room filled with friends, cohorts and well wishers as he wrapped up 37 year of service to the people of Fairfax County and most particularly Mount Vernon District as Magistrate Karl Weickhardt.
"It was a very unhealthy system. JP's got $3 for every warrant they issued. No warrant, no money," Weickhardt said. "It's not hard to see what that led to."
Weickhardt said, "About a year after Virginia abolished that system, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision declaring it unconstitutional based on a Georgia case." In addition to Justice of the Peace, Weickhardt has held the titles of special justice, special magistrate and finally magistrate.
Born in the District of Columbia, Weickhardt moved to Mount Vernon District as a child. "When I first came here Fairfax County was a cow town with a police force of about 100. I was elected JP about the same time professionalization of the police department started," he said.
"I've heard more than 10,000 cases and I've seen this police department grow to become one of the best in nation," Weickhardt said. "I have great respect for them and what they do."
A GRADUATE OF ROLLINS College in Winter Park, Florida, Weickhardt received his law degree from the Potomac School of Law in 1980. In addition to his tenure as magistrate, he has also practiced law in Alexandria for the past 24 years.
One of his admirers is Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerald "Gerry" Hyland. "I've know Karl for more than 25 years, before I was first elected. I met him as an attorney practicing in Alexandria," he said.
"I've seen a lot of him since being elected. We have collaborated for years on how to make the office of magistrate better. These are people [magistrates] that are working for us [the people of Fairfax County] and helping us. We should be helping them," Hyland said.
To that end Hyland has been trying to get the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to supplement the magistrate salary scale. A new magistrate starts at $37,500 and tops out at $55,000, according to Weickhardt.
"It's pathetically low to start. It seems that the legislature is trying to balance the budget on the backs of the magistrates," Weickhardt said. Although they are controlled and paid by the state, it is permissible for county government to supplement their salaries, Hyland said. "Some already do," he said.
That supplemental increase in magistrate salaries is now in the proposed 2005 Fairfax County budget, Hyland told the audience. "Karl has fought for this over the years. It's too bad he won't be able to benefit from it," Hyland said.
SPEAKING FROM the podium, Hyland said, "There has not been a stronger advocate of magistrates than Karl. And, there is no one I can think of that has served the public better. You are a consummate public servant."
Acknowledging he had taken a "red-eye" flight from Arizona, where he was attending a meeting of the National Association of Counties, Hyland said, "There was no way I would have missed this occasion. I wanted to say thank you to a very special friend."
That praise was buttressed by Capt. Josiah "Larry" Moser, commander, Mount Vernon District Station, Fairfax County Police. "This is a very impressive showing here tonight and more than well deserved. The job you do goes unrecognized many times. You have made a very big difference in Fairfax County," Moser said.
Magistrate Mattie Palmore, who organized the retirement party, along with Magistrate Patricia Colgan, said, "I feel very happy to be here today for Karl's retirement. I've always said give me my flowers while I'm still alive and can enjoy them. That's what we're doing for Karl."
A FATHER of two adult children, a daughter and son, living in Los Angeles, Calif., and Tucson, Ariz., respectively, with their own careers in software engineering and management consulting, Weickhardt is still an avid water skier. "I'm a barefoot water skier and still do it on the Potomac. That's where I started water skiing," he said.
As a young man, he water skied at one of Florida's top attractions, Cypress Gardens, located not far from where he attended college.
"For my body weight, skiing at a speed of 36 miles per hour is ideal," he said. "I'm lucky. My metabolism has stayed very active, and that has kept my weight down."
Stepping to the microphone, Weickhardt said, "Most of my adult life has been dealing with the disadvantaged along the Route 1 corridor. And, I have tried to treat all those that came before me as I would have wanted to have been treated. I have seen both extremes of society.
"I will miss all of you and the people along the corridor. Thanks for the memories." Weickhardt was joined at the festivities not only by local friends and cohorts but also by members of his family.
"I'm going to practice law full time now, at least for a while," he said.