Why are sheriff’s badges almost always star-shaped? Jane McKenna Spokane, Washington Primitive societies believed the star possessed magical powers, principal of which was the power to guard against danger and control evil forces. Down through the ages the star maintained that symbol of guardianship and was adopted by peace officers as a badge for that reason.

True West March/April 2025
In This Issue:
Western Books & Movies
More In This Issue
- Truth Be Known
- What Has Taught Me: Deb Goodrich
- Earp, Cowboy Songs & Prairie Hygiene
- Trails of the Old West
- The Frontier Characters of South Dakota
- The Bowie Knife
- The Kindled Flame 1835
- King of the Scatterguns
- Selling the Mythic West and the Real West
- A Gut Punch Turns into a Miracle Reprieve
- The Beginnings of the Bird Cage
- Frontier Colossus