After publishing a comprehensive history of Sarnia's fire department, the Sarnia Historical Society is taking on the task of doing the same for the local police service.
Chief Editor Phil Egan says he needs some help to sort through the archives of their 160 year history.
He says his visual impairment doesn't allow him to use the microfilm readers at Sarnia Library.
"It's fairly simple to use these machines," says Egan. "The library staff can demonstrate to a novice how to use them in a matter of minutes. I'm looking for people who will help me with the research by locating these stories on the microfilm readers and then printing them off for me."
Egan says there are some interesting stories out there.
"Somebody contacted me saying that his great grandfather had been on the Sarnia force in the years after the war. There had been a murder trial that had declared a verdict that wasn't popular with the police. The police had sort of rioted in the streets, apparently a number of them were let go and the chief was asked to resign. I haven't had a chance to look into that, but these are the types of stories I'm starting to hear," he says. "During the depression, the police community was too impoverished to put fuel into a cruiser and motorcycle."
He says the Sarnia Police Service was founded on May 15, 1857 with the hiring of Edward Proctor as the first officer.
The force didn't grow for another ten years when another three officers were brought on board. Today, there are 111 uniformed officers.
Anyone interested in helping Phil can email phil@sarniahistoricalsociety.com or call him at 519-491-6361.