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By Al Sholund
Port Moody resident and Freedom of the City honouree |
 Chief Thomas Mackie, "walking the beat," circa 1936.We have all heard stories of police officers walking the "beat", but in the case of Port Moody's second police chief, Thomas Mackie, the whole of Port Moody was his "beat". His tour of duty was from 1919 to 1939.
Chief Mackie did not own or use a car (except in an emergency) in performing his duties. He walked every street and back alley from Barnet to Ioco.
The Chief was an imposing man always wearing a long, black topcoat and a Homburg hat. Only on very special occasions did he wear a uniform. He lived as a bachelor in the old City Hall (now our Arts Centre) on St. Johns Street.
Because Port Moody was a small town and because he walked, he knew everyone. Adults and children not only respected him but also liked him. When he came across boys smoking he would give them a quiet lecture about the "no smoking under 16 law." When he encountered any boy playing hooky, he would very quietly escort the boy back to school (very few girls smoked or played hooky).
Paydays from five sawmills and the Ioco Refinery could be quite hectic in the Tourist and Burrard Hotel beer parlours on Clarke Street. Amazingly, most fights were resolved without an arrest. However, if the protagonists did not listen to reason, the Chief would march them up to the lock-up in the basement of the City Hall to spend an uncomfortable night on the iron slat bunks.
In those days, all fines went into the city coffers. The elementary and high schools were together in the Grant-Moody block facing St. Johns Street, which was posted "School – Slow to 15 MPH". Most traffic fines were picked up at that location mostly from non-Port Moody drivers unaware that the man wearing a black topcoat standing leisurely on the corner was a police officer (pre-dating photo radar!).
In an emergency the Chief would flag down a car and ask the driver to take him to the site directly and this was done without question.
In 1935, two local 15 year old boys were planning to bicycle to Tacoma, Washington on a camping trip. They had a meeting with Chief Mackie asking for advice on do's and don'ts. At a subsequent meeting the Chief gave them letters of introduction to be used at the U.S. border and to be given to Police Chiefs in the major cities en route to Tacoma. The boys camped along the way until they reached a major city when they would produce their letter to the police. They invariably got a kind welcome and were offered overnight accommodation – if they did not mind sleeping in a jail cell – plus a hearty breakfast the next morning! All because of Chief Mackie's letters.
In some ways the good old days were far less complicated than today. |
