The Editor,
"I'm worried, Sandy's not come home!"
Like dozens of police family members before her and hundreds since, the wife of Chief Constable Alexander Main of the Richmond Municipal Police feared the worst.
It was the morning of April 15, 1900. The last time she saw her husband was on the morning of the 14th when he went out to investigate a theft at the Whiteside farm. Her worst fears were soon to be confirmed.
Detective T.H. Wylie of the Vancouver Police, working on his own time, was soon to find the body of his long-time friend in a shallow grave in Richmond.
Richmond is a wonderful place to live, full of huge parks and playgrounds, a safe and fun place to raise a family. But that peace and safety comes with a price, two more times in Richmond history families suffered the same pain as Mrs. Main. Const. Thomas Agar was shot and killed on Sept. 19, 1980 and Const. Jimmy Ng was killed on Sept. 15, 2002.
Every day, police officers go to work to keep us safe, everyday their families wait for them to return safely, some do not.
The last Sunday of September is Peace Officers Memorial Day when we can thank the families of those members who gave so much.
It is a time to think about not just the dead, but the peace officers who get injured and maimed keeping you and I safe. This year the local service will be at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. If you cannot make it to the service, just stop for a moment, think and remember. If you get a chance to say "thanks" to a cop, do it! Sometimes so little means so much.
I want to mention a school friend, Cpl. Graeme Charles Cumming, RCMP, killed in a flaming wreck on Highway 2 in Alberta, Aug. 12 1998. Graeme was a graduate of Steveston High. He was married.
Scott Stewart
Richmond
