Through most of Wilbrahams years, as it was in all small communities, CONSTABLES were elected by the people of the town. In most instances, however, the duties of a constable were limited to specific functions such as posting warrants for town meetings and other non-arduous work. Major crimes in the town of Wilbraham were handled by the County Sheriff, his deputies and in the past 30 years, by the Massachusetts State Police. A constable in the town of Wilbraham had considerable power as an Officer of the law and Wilbraham had a few of them. For many years after the turn of the century the CONSTABLES kept law and order in Wilbraham.
Among the most colorful local constables was the late Agustus F. "GUS" Friend who also served as deputy sheriff for many years. In some sections of this community he was known as " Mr. Gus " and he was always greeted as such by law-breakers and others who had observed demonstrations of his prowess. It has been often said of Gus by police associates that he was one of the most fearless men they had ever known. Gus had a flair for breaking up brawls, no matter how many were involved, and his only weapons were his fists. He came to know every inch of the town during his 30 years in police work and his assistance was of immense value to the state police in clearing up many crimes. Gus resigned his duties in 1943. The last local man known to hold an appointment of
Deputy Sheriff was the late George Egan. Towns people who remember when constables were active recall that their biggest chore of the year was the duty they performed each night before the 4th of July. They were kept on the go by pranksters. They issued warnings more frequently than they made arrests and ended their tour at the Old North Wilbraham Fire Station by having breakfast with the firemen and commiserating on their busy night.
In May of 1955 the Board of Selectmen acting as Police Commissioners had appointed supplementary uniformed Special Police to set up temporary local patrols in cooperation with the state police (Monson barracks ). The roster of the regular force were Sgt. Robert C. Dietz, patrolman Ernest Bacon, Gardner Files and Norman Farnsworth and approximately 8-10 axillary officers. During this year the police department installed a radio-telephone in the cruiser which aided greatly in the proper handling of emergencies. It proved to be one of the departments valuable assets during the August flood of 1955. By 1957 the police department had added another officer to the regular force while Sgt. Robert C. Dietz was promoted to the rank of Captain. The four patrolman on the force were Ernest
Bacon, Gardner Files, William Pollitt and Stephen Lopata, Norman Farnsworth stepped down but stayed on as a special police officer.
More to follow........................
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