The Border Police

One Hundred and Twenty-Five Years of Policing in Windsor

C.H. Gervais
Research by Mary E. Baruth-Walsh and G. Mark Walsh

9 X 19 inches, 162 pages
over 120 b&w photographs and archival reproductions

FROM THE CHAOTIC DAYS of the nineteenth century to the present, the lawmakers in the border towns of Windsor, Sandwich and Walkerville proved to be a tough-minded, scrappy lot, rarely backing down from confrontations, and rarely compromising principles. Their fierce loyalty to their country sets them apart and makes them unique on the south bank of the Detroit River.

Marty Gervais provides an engaging, colourful, vivid and anecdotal portrait of the development and growth of the Windsor Police over 125 years. The story he tells is that of a handful of brassy constables who were prepared to stand firm against the pending invasion of the Fenians.... Of a defiant police officer who, despite threats from the heavyweight champion of the world, wouldn't back down from battling the boxer if that's what it took to arrest him.... Of the police department haggling with the city over trying to justify the need for a telephone in its offices.... Of corruption and scandals and investigations that led to the stormy removal of its police chiefs.... Of Baptist clergymen arrested at the border for carrying lethal weapons.... Gervais brings these astonishing stories to life in a serious, funny and absorbing account of policing along the Detroit River and the border between Canada and the U.S.

C.H. (Marty) Gervais

Author

Marty Gervais was born in Windsor and grew up in Bracebridge. He received a BA from University of Guelph and an MA in creative writing from University of Windsor, where he studied under Morley Callaghan. The recipient of numerous journalism awards in his lengthy career as a journalist at The Windsor Star, and lauded for his book The Rumrunners, a history of Prohibition in Canada, Gervais has also won recognition for his creative writing. With Autobiographies he was runner-up in the Milton Acorn Memorial People's Poetry competition in 1989.

Mary E. Baruth-Walsh

Researcher

A graduate in history from the University of Windsor, Mary E. Baruth-Walsh worked as the curator at the Backus Historical Complex for the Long Point Region Conservation Authority. She completed the certificate in museum studies program from the Ontario Museum Association. G. Mark Walsh is her partner in life, writing, and business.

G. Mark Walsh

Researcher

Also a graduate in history from the University of Windsor, G. Mark Walsh studied archival administration at Wayne State University and is a member of the Academy of Certified Archivists. He has worked as Windsor's municipal archivist and as Records Coordinator for the City of London.

The pair have been a research and writing team since 1991, sharing a long-standing interest in automotive and labour history. Together they operate Baruth-Walsh Heritage Consultants and reside in Port Rowan, Ontario.