FROM THE ARCHIVES BY MARY WATSON
ON PATROL IN WASAGA BEACH
Wasaga Beach has had police protection since the early 1930s. The first police station was a
st
small block building located in the area of the traffic island on 1 Street, across from Pedro’s. It
contained a small office and meeting room in the front and two cells in the back. At that time,
Wasaga’s original boundary was from Beck St west to Joan Ave. and did not have year-round
policing. Our first police constable was Tom Chapman, with Dick Cook later doing patrols. I’m told
that they did not wear uniforms, just dark suits with the appropriate hats.
OPP Station 1930s
Constable Dick Cook
Wilf Downer was hired as Police Chief in 1939 and policed Wasaga until 1949. He then operated
out of the Stayner office, patrolling our area until his retirement in 1959. Some locals may
remember having a late night chat with Wilf, who would make sure they got safely home from
whatever monkey business they were creating.
st
By the 1950s, the original structure had been demolished and the police station relocated to 1
Street across from the Dardanella. This building housed the OPP, Fire Department and Post
Office with an apartment above. Our first year-round officer was in place by 1954 and moved into
that apartment for a time. By 1959, there were 5 officers serving our area in the summer and
these officers stayed at the Bridgeview Inn.
1950s
After Oakview Beach was amalgamated into Wasaga in the 1960s, an addition was built and the
st
floor plan changed with the building facing what is now the 1 Street Parking Lot, adjacent to the
liquor store. This building had four cells, supporting offices and lunchroom. During the winter, two
officers served Wasaga and two served Oakview Beach, while in the summer, the staffing
increased to eight or nine in the Village and four patrolling Oakview. Ken McCutcheon was our
first Commanding Officer, and Glen Wilson was in charge in the late 70s. Doug Culham, a longtime Wasagan, was one of the officers looking after the Oakview area. You may remember Doug
as the original owner of Beach Builders.
1970s
As Wasaga Beach grew through amalgamations, our area of maintained roads increased
substantially and the need for a larger and more modern detachment building became apparent.
The Huronia West Detachment came into being in 1990, with four cells, a holding cell and
supporting work areas. We now have 68 permanent officers at the Detachment under Inspector
Kevin Hunter. Before you gasp at the number of officers, remember that the service area has
increased dramatically. Huronia West now covers 1470 km of land including Wasaga Beach, and
the Townships of Clearview and Springwater, as well as three bodies of water (Nottawasaga
River, Orr Lake and Little Lake) with a total patrol area of 1152.7 hectares. Wasaga alone has
about 220 kms of maintained roads. A total of 18,016 calls for service were received in 2010!
Policing in Wasaga has changed dramatically since the 1930s and the days are gone when you
knew every officer either personally or professionally. What is still evident, however, is our
confidence in the continued professionalism of the Huronia West OPP.
First printed in the “Wasaga Sun” on 23Nov2011.
Mary Watson is Archivist for the Wasaga Beach Archives. If you would like to contact Mary with
any
historical
information,
pictures
or
questions,
you
can
e-mail
her
at
[email protected].