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Fully furnished • Emergency Response pendant PSW & Nursing support • 3 meals/day Thursday, april 27, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 5 By Samantha Beattie Chronicle Staff The last year of the Water-loo police force was Paul Schmitt's first as an offi- cer. Hired in 1972 -- a year before amalgamation and the creation of the Waterloo Region- al Police Service -- Schmitt recalls a time of smaller, slower- paced policing. He'd walk for hours around uptown to "keep a lid on things." "I walked the beat for two years, and got to know every- body and they all knew me," he said. Without phones or even walkie talkies, Schmitt's patrol sergeant would drive around in his cruiser looking for him and his partner to make sure they were doing their jobs. They'd duck into doorways peaking out to watch the sergeant drive down King Street. When he came back, still looking, they'd disappear again. "It was the game of cat and mouse," Schmitt said. "Eventu- ally he'd get a hold of us and ask us where we'd been. We'd say, 'Well, we saw you driving by.'" Upon amalgamation, the City of Waterloo had 52 officers who joined WRPS along with about 300 others from Kitchener and Cambridge, and neighbour- ing towns and villages. Of those 52 Waterloo officers, 33 are still alive today. At 72, Schmitt is one of the youngest and is planning a reunion. The first in 15 years, it will take place in Waterloo at the Heuther Hotel April 30 from 1 to 4 p.m. It's an event to remember the funny and strange parts of policing and experiences unique to Waterloo. "You're talking 700 years of police service (combined), so there has to be a few stories in there," Schmitt said. A lot of Schmitt's work in 1972 revolved around patrol- ling the local watering holes and keeping an eye on strippers, bik- ers and students. It was a time when officers were hired with- out a high school diploma and learned on the spot; it could take up to a year on the job before officers received formal police training. "When I was sworn in, I was given a second-hand uniform and a gun and was told I knew right from wrong," Schmitt said, who at six-feet, six-inches tall was an imposing figure. He learned early on not to let students walk all over him when they were out drinking at the bars and to set an example early on in the school year. "When I made an arrest for say, being drunk in public, it got around that if they went down- town they'd have to behave themselves," he said. Schmitt broke up a lot of fights, but also helped people out. One night on the beat, Schmitt heard a crash and a man screaming. He found him lying on the sidewalk in front of a hotel and called an ambu- lance. By the time it arrived, Schmitt had learned that the man had a room upstairs and, while drunk, had stepped out of the window onto a ledge to uri- nate. Instead, he'd fallen to the ground below and had the wind knocked out of him. Miracu- lously, he wasn't seriously hurt. "If he'd been sober he would have killed himself," Schmitt said. Incidents like that filled up his short time with the Waterloo police force. "We had a good department and we worked well together during that time," he said. "Being a relatively small police force, we were used to doing things our own way and not everyone was keen on the idea of a regional government com- ing in." A few officers left, but those who stayed on enjoyed more resources with WRPS. For instance, Waterloo police didn't have an identification unit or traffic section until WRPS formed. Detectives were also more readily available. Schmitt stayed in Waterloo for most of his career, except for when he worked in the canine unit -- his favourite role -- in Kitchener. He retired in 2000. The reunion will be a time to celebrate "the men who kept the City of Waterloo a safe place to work and play," said Schmitt. It's now or never, with those who are left getting older. Schmitt encourages attend- ees to bring any memorabilia from back in the day. Wives are also welcome, "to keep the sto- ries believable." The policeman's ball Do you remember when the City of Waterloo had its own police force? These guys do, as they hold a reunion to recollect this Sunday at the Huether Hotel Paul Schmitt, a retired police officer, holds a photo of Water- loo's old police station on Albert Street. This photo will be on display at a reunion for former City of Waterloo cops April 30. SAmAnThA BeATTie PhoTo