Turning back the years
Published on October 2nd, 2002
STONEHAM, MA - Stoneham Police Inspector George Sullivan gets a little twinkle in his eye when he starts to talk about the history behind the Stoneham Police, and the long forgotten stories of his ancestors from the ages of prohibition, segregation and the Great Depression. Sullivan, a veteran of the force for over twenty years, decided to dig up some of the forgotten stories and buried scandals, and has begun compiling an informal history of the Stoneham Police Department.
“I was at the Christmas Party for the Department last year, and I got to thinking about all of the history of the department, and all the different people that were Stoneham Police Officers,” said Sullivan. “I was thinking that maybe we’ll put up some kind of a plaque at the station, or transfer the information into a computer file.”
Sullivan has researched at the Stoneham Public Library, with Town Clerk John Wainright’s office, and has also commissioned scrapbooks and newspaper clippings from second-generation cops like Sgt. Bob McKinnon and Lt. Bill O’Toole.
“Everybody’s been such a great help, and it’s tough to put these books down once you get into them,” said Sullivan. “It all started when I got records way back to 1725, and the first official Constable of Stoneham, Ebenezer Dunne.”
Sullivan then began collecting various odds and ends about the growth of the police force, and some striking differences between the past and the present. According to Sullivan’s research, the 19th century Stoneham Police force was comprised of three men chosen annually by the Board of Selectmen long before Civil Service changed the complexion of public safety. The first Stoneham Police station was utilized in 1852, the first full-time paid police force was adopted in 1889, and the first lock-up cell was in the basement depths of a normal commercial building in Stoneham Square.
For example, Sullivan found that the annual Stoneham book of Receipts and Expenditures would also list an annual arrest report, in addition to a report from the acting Chief. In 1874, there were 118 arrests within the town lines of Stoneham, including 42 for drunkenness, six for Sunday card playing, eight for selling liquor, and three for having a dog without a license.
“Nobody remembers stuff like this anymore, and it’s just so valuable to prevent it from becoming lost forever,” said Sullivan, as he leafed through an old arrest booking log that would list the suspects name, occupation, address and whether they were “Irish”, “Swede”, “Italian”.
The Stoneham Police then purchased their first motor vehicle in 1923, and bought a pair of motorcycles in 1926 and 1927. The town also installed traffic lights at the intersections of Main Street with Maple, Montvale, Franklin and Elm in 1931.
“These books are just loaded with stuff like when John Adams, John Hancock and a number of the other founding fathers visited Stoneham in 1793,” said Sullivan. “This stuff would make a great little keepsake book for the lifelong residents of Stoneham.”
Sullivan said that the historical tomes are filled with familiar Stoneham names like Gould, Cowdrey, Geary, Green, and many familiar police names.
Among the most famous stories from the old Stoneham Police are an alleged shootout car chase that ran right through Stoneham Square. A pair of baby-faced bandits were escaping from Lowell with a stolen car full of stolen furs valued at $1,000 in 1924.
Sgt. John O’Brien and Patrolmen Dennis McKinnon forced the car to the side of the road at Main Street and Marble, with revolvers drawn according to both the local and Boston news clippings, and proceeded to arrest the 18 and 22 year-old men and 19 year-old girl. According to the article, one of the men vowed “that he would have made good use of the gun if not for the presence of the girl.”
Several pages of McKinnon’s scrapbook are devoted to his grandfather, who became known as the un-kissable cop after an incident in 1932.
According to the article from United Press, McKinnon wrote a 2:45 a.m. report that read: “I investigated the complaint of a girl wandering around the Chase Building. Woman appeared slightly under the influence of liquor. Gave me a Cambridge address. I put her in a machine (car) parked in the square, which, she said, she had left. Wanted to reward me with a kiss. Sent her on her way.
PS - I didn’t take the kiss.”
McKinnon’s simple report started a fad in Stoneham where passersby would blow kisses to McKinnon as he directed traffic in the square.
Sullivan is attempting to keep stories such as these alive for his Stoneham Police compilation, but also needs the help of lifelong Stoneham residents.
“If anyone has any pictures, articles, or any pieces of information about the history of the Stoneham Police Department, I can be reached at the station,” said Sullivan. “I’m looking to make this as thorough as I possibly can, and I definitely will need more help to do that.”
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