Retired officer donates police memorabilia to city

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This article was published 25/06/2024 (472 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A retired customs service officer has donated police memorabilia to the City of Steinbach, with the hope that it will preserve history and encourage others to donate.

Harry Troche moved to Steinbach eight years ago and since then he has had a fondness for the city and its people. He started collecting Steinbach police memorabilia as part of his vast collection of a few hundred pieces.

“I found it really incredible when I moved here to find out that many Steinbach residents – generations of people in Steinbach – don’t know that Steinbach had its own police service and many don’t know that Manitoba had its own provincial police service from 1872 to 1932…

“In fact, (the Steinbach police force) existed for 53 years from 1922 to 1975. I collected law enforcement memorabilia and I made it my goal to collect as much memorabilia as I could from our small town police services. As I walked up (to city hall), I saw a small plaque that said, ‘Recognizing Steinbach’s past’… I thought how appropriate it would be doing this today and recognizing Steinbach’s past.”

Troche handed over to Mayor Earl Funk three shoulder patches, one of which marked the 100 year anniversary of the force in Steinbach; a hat pin; and a pocket badge. In the 53 years that the Steinbach police existed, it ranged in size from one officer to six or seven at its height. Troche said there isn’t a lot out there on the Steinbach police and that in his years of collecting police memorabilia, the Steinbach items were some of the hardest items to obtain.

“It’s from my collection of almost 50 years. I’m hoping that by doing this it’ll help our Steinbach residents maybe dig into their closets and find some other artifacts from our city’s past, that they can dig out, and donate to the city and put it on display here where everyone can see it when they come to city hall,” said Troche.

Troche began his career in the military police, where he was an officer for three years. He then became a customs services officer for 32 years. It was while in civil law enforcement that he began collecting police memorabilia. He said pins, patches, hats, and other police items were regularly handed out in the past when visiting officers would come to a detachment or headquarters. His policing also took him around the world where he worked with other police departments on rebuilding countries after the fall of communism, mostly in law enforcement and intelligence work related to commercial criminal activity.

Troche said that police memorabilia collectors have to be careful with what they do with their collection as it can be misused by criminals.

“We’re living in a world where, unfortunately, there’s been incidents of people misusing a uniform and we’ve seen some tragic consequences. We have to be very careful. So, gifting to museums is one way we know that items that relate to policing can go to a good cause and be safe and sound and be appreciated by the public.”

Funk said he will keep the donation in his office where the public can come and view it.

“For me, the city, it means a great lot. It allows us to hold on to some of our past and see where we’ve come from and as Harry said, in 1975 due to economic reasons, we chose to go with the RCMP over our own municipal police. And they have served us well and they’re doing their best. I, at this point, I think it’s great to look back especially this year. This is a year of reflection with 150 years behind us and I think this is really special to get it this year.”

For his donation, Troche received from the city the Community Contribution Award, which recognized Troche’s “exceptional service and unwavering commitment to the community of Steinbach.”