35th Anniversary Celebrated in Regina, SK

On this day in history, in simultaneous “swearing in” ceremonies across the country, the 32 women of Troop 17 joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police before travelling to Regina Depot for the six month recruit training program. Just over a century after its inception, this group of women made RCMP history as the first female constables hired to the force. The year . . . 1974.

In a CBC radio broadcast on September 16, 1974, Bob Johnstone reports that, “at least on paper the women Mounties are the same as the men, they’ll wear roughly the same uniform except they’ll have their choice of slacks or skirts. They’ll get the same pay and be subject to the same regulations”. At the time – and for the next 14 years – the Red Serge uniform for females was a red blazer, white turtle neck and long skirt. Rather than a Stetson hat, women wore a pillbox variety, which was considered more feminine and instead of a gun belt, they were given a purse to hold their .38-calibre handgun and handcuffs. There were other differences, however, as the now retired RCMP officer Cheryl LaFosse of Troop 17 explains in an interview for the Placentia, NL Charter, "When we came out of training, we weren't allowed to go to anything less than a 20-man detachment and the commanders had to agree to take a female".

Ms. LaFosse says initially it took time for the male officers to feel comfortable policing along-side a female recruit. "I remember my first posting there was a call over the radio from a member asking for something. The staff-sergeant said, 'Everybody is busy but Const. LaFosse is here.' The response over the radio was, 'Oh great,'" Ms. LaFosse says her last word threaded with disappointment.

Several of Constable LaFosse’s classmates went on to other “firsts” in the force. In December 2006, Deputy Commissioner Beverley Busson was appointed to the RCMP’s highest rank – becoming the first female Commissioner. Corporal Beverly Karen Hosker was the first female member to be selected as the NCO in charge of an RCMP detachment. Jane Hall wrote the first book on women in the force entitled, The Red Wall: A Woman in the RCMP.

Today, women comprise roughly 20% of the 18,807 regular RCMP members. Their beginnings in the force will be celebrated this week with a Sergeant Major’s Parade at Depot in Regina. The parade will include two full troops of women and 13 of the original Troop 17 recruits.

Photo courtesy of Sgt. Joanne Fraser, RCMP

Herstory - History Examined

As published in the Waterfront Press Regional September 10, 2009 -

Last week I had an opportunity to dig through the archives at the Waterfront Press Regional looking for story ideas for this column. As I gently lifted the first stack onto my desk, I revelled in the faint smell of dust that clung to the seemingly ancient pages. The corners of the paper were curled with age and starting to discolour. In awe, I scanned the first page, noting the words that were used to report the events of the day, the clothing, the hairstyles . . . wait a minute . . . this paper is dated 1979! If this is old, then I must be antique! It begs the question, “What is old”? The vintage evening bag that I purchased for $10 that dates to 1898, or the 1950’s pillbox style hat and veil – now those items are old! But how about last week’s casserole, that went out this morning? Well that is old too. I turned to the Internet for some help:

(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age; "his mother is very old"; "a ripe old age" of long duration; not new; "old tradition"; "old friendships"; "old money"

old(a): (used for emphasis) very familiar; "good old boy"; "same old story"

skilled through long experience; "the older soldiers"

erstwhile(a): belonging to some prior time; "erstwhile friend"; "our former glory"; of a very early stage in development; "Old English is also called Anglo Saxon"; past times (especially in the phrase `in days of old')

previous(a): just preceding something else in time or order; "the previous owner"; "my old house was larger"

Interesting but not very helpful if you want to know how many days (or years) have to pass before something is considered old. Perhaps an examination of the definition of history will provide clarification. History is defined as:

· a record or narrative description of past events; "a history of France”

· the discipline that records and interprets past events involving human beings; "he teaches Medieval history"; "history takes the long view"

· the continuum of events occurring in succession leading from the past to the present and even into the future; "all of human history"

· all that is remembered of the past as preserved in writing; a body of knowledge; "the dawn of recorded history"; "from the beginning of history"

So I guess having lived for a relatively long time (let’s face it, I’m not new); being very familiar and possessing skill through experience and knowledge of past times, although not erstwhile, I enjoy a nice cup of tea with a narrative description of past events and have been known to interpret the continuum of events from past to present. Welcome to herstory, a weekly column of the historical people, places and events that have formed our community; interspersed with my own quaint, curious and sometimes plain quirky digressions.