Big Frank Rose –The First OPP Officer in Perth area

Big Frank Rose stood at 6ft 3 and was believed the first Ontario Provincial Police Officer in the Perth area ( thanks Ron Shaw) In 1928 J. Frank Rose was stationed in Lanark County as he and his wife originally hailed from Almonte. He had worked in the pulp mills in Northern Ontario until a letter came from the OPP saying he had been accepted. He spent two years in Perth, 10 years in Morrisburg and was stationed back back in Perth from 1940 until his death in 1948.

He raided local cafes that were known to be tough and sold liquor, county fairs and dances keeping the rowdier lads in line just by being there. He was on call 7 days a week, and sat in the last pew in church in case he was called out. He located illegal stills, illegal slot machines that were later stored in his basement. He used the kitchen table as his office and some days he would be found fingerprinting the guilty on that very table that sometimes held children eating a sandwich. Speeders and rum runners kept him busy, and he never liked to talk about the traffic accidents he had witnessed as he had seen some horrible things like the Almonte train wreck.

In 1940 the OPP office was located in Perth above where the Steadman’s store once. When he died the Courier published that his devotion to duty was immeasurable where ever he was stationed.