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RCMP author in Castlegar

Contributor
By Contributor
April 30th, 2010

Meet author and former member of the RCMP Charles Scheideman as he visits The Kootenay Library Federation. Scheideman will talk about his time policing in the area and will sign copies of his book Policing the Fringe: The Curious Life of a Small-Town Mountie

Charles will be at the Castlegar & District Public Library on May 12 at 7 p.m.

From 1961 to 1989, RCMP Sgt. Charles Scheideman patrolled the much of the Interior of B.C., including the East and West Kootenays. This collection of stories includes events that range from the ridiculous to the horrific to the tragic, including the grizzly story of the Nelson Axe Murders.

Once Scheideman stopped a car in the Fraser Canyon driven by three normally responsible American fishermen, who on this occasion were careening wildly from one guardrail to another. Their defence? They had failed to allow for the added kick of Canadian beer. His most searing memory was of waiting for the embers of a burned house to cool enough so he could retrieve the bodies of two small victims while in a nearby house, party-goers kept right on partying.

One of the most revealing accounts ever written about policing in small-town Canada, this book bristles with unforgettable stories about the author’s 27 years working on the RCMP’s front lines. It will give readers new respect for the men and women who patrol Canada’s backroads—both because of the extremely taxing work they do and the good spirit with which they do it.

Charles Scheideman grew up on a farm near Stony Plain, Alta., and joined the RCMP when he was 21, serving in seven different communities in rural B.C. After leaving the force in 1989, he worked for the B.C. government in Victoria,  where he still lives with his wife, Patricia. This is his first book.

Categories: Arts and Culture

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