Central Saanich resident Charlie Scheideman has many memories of being a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and his latest book, When Grampa was a Mountie, strives to paint readers an accurate picture of some of his most memorable experiences.
“My main goal with this book was to tell it as it was, not as it should have been or as we had hoped it had been,” explained Scheideman.
When Grampa was a Mountie is the third book recounting Scheideman’s experiences as a career RCMP officer in British Columbia. His two previous books were collections of short stories.
“This one is also a collection of short stories but it is a bit different because it also features a longer story called Fred Quilt Frame-Up,” he explained.
Scheideman continued to say the Fred Quilt Frame-Up tells the story of two RCMP constables at Alexis Creek who were falsely accused of beating a First Nations elder to death. It would only be years later, on a deathbed confession, that the two officers would be exonerated.
“There’s some gruesome moments, some funny moments and some serious moments,” said Scheideman, “but the goal of the book is really to tell it like it was. Some of these stories are things that were never made public until now.”
Scheideman joined the RCMP when he was 21-years-old after training in Ottawa. After he joined, he served in seven different B.C. communities (Nelson, Williams Lake, Lytton, Golden, Quesnel, Prince George and Courtenay) and, after 27 years, he eventually retired in Victoria.
Scheideman said the inspiration for penning the books came from his family.
“My wife and kids encouraged me a number of years ago to start writing all my memories down and eventually I started to realize I had enough material for a book,” Scheideman said.
“It’s been a very satisfying experience writing these short stories because I have a lot of stories to tell.”
Currently, When Grampa was a Mountie is available in Tanner’s Books in Sidney and online on Amazon. For more information email policestories@gmail.com.
reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com
