Garone: 'I did what I thought was right today'

Jun. 23—DERRY — Fifty years is a long time.

And for police Chief Edward Garone, that's half a century that has served him well.

Garone is celebrating 50 years serving as Derry's top law enforcement official, with celebrations, honors, and tributes filling the past weeks to honor that achievement.

Garone started his job in Derry on June 1, 1972.

Earlier this month, hundreds gathered at a celebration in Manchester to honor the chief and his 50-year milestone.

The night was set to be a surprise, but the day before, Garone said his son had told him to be prepared the next night, uniform and all.

Upon arrival at the party, Garone and his family were greeted by long lines of fellow Derry police officers all at salute to their chief.

Hundreds more were gathered inside for a night of honor.

"I was surprised at the magnitude," Garone said.

The night's program was filled with pages dedicated to the chief and his career.

In speaking with the Derry News, the chief also recalled his early years and what led him to enter his life work in law enforcement.

Early experiences involved some hard work.

Garone said as an enterprising 14-year-old living in Bradford, Vermont, he took on an operation to raise a bit of extra money while caring for dozens of chickens.

"Every week or so I would take cases of eggs down this dirt road," the chief said. "An egg company wouldn't come up the dirt road but I would go down to the paved part and they would take dozens of eggs."

Garone's life path also included serving three years in the U.S. Marine Corps, enlisting immediately after high school graduation in 1961.

"That was a very interesting three years for a man from Bradford, Vermont," he said.

Those were the years Garone said he also got used to uniformity, attention to detail and respect.

After serving in the military and now thinking of what might be ahead, Garone said he formed relationships with great people in the Vermont State Police that eventually led him to apply for a law enforcement position.

"They took a liking to me," Garone said. "It was a nice relationship."

Garone landed a job on the Lebanon, N.H., Police Department, saying he felt at the time his skills and experiences spent as a Marine could be put to good use while serving as a police officer.

"That was Oct. 15, 1964," Garone quickly recalled.

There were 18 on the Lebanon force when he started.

Garone eventually moved up to the rank of captain before then taking the job as Derry's new chief, coming to southern New Hampshire as a young 29-year-old and officially starting the job on June 1, 1972, with wife Blanche and two young children in tow, Vicky and Michael.

Derry's force had less than 20 members.

The Police Department at that time was located in the Adams Memorial Building on West Broadway, where court proceedings also took place.

"There was not a whole lot of space," Garone said. "There was one bathroom. Prisoners had their own."

Garone admitted he knew little about Derry until he became interested in the top job.

The Derry department back then needed support with policy and procedures, the chief said.

Town leaders hoped the new, young police chief would help with challenges and issues going on in the community, including drug use, and problems in local parks.

There was a lot of support.

"And it was a big plus coming into a community and having the backing of my family, the selectmen, town manager, and mostly the people," Garone said.

The chief got acclimated to his new community, taking on not only the top law enforcement job, but getting involved in many organizations and efforts, including the Derry Rotary Club where he is the longest serving Rotarian, Boys and Girls Club of Greater Derry and many other efforts and missions outside the walls of the Police Department.

And all the while making great friends that remain to this day, Garone said.

Garone said through the decades he often considered retirement, or even accepting another position somewhere. But remaining in Derry always took the top vote when any other decisions were considered.

"I realized my family has to be more important than my whole life system," he said. "I never had a desire to leave Derry."

And it's the men and women of the force that are at the top of Garone's list — the officers that serve everyday. He just "steers the boat" as chief, he said.

After five decades serving as chief, Garone said now while dealing with some health issues, the subject of retirement is a topic often "close to mind."

"I have to be realistic about the whole thing," he said, adding his wife Blanche has been a stalwart supporter by his side through more than 50 years of marriage.

When asked how he wanted people to remember his career and time as chief, Garone said he felt he treated everyone fairly, with equity and respect.

"And every night when I am (down) for a night's sleep, I feel I did what I thought was right today," Garone said. "To strive for fairness and equity and to treat people as they would like to be treated. That served me well."