Many people retire once or twice, maybe three times, but four? However, for recently retired New Era Police Chief Roy Strait, he said this is his last retirement. Strait, who has worked in law enforcement from Grand Traverse to Battle Creek and most recently in Oceana County, accumulating over 60 years in law enforcement, celebrated his retirement and 88th birthday at a party held in his honor on July 3 in New Era.
“This is my fourth retirement,” Strait said with his signature smile and laugh. It is obvious after interviewing Strait that he was made for law enforcement. It is difficult to condense six decades of community service into just one article. From the U.S. military to Oceana County, Strait has worked in a variety of law enforcement roles and been instrumental in numerous community service opportunities.
Whether it was working the roads, starting a fire station based out of his home in East Bay Township, establishing CPR classes for Traverse City students, getting a Jaws for Life unit set up and accessible to four counties in northern Michigan or being a mentor to dozens of kids over the years, it is obvious he’s a go-getter, working to better whatever community he was a part of. Despite the long hours and obvious stress, he has proudly served and leaves behind quite a legacy. Once you’ve met the man, he’s your friend for life and you’ll never forget him.
Strait, who started his law enforcement career as a military police officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, worked for six years building fire hydrants in Grand Traverse County following his military service. In 1966, then Grand Traverse County Sheriff Richard Weiler contacted him and asked if he’d be interested in coming to work for the sheriff's department, Strait said.
“There weren’t police academies then,” Strait recalls. “You just got in the police car and rode with a veteran officer til they thought you were ready. In the old days, you always rode two in a car. Then Weiler got an academy set up. I ended up taking that six-week course after I’d been on the force just over a year.”
As with all things, it is amazing how times have changed. When Strait started with Grand Traverse, officers were assigned their role when they reported to work. Strait said they might be a dispatcher, a corrections officer in the jail or a fireman, “Depending on what they needed.”
In 1975, Strait was proud to become the first canine officer in Grand Traverse County. “I’ve always loved dogs. I got my first dog, a tracking dog, whose name was Luger, after the state police up there had gotten a tracking dog. Later I got Gunney, who was a bomb dog. I really wanted a bomb dog and ended up trading a heifer for him,” Strait chuckled. “My third dog, Astro, was an arson/drug dog. I had three dogs living with us all at one time for a while. Depending on what was needed on a call, determined what dog I took with me.”
Strait’s services were even utilized for three presidential visits during his tenure in Grand Traverse County. “I worked for three different presidential administrations, both Bushes and Rosalynn Carter, during my time in Traverse City. My bomb dog and I were hired to secure the buildings before they could go into them. Then for Gerald Ford, I was an EMT in the required ambulance that accompanied him on his visit to Interlochen.”
An interesting local connection Strait shared was that while working in Traverse City, he became friends with Fred Korb, who eventually would move to Oceana County and hold the office of sheriff from 1985 to 2001.
In 1987, Strait retired for the first time from Grand Traverse County and moved to Battle Creek, where he worked in public safety from 1988 to 1994. “After I retired (a second time) from Battle Creek, I thought I’d do P.I. (Police Investigator) work. I found out I didn’t care for it. So I called Fred and asked if he had any part-time positions open. He ended up giving me a full-time position.”
Strait ended up serving in the Oceana County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) from 1994 to 2017, doing everything from road patrolman to school resource officer. Shortly after starting at the OCSD, he, along with friends Bob Farber and John Heykoop, formed “Roy’s Kids,” an annual toy and food drive for local kids and families. According to Strait, the idea started when he and DHS employee Pedro Alvarez would go out on police calls. “Pedro went along to interpret. We thought it would be nice to play 'Santa Claus' for some of the needier families. We started with three families that first year. Last Christmas, Roy’s Kids played Santa to 40 families, including 200 kids,” Strait shared.
He was quick to point out that many others have helped make this idea a reality and grown it into the organization it is today.
An event that many in the community may recall is when Strait suffered a heart event while out on a truancy call. “One minute I was attempting to get a kid ready to go to school, (and) the next thing I knew, I was waking up in the hospital. The two guys who saved me I’d taught CPR to, Louie Herremans and Mike Fillips. They’d heard the call and decided they’d come help.” Little did they know the kind of help they would be. “They did it right, broke six ribs, but they saved my life.”
While working for the OCSD, New Era was looking for a part-time police chief, and Strait, who said he was used to working two jobs most of his life, applied for the job. He retired for the third time from the OSCD in 2017 and continued on as New Era’s police chief until July 3 of this year, when he retired for the fourth and final time.
With all of the law enforcement work he’s completed over the past 61 years, he said he's never been shot at, however, there were several other occupational hazards he survived. From breaking up fights and having a gun pointed at him, to getting his finger nearly bitten off on one particular traffic stop and getting hit by a car passing during another traffic stop. And as any police officer can attest to, “I missed a lot of Christmases.”
Overall, Strait said of his career, “It was actually a lot of fun. But society has changed; it’s not (been) as much fun anymore.”
Strait, the father of sons Scott and Butch and daughters Connie and Jamie, grandfather to eight and great-grandfather to 10, plans to stay involved in the community. He’s staying on as the New Era zoning administrator, will remain a member of the county’s Victim’s Services Unit, and as a CPR and First Aid instructor where needed. He’ll continue with Roy’s Kids, of course, and be involved in other philanthropic endeavors, no doubt. Somehow he’ll find time to cut firewood for his outdoor wood burner, work with his draft horses and spend time with his family.
Strait is so grateful to the many people who’ve been a part of his long career. From every municipality and community organization or school he’s ever worked with to Weiler, Korb and Dave VanSurman, a retired DNR lieutenant who has taken care of all his state paperwork, training requirements and department IT during his tenure in New Era, and of course both of his wives, Dixie (who passed in 2000) and his second wife, Nancy, who have been instrumental in so many of his pursuits and passions over the years.
Strait celebrated his last day on the job by taking one last official ride around the village with his son Scott, a retired 32-year veteran police officer with Mackinaw County, 16 of those years as sheriff. Both Straits rode together for the first time as police officers on Scott’s first day as a reserve officer in Grand Traverse County, so it seemed fitting that they should ride together on Roy’s last day.
As the torch passes to New Era’s next police chief, Tim Priese, Strait said, “It’s not my town, but I love New Era. Tim is going to be a great asset. He’s got 25-30 years experience.”
New Era Village President Roger Fessenden summed up what many feel when they think of Strait’s service, “Roy worked tirelessly all these years and will be sorely missed. The council wishes him well and thanks him for all he has done, both on and off duty.” Strait may be officially retired, but as Fessenden continued, “He has assured us that this is still his village, and we will still see plenty of him.”
