28-year officer writes memoirs

Ron Monday's family members are getting something special this year. His daughter, three grandchildren and great-granddaughter will each receive a copy of his book, "Memoirs of Lt. R. Ronald Monday," which details recollections from the 28 years he served with the Findlay Police Department. "When I was very, very young, my brother, Don, who's deceased now, he was a deputy sheriff. And I always wanted to be a law enforcement officer," said Monday. "I never thought I could be for whatever reason, but it worked out." A Findlay native, Monday has devoted 54 years of public service to the city, first as an operator at the wastewater treatment plant and the police auxiliary, and later a full-time police officer. He retired in 1994 as a detective division commander at the rank of lieutenant. Monday also served 22 years on Findlay City Council, including two years as council president. "And my claim to fame was the five weeks I was the mayor," he said, laughing. He explained that as council president, it was his job to take over from the time Lydia Mihalik left to accept a position with the state until current mayor Christina Muryn was appointed in early 2019. But it was Monday's 28 total years in law enforcement — both on the auxiliary and as a full-time police officer — that hold special memories, he said. Monday joined the Findlay Police Auxiliary in 1966, for which, he recounts in the book, he earned an annual salary of $1 per year. The city withheld 1% for city income tax, which meant his take-home pay was 99 cents. And that was given back to the auxiliary to help pay for the annual Christmas party. After a few years, Monday decided to take the civil service test to become a police officer. He was accepted and attended basic police training at the Ohio State Highway Patrol academy in Columbus. He was appointed as a full-time police officer in 1971. Monday said some of his best times were serving as both a patrolman and, in his early years, as a detective when he worked as the juvenile officer. This involved investigating crimes in which a juvenile was the primary suspect or the victim, he said. A few months after Monday started the job, Judge Allan Davis was elected to the Hancock County Juvenile and Probate Court. The two men (along with Monday's wife, Vicky) had graduated together from Findlay High School and were friends. Monday remembered a time when he had to go to Tennessee to pick up a juvenile in a stolen car from Findlay. The boy also had his dog, Brownie, with him. The juvenile went to the Wood County Juvenile Detention Center for the weekend, and the dog went home with Monday. He said his wife was surprised by the guest. "She's like, 'What's with the dog?'" he recalled. "Well we put him in jail. It was Saturday morning and we had no place to put the dog. The dog pound, I didn't want to do that." The hearing was set for Monday morning. Monday brought Brownie along, as the boy was going to be released to his parents. While they waited in the courtroom, Judge Davis walked in and looked at them. "He points at the dog. 'What's that?' And I said, 'Judge, I'm surprised you didn't know. That's a dog,'" Monday joked. "He laughed. He had a sense of humor. He was a good juvenile judge." Monday said he's often asked about past cases. So about 14 months ago, he decided to write down some of the stories. "My intention was, I'd have five, 10 pages on my computer. My intention was write them up, print them out, put them in a little notebook or folder, and give them to each of kids. It got bigger and bigger, and that's when I said I would write a book," he said. Monday admits the process of writing was a chore. "I don't particularly like writing," he said. "But as I look back on 28 years on the police department, I bet I wrote 20,000-30,000 police reports. And a lot of those stories will read like a police report. That's what I was accustomed to." Karen Barchent of Findlay edited the manuscript. The hardback book sells for $15, and Monday will hold a book signing from 1-3 p.m. Saturday at First United Brethren Church, 629 Rector Ave. He said there's a little humor in the book, like the story about Brownie. But most of the incidents are of a more serious nature, like the Meijer Square fire in 1982 that resulted in one death. More than 15 years later, they learned that the blaze had been set by a man who was then living in Texas. The man eventually confessed to starting the fire. According to Monday, the man planned to help get people out of the store so that he would look like a hero. Monday also credited the local police force. "I worked with probably the greatest bunch, in my opinion, the greatest bunch of law enforcement officers ever," he said. "The Findlay Police Department is a great, great police department. I can't brag about them enough." Wolf: 419-427-8419 jeanniewolf@thecourier.com