81-year-old Castalia chief still going strong

CASTALIA — After 51 years in law enforcement, Castalia police Chief Ken Majoy feels he's accomplished everything he set out to do.But he's not calling it quits just yet."I like what I do that's why I continue to do it," Majoy said. "I'll keep doing it as long as I feel good."Majoy, who celebrated his 81st birthday last weekend, is in his 18th year as chief of Castalia police.During his career, he said he's handled routine calls, tragedies and even designed a police badge for an African nation.He can even call himself the current longest-serving law enforcement officer in Erie County, according to Sheriff Paul Sigsworth.Policing 'gets in your blood'Law enforcement is something of a family tradition for the Majoy family, with its roots in Huron.Majoy has five brothers, and four of them served with law enforcement, including the Erie County sheriff's office and Cedar Point police, during their lives.Still, policing wasn't the first line of work for Majoy. He initially worked a factory job in Sandusky until he had a change of heart."I quit the factory to go to Huron (police) for less than half the money," he said. "The compensation didn't override the desire."Majoy joined Huron police on May 26, 1967, as a part-time officer.It didn't take long before he had to handle a serious case.Less than two months after he joined, a skydiving accident saw several people drown in Lake Erie."When they jumped out they came through cloud cover and they were over the lake. They were not prepared for a water landing, quite a few people didn't make it," Majoy said. "It was pretty devastating right off the bat to have something like that happen."Majoy left Huron police in 1992 and spent the next eight years working as the police chief in Bay View. He took the chief job in Castalia in 2000.Then and nowMajoy said the technology available to police has changed drastically in his five decades of service.For example, an officer who wanted to check a car's license plate for warrants had to go through a process: radio dispatch, who radioed authorities in Bucyrus, who radioed authorities in Columbus. Columbus would then return the information to Bucyrus, who gave the information to the local dispatchers.It usually took three or four days to get that information back, Majoy said. Sometimes, it never came back at all.Majoy said the advent of computers, improved radios and air-conditioned police cruisers were some of the biggest changes.Teaching the next generationsMajoy said he relishes his role as an instructor in a department of about a dozen officers, most of whom are fresh out of the academy."We're like a training ground," he said.Majoy used to work as a police academy instructor, and he also used to travel across Ohio teaching classes on the how to operate machines used to test suspects' breath for blood-alcohol readings."It's very important to do things in the right way, the proper way," he said. "I try to instill this in my guys. It makes me feel good when they succeed."PatchesA quick look around Majoy's office reveals dozens of framed police patches from both American and international police agencies adorning the walls.Majoy said he's been collecting them for some time.He's also had a hand in designing a patch for an African federal police force. In the early-to-mid 2000s, Majoy said his sister-in-law, who was a missionary in the African nation of Uganda, took a Castalia police patch to the country's police force hoping to get one of their patches in return.Majoy then hatched a suggestion to the police force."I wrote to them and said 'why don't you put your national bird on the patch?'" Majoy said.Majoy's design for the Uganda Police Force logo features the nation's national bird — the grey crowned crane — which is also featured on the country's flag. The logo is still used today. He said he designed a patch and sent it to them, which the agency then adopted and continues to use to this day."It's just a thing I put together and sent down to them," Majoy said. "It's just something that came along."The futureMajoy said he doesn't make predictions for the future, but he's taking his role as chief a day at a time."I've got good officers, they want to learn and I want to teach," he said.View our Village of Castalia hub for more storiesReach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterCastalia police Chief Ken Majoy holds up the first police patch he ever wore while serving with Huron police in the late 1960s.