Peter Sunday

Peter Sunday was born at home, a little house with no rooms just an upstairs and downstairs, in Snye in 1938. His parents were Joseph Basil Sunday and Cecilia Cook-Sunday. In all, he had 3 sisters and two brothers, however, many of them passed very young.

He grew up in Snye and went to the old one room Snye School, and back then there was no such thing as school buses.

After the deaths of so many of their children his parents moved to Syracuse. Peter lived with his aunt and uncle Mary Oakes and Tommy Cook. In 1948 his mother came back for him and he finished grade school in Syracuse, but never finished high school. Instead, at 16 Peter needed money and worked construction.

Peter moved back here and worked on building the Seaway. He said that, “Uncle Sam hired me out of that job,” and he went in the Army, spending several months overseas as a military police/special security and earned a Good Conduct Medal and an Occupation Ribbon.

Peter came home in 1960 and he can remember it was a great snowstorm. The snow-banks were so high, Cook Rd. looked like a canal. He worked construction once again but in the early 1960’s his sister Christie and grandfather Basil Sunday bought him an ironworker’s book, so he worked for a while at that.

Peter married Nora Mitchell-Jacobs and had a girl Tina Marie and a boy Peter George. Through Nora he had a whole bunch of stepchildren. He built a house on State Rd and raised the kids. Nora passed from pneumonia in the early 1970’s. Later he married Darlene Jacobs and once again was blessed with many stepchildren. He was always a family man. Peter has many grand children and even great grand children.

In 1973 Bill Sunday and Lawrence Francis approached Peter about an opening for Chief of Police, because of Peter’s army experience. It only paid $125.00 a week so Peter turned it down. Later, he ended up joining the force as a regular patrolman.

Peter recalled his first day on the job: “The chief gave me a badge, pencil and notepad and said ‘there’s an accident on Cornwall Island go investigate it.’ I never learned, there was no training. So I used what I saw on the movies. I got a tape measure out and measured the skid marks. I managed to make an accident report, I think I charged the driver with speeding.”

During the early years of the Mohawk Police they mainly dealt with domestic disputes and there were only 6 patrolmen, 1 chief and 1 deputy chief. Peter’s first partner was Dominic Buckshot and they patrolled together on night shift; 8pm to 4am. The Mohawk Police changed buildings, uniforms and started to get training. Peter can remember getting uniforms from OPP but not wanting the “flying saucer” hats they were issued and instead wanted the Stetsons.

Then the chief and deputy chief resigned. Peter revealed that he was really just fooling around about applying for chief, but he wound up getting the job. He did some police training in Quebec. Unfortunately being Police Chief was more of a headache, he had to fill in whenever someone called in. As time went by throughout his police career, crime got worse and problems got bigger. Then more and more training and education was required. Peter was with the Mohawk Police for 15 years, spending 7 of those years as Chief of Police.

Peter talked about a luncheon to honor past and present police officers. He said it was nice to see old friends and he received a plaque designed with the old and new style badges.

He talked about missing his parents and how they were a basket making team. “But,” he said, “I still got 1 ma left! Darlene’s mother Beatrice Jacobs who is 100 years old.”

About his childhood Peter said, “Life was so simple when I was growing up. There was no Nintendo, no cars for 10 year olds and no bikes. We walked a lot. I feel upset about children today. Everything is too easy, they don’t work for things, everything is right there for them. I always had to work for what I have. I remember when I first started to drive my fathers ’41 Dodge, it was a big black car. I’d practice in the driveway, but once I hit some fence posts. I’d drive to the store for a loaf of bread. My father gave me ten minutes to do it, and if I wasn’t back he’d be right there after me.” Things have changed and sometimes not for the better. He told the story of a ceramic marker he bought for his brother-n-law’s baby’s grave and how someone stole it and put it on another grave. He was very saddened by this.

Peter is taking life easy now. He and Andy White play rhythm guitar for fiddlers. His advice to the youth: “Get a job! Don’t wait around the house for your ma to get home with the money. Try staying out of trouble and stay away from drugs. And quit throwing trash on the sides of the roads! We are supposed to be keepers of Mother Earth.”