The Canadian Press

Mayerthorpe memorial marks event that was 'a monstrous insult to all that is good'

Fri Jul 4, 7:07 PM

By John Cotter, The Canadian Press

MAYERTHORPE, Alta. - Family and friends of four murdered Mounties wept and watched silently in awe as the people of a small rural Alberta farm town unveiled life-sized bronze statues of their loved ones Friday.

Gleaming under a bright prairie sun, the statues stand in a circle back to back, each constable in full dress uniform, facing out proudly toward those who have mourned their loss every single day since March 3, 2005. In the centre is a bronze-capped obelisk surrounded by doves.

Const. Peter Schiemann is snapping a salute. Const. Anthony Gordon stands proudly at ease. Const. Leo Johnston is at attention. Const. Brock Myrol is standing easy.

Brock's parents, Colleen and Keith Myrol, peered at the likeness of their son in wonder.

"I cried because I thought he is still standing on guard for Canada," Colleen Myrol said.

"It is very good positive energy from the town of Mayerthorpe. Today we will celebrate what good Canadians have done. We have seen the best of the best here today."

Don Schiemann, Peter's father, was speechless as his son's statue was unveiled. Surrounded by a crowd of relatives who were in Alberta for a family wedding, the Schiemanns just stared up at the 400-kilogram statue as a crowd of more than 1,000 townspeople, police and dignitaries applauded.

"I hadn't seen the statue before so I didn't know what to expect. The way that they have him saluting - it was perfect," Schiemann said later.

"Some people might look at it as if it is a memorial to death. I hope it is a memorial to service and to sacrifice."

The young officers were ambushed by James Roszko on his property during an investigation into a stolen parts and marijuana grow operation. Roszko later shot himself.

Juergen Preugschas, the leader of a community group that worked for three years on the $1.8-million memorial park, said the violent crime put Mayerthorpe on the world map for all the wrong reasons.

But he said people in the small town northwest of Edmonton refused to be defined by such a tragedy and quickly got to work.

Once word of the plan to honour the officers became public, donations began coming in from across Canada. There was money from governments and school children, private businesses and 4-H clubs, police officers and concerned citizens.

The statues have helped people channel their grief and transformed something ugly into something beautiful.

"This national memorial, created out of love and respect, does not stand in a national centre, but in the tiny but proud and determined rural little town of Mayerthorpe, Alta.," Preugschas said.

"This park belongs to every person who has a beloved peace officer lay down their life for the citizens of this country. It belongs to every grieving individual who needs to know that the rest of the country does care."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the murder of the four Mounties a "monstrous insult to all that is good and decent."

Harper said such violence is especially out of place in a peaceful, close-knit rural community that exemplifies Canadian values the way Mayerthorpe does.

The prime minister praised the spirit of the community.

"Other people in other places might have exploded in rage, or sunk into despair. But not Mayerthorpe," Harper said.

"Everyone associated with this terrible event has conducted themselves with grace, dignity and purpose. Your courage and resiliency have been an inspiration to all Canadians."

Margaret Thibault, one of the driving forces behind the Mayerthorpe Fallen Four Memorial Society, choked up with emotion when she named each of the four dead officers as the statues were unveiled.

A resident of the town for 31 years, Thibault, who once worked at the town RCMP detachment, knew some of the fallen Mounties personally.

The dedication of the memorial park should help people move on from their grief, she said.

"It is not enough just to survive. Today we show it is possible to prevail," she said.

"It is possible to feel that pain, but then build something that helps celebrate the good memories of Peter, Leo, Anthony, Brock and their brothers and sisters that stand shoulder to shoulder with them."

Creating the statues has been a labour of love for sculptors Don and Shirley Begg and their staff at Studio West in Cochrane, Alta. They toiled under tight security to ensure the public didn't see their work until the unveiling.

The Beggs consulted closely with each Mountie's family to ensure his statue is as lifelike and accurate as possible, right down to the inscriptions on the uniform buttons.

Working from photographs, the sculptors slowly built frames for each statue, then fleshed them out in clay, nimbly using their fingers to capture the likeness and character of each man. The mothers were consulted to ensure they got it right before the final moulds were made and the bronze poured.

Kelly Johnston, Leo's widow, trembled with emotion as she spoke of her loss after his statue was unveiled.

Johnston has been locked in a bitter legal battle with her in-laws over her husband's remains - she wants them moved to RCMP headquarters in Regina, but they say moving the remains from his grave in their home community of Lac La Biche would go against his wishes and beliefs as a Metis.

The parents, Grace and Ron Johnston, were at the ceremony, but declined to speak to reporters.

Kelly Johnston said words such as disaster, tragedy, horrific and horrendous cannot even begin to describe the pain she has felt since her soulmate died on that cold March day.

"My world went black. Colour is slowly, slowly, slowly filtering in. Something like this is a nice start. It is a beginning," she said.

"The community came together and supported all of us that day. And it's nice to see the community coming together again today and saying 'Look, we are starting again anew, and this is what we are doing for you."'

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