BERNARDSTON — The Police Department has big shoes to fill when finding a replacement for its longtime reserve officer, “Big Mike.”

“His position will be filled, but his character will never be,” Police Chief James Palmeri said of 55-year-old Officer Michael Kelly.

Kelly worked his last shift on Saturday in a uniform he almost never put on. The New Jersey native moved to Greenfield in 1992 and worked in maintenance and customer service positions until 1999, at which point he decided to try policing. Kelly served the Ashfield and Greenfield police departments until 2002, but wasn’t certain he was on the right career path.

“After working over in Greenfield for a little while, I took a break for a couple months and started thinking about whether police work was for me,” he recalled.

However, Kelly was ultimately swayed by discussions with his friends.

“All my friends were police officers … and they’d be talking about all the things they were doing during the day,” he said. “I kind of missed it.”

Soon, he saw that the Bernardston Police Department was hiring and decided to apply. His application was accepted, and Kelly began working in December 2002, according to Palmeri.

Right away, Kelly felt that this job might be different. He recalled being hired by the department at around the same time as one other Black officer, making them the first Black police officers to serve the town. While he wasn’t affected by overt racism, Kelly said, it felt somewhat strange being immersed in a town that wasn’t used to “seeing officers that looked like [him].” Eventually, though, people began seeing more than just the color of his skin.

“I went from people referring to me as ‘a black police officer’ or ‘the black cop’ to ‘Officer Kelly’ or ‘Big Mike,’” he said.

Fostering camaraderie with Bernardston residents as a “community police officer” would become his favorite part of the job. He emphasized that it wasn’t the only part of the job, though, contrary to popular belief. Being a Bernardston police officer means consistently dealing with incidents along Interstate 91 and Route 5, not just hanging around and responding to “cow tipping” calls, he said.

“A lot of people say things about being a small-town police officer, like, ‘There must not be a lot going on,’ or ‘You must be bored’ … but honestly, there are a lot of things that do happen,” he stressed.

Kelly’s last day on the job, he said, was fairly routine. He reported not getting many calls, so he had time to reprise his favorite weekly tradition: grabbing a coffee at the Country Corner Store and chatting with owner Jeff Klein. He also took a “bittersweet” moment to reflect on his long career and recognize that this was it.

“I have to admit, I got a little misty for a moment,” he said.

Palmeri made it clear that his department would sorely miss Kelly just as much. To show their appreciation, they’d surprised him with a pair of gold-plated handcuffs — a tradition for retiring officers — at the conclusion of Bernardston’s Memorial Day ceremony.

“Mike is a stand-up guy,” Palmeri said. “He’s reliable and one that I’ve always been able to count on. He’ll always hold a special spot in our hearts and he’s certainly the fabric of this community.”

Additionally, the Bernardston Selectboard thanked Kelly for his service during its meeting on Wednesday.

“I always say that when I first moved to Bernardston, he was the first gentleman that I got to talk to,” reflected board member Stanley Garland. “I needed some help on some issues and he really helped me out. I’ll never forget it, and he’s been great ever since.”

Garland added that Kelly sets the standard for other police officers.

“You are what we call a police officer — you care about people, you want to help the people, you let us know that you’re friendly, but you’re also there for order when it needs to be done,” he said.

The feeling of gratitude is mutual for Kelly, who voiced his appreciation of his fellow officers and thanked Bernardston residents for their kind words upon his retirement as a reserve officer.

“I appreciate my chief, I appreciate my sergeant, all the other officers I work with,” he said. “This is probably one of the best towns I’ve ever worked for, and that’s probably why I stayed so long.”

Kelly said he will continue to work at the Franklin County Justice Center, where he is employed full-time as a court officer, for about six more years until he retires fully.

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com. Intern Aalianna Marietta contributed to this article.

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