It started as a simple get-together at a park on a Monday afternoon.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Matt Moore sent an email to his fellow deputies asking them to meet Nov. 4 at Sandy Creek Covered Bridge State Historic Site north of Hillsboro to celebrate the 17 deputies who welcomed babies to their families this year.
Sheriff Dave Marshak reached out to a photojournalist he knows to take a photo of the 14 deputies who were able to make it to the park that day. A reporter tagged along, which spawned a news story published last week in a St. Louis publication, chronicling the large number of babies born to the Sheriff’s Office families this year.
The story was picked up by the Associated Press wire service and shortly thereafter spread to publications around the world.
“It is kind of mind-boggling,” said Moore, who along with his wife, Laura, welcomed the couple’s first child, Luca, six months ago. “It started off with wanting to celebrate all of the kids and get them together for a nice picture. It really took off. It surprised me.”
The story has appeared in newspapers, like the Washington Post and Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on magazine websites like People and U.S. News & World Report, and on national television shows like “Live with Kelly and Ryan” and “CBS This Morning,” and it even made its way onto the Republic website – a publication in India that is part of the Asianet News Service.
“It is really exciting to see it in the Washington Post and Huffington Post,” said Whitney Cawvey, 29, whose husband, Cody, 31, is a deputy. The two had their second child, Micah, on Oct. 25, who was welcomed home by big brother, Judah, 4. “It has been cool to see it get so much positive attention for law enforcement officers.”
Marshak said the photo and subsequent story were shared faster and wider than anyone anticipated. He also said he is glad people enjoyed the story.
“The deputies who are pictured are fathers, husbands and protectors of our community,” Marshak said. “I think it’s important to recognize they are here serving our community but also are human, and people get to see them that way. When I see that photo, it further solidifies my commitment to invest in them for their wellness and safety. There is a lot of risk in their job, and there would be significant loss should something happen to them.”
The story about the babies included a photo of the 14 deputies holding their babies decked out in white onesies bearing the Sheriff’s Office emblem. Elizabeth Crites, a grant and finance coordinator at the Sheriff’s Office, made the onesies, Matt Moore said.
“She started making the onesies several months ago as the babies were being born,” Moore said. “When she heard about the picture, some of them had outgrown the onesies, so she made some again. It was nice. It may start a tradition. This was the first year she has done that.”
Cody Cawvey of Festus said prior to the invite about the get-together at the park he and his wife didn’t know so many babies had been born in the department since the start of this year.
“When I found out there were 17, it kind of caught me off guard a little bit,” said Cawvey. “Having so many people with kids who are similar in age, I think, will be fun around department functions.”
Kristen Sides, 31, who is married to Capt. Andy Sides, 35, of Barnhart, gave birth to the couple’s second child, Carter, six months ago. They also have a 3-year-old son, Cooper.
She said she believes the story has attracted so much attention because it shows police officers in a way people are not used to seeing them.
“You get to see their soft side,” Kristen Sides said. “We are families too, and it is refreshing and something we don’t see a lot. That could be a reason everyone latched on to it, because it is a different side that you don’t really get to see much.”
A joke developed through the Sheriff’s Office that the 10 newborn boys and seven newborn girls is partially a result of Proposition P, a 35-cent property tax, passing in April 2018.
The passage of the tax increase allowed the Sheriff’s Office to raise its starting salary from $37,902 to $50,300.
“I think Prop P definitely helped,” said Moore, 34, who lives in High Ridge with Laura, 30, and Luca. “You have a little more flexibility to start a family when there is more money coming in.”
It also helps that there are plenty of younger deputies ready to start families in the department. The average age of the deputies who welcomed a new child this year is 31.8 years old, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said.
“There are a lot of young families and young deputies, and, I think, with that, you expect them to have children,” Andy Sides said. “It is a neat thing.”
Kristen Sides said it also will be neat for the families to watch their children grow up together,
“It is nice to have someone to relate to, not only for raising babies but knowing what it is like to be married to a police officer,” Kristen Sides said.