Birdseye Town Marshal Benton Stroud poses for a portrait. Benton is also a correctional police officer at the Branchville Correctional Facility, an EMT, a volunteer firefighter and a father of two children. "Its been an uphill fight and you don’t win any friends wearing the badge," Stroud said. "Eventually one day I’ll give it to somebody else and they can have it. And I’ll be happy when I walk away because I’ve already made it better than I’ve found it.”
Benton holds out his Birdseye Marshal badge for a photo on Dec. 20. The badge belonged to his grandfather, Victor Goldman, when he was Birdseye Town Marshal.
Benton checks in with his grandfather, Edward Stroud, at his home in Birdseye on Sept. 11. Edward is a founding member of the English Volunteer Fire Department, where Benton is now a member.
