BOSTON -- Police work is a family business for the Pugsleys of Boston's Dorchester section, where three generations of men in blue have spent an estimated 248 years on the Boston police force.
It all started during the Depression when Arthur S. Pugsley Sr. joined the Boston Police Department in 1929.
His seven sons followed in their father's footsteps and today his eldest son, Arthur Pugsley Jr., 61, is a special services officer with the department's Bureau of Field Services.
His brothers Stanley Pugsley, 58; Ernest Puglsey 55; Robert Pugsley, 53; Charles Pugsley, 51; John Pugsley, 48, Richard Pugsley, 45, and Arthur Jr.'s son, William Pugsley, 30, are also on the Boston force.
But William's brother Stephen, 28, broke the mold. He's a trooper with the Massachusetts State Police.
Boston Police Commissioner Francis M. Roache describes the Pugsleys as 'not only good police officers, but fine human beings. It's a wonderful feeling to know that one family has made such a commitment to law enforcement.'
Arthur Pugsley Jr. said his father, who died in 1982 after 38 years in police service, never pressed his sons into the business.
'He just set such a good example and was so dedicated to police work, we thought there was no better job.'
