*March 2009*
It’s been about five years since I last spoke with Doug Robinson. He had more hair then, and fewer wrinkles. We’re talking in the council chambers inside the Town Hall. The room could easily double for a courtroom – it has a pair of raised chairs at one end that look as if a judge should be sitting there with a witness to a crime on his right. In the center is a large table.
Robinson is sitting at the table, telling me about Parrsboro. His eyes light up as he talks about the town he’s been the mayor of for 13 years. They’re still the same bright blue they’ve always been, the same as the waters of the Minas Basin that Parrsboro sits on. He could, and does, talk for hours about his town with little prompting necessary. He’s Parrsboro’s biggest fan, and he wasn’t even born there.
He was born and raised on a farm outside of London, Ontario. He spent 36 years in the navy, reaching the rank of Major before retiring and moving to Parrsboro with his wife, who is from the area. Looking for something to do during retirement, he ran for town council and eventually became the mayor. He’s now in the beginning of his fourth term as mayor, and is just as enthusiastic and optimistic as I remember.
The realtors office is up for sale.
