Fond memories of Anse MacDonald

A couple of weeks ago, Pictou County lost a wonderful person, Anse MacDonald. I have read much about the great deeds of Anse related to the sports world, particularly boxing and basketball.

He certainly gave his all to these sports locally and abroad and, above all, improved the lives of many young people in this County.

I want to relate a story that shows how Anse was about much more than just sports, although that was a huge part of his life. About 60 years ago, I was a young lad in my first year in the big new high school, West Pictou District High in Lyons Brook.

Freshly out of seven years of one room schoolhouses and overwhelmed by all the bigness of West Pictou, one thing that I was comfortable with was public speaking competitions. It had been a big part of life in a one room schoolhouse, both individual and group or choral public speaking.

We would go to the big school each year to compete with many other local schools, after weeks of being groomed by our teacher (in her spare time between teaching seven or eight different grades).

In the 64’-65’ school year, as a new Grade 8 student at West Pictou, I entered the public speaking individual competition with my 5 minute speech on Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement.

Dressed in my full regalia Boy Scout uniform, I was fortunate enough to come first in the category I was entered in.

Obviously very pleased with myself, I was anxious to tell my family when I got home and that was the end of that.

But it wasn’t! A few days later, Mary Sinclair, then the provincial Inspector of Schools, contacted the school requesting that I give my speech to the Gyro Club of New Glasgow.

I welcomed the opportunity and after discussions with my parents, Mary Sinclair agreed to chaperone me to the Gyro Club meeting. Everything went well and I was just pleased to make it through; and greatly enjoyed the ‘big feed’.

Unbeknownst to me, Anse MacDonald was in the crowd that evening, possibly as President of the New Glasgow Gyro Club. Many years later, we met up at my garden centre operation and Anse recalled that night vividly.

We had a wonderful discussion and he informed me that it was one of his favorite nights as a Gyro member.

He had a way of putting whoever he was talking to ‘at ease’ and very much wanted to help young people to feel better about themselves, whether through sports or many other community venues.

Anse and I had many other good discussions in the years that followed. I, for one, have high praise for Anse MacDonald, and our community will miss him greatly for all he did for young people.

RIP Anse…

Robert Parker Central West River