Man About Canton: Bob Brown to be honored

DID YOU KNOW…

Bob Brown, the popular longtime adjutant of the Beatty American Legion Post #24, will be honored for his many years of service at the post from 1-4 p.m. this coming Saturday, November 20. Brown, 88, was a World War II Navy combat pilot who left the Navy at war’s end in 1945 with the rank of LTJG; and he soon joined all the other Canton World War II veterans of his generation by becoming active in Beatty Post affairs.

To many, Bob Brown has been widely known as the founder, coach, manager, and dedicated backbone of the Canton Legion baseball teams for over 45 years — or as long as anyone can remember. Over the years, more than 700 ballplayers between the ages of 15 and 19 have played on Brown’s teams.

Some of you old-timers will recall that Brownie was also closely associated with the Canton American Legion Band, and for years he delighted people at parades by carrying the band’s bass drum strapped to his back while a taller drummer beat the drum with a mallet.

In recent times, Bob Brown has been in failing health, and his many friends and admirers thought it was time to honor him for his service to Canton. So take a few moments on Saturday afternoon and go down to the post behind Canton High to pay your respects to a real Canton icon, especially if you were one of those 700 former ballplayers. He deserves it.

On to other things, MAC was pleased to see that ZaRex syrup drink mix is coming back on the market after an absence of several years.  Many of us remember drinking inexpensive ZaRex-flavored punch on hot summer days when we were kids, and it was a real thirst-quencher.

The Boston Red Sox have announced some modest increases for some of their tickets. Infield grandstand seats will go from $52 to $55. Loge box tickets will go from $95 to $99, and field box tickets will go from $130 to $135.

In an interview after his election defeat by Senator Brian Joyce, Canton Selectman Bob Burr said he isn’t going to rule out another try at higher office in the future. First, he faces reelection as a selectman in next April’s town election.

Speaking of elections, voter percentages for the recent state election have been published, and MAC noted that 66 percent of Canton’s registered voters went to the polls. That percentage was close to what other cities and towns had.

Recent published reports say that Canton-based Dunkin’ Donuts is pushing toward global coffee and donut dominance, opening 338 new locations in the first half of the year, including 25 in the U.S. Dunkin’ Donuts had sales of $5.7 billion last year, and it now has more than 9,000 stores in 31 countries.

Charlie Bougas recently died at the age of 90. He was born and raised in Canton, was a World War II Army veteran who served at Normandy, and was a member of Canton High’s Hall of Fame. Additionally, Charlie was the last surviving founding member of the Canton Town Club, which was founded in 1939.

Several of you who travel on Dedham Street have complained to MAC about the terrible condition of the wire fence that borders the Blue Hill Country Club. While it is private property, it would be nice if the country club would fix it up.

Speaking of things that need a fix-up, the Canton Conservation Commission should do something to repair the stone wall on Pleasant Street that borders Pequitside Farm. It appears to be falling apart.

The Boston Globe recently reported that the state is going to spend about $4 million to add a lane between I-95 and Route 138 to alleviate congestion during future reconstruction of the I-95 Route 128 interchange.

If you want to be a “railroad tycoon,” you should know that Edaville Railroad is for sale. The 63-year-old, two-mile-long railroad and the amusement park in Carver can be purchased for $10 million.

Citizen’s Bank, the second largest retail financial institution in Massachusetts, plans to add several new fees on December 5, including a monthly maintenance fee for one of its most popular checking accounts. Citizen’s has 3,500 ATMs and 1,500 branches. The bank reports it is going to charge its customers $2 per month to receive paper statements in the mail. The bank says it won’t charge the fee to customers under 18 or over 65.

The United Nations reports that people around the world are healthier, richer, and better educated than ever, with most developing countries registering huge gains over the past 40 years.

Success should not go to one’s head, and failure should not go to one’s heart.

This is all for now folks; see you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=1461

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Nov 18 2010. Filed under Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.