More about Doug Melanson

Worked as custodian for Milton school and loved by many

The man for whom the new Doug Melanson Park is named worked nearly two decades as custodian for the former Milton school and was a popular sight at the school.

He was the custodian at Milton Elementary between 1969 and 1989.

“Everybody loved this man,” says park project co-ordinator Jean Clulee. “He seemed to know and love all the kids.”

Melanson lived across from the bowling lanes on Brunswick Street and this summer some of his family members, including his great-grandsons, planted a Japanese flowering cherry tree in the park, just like Melanson used to have in his yard.

Dave Sollows, a park committee volunteer, says Melanson left a “legendary legacy.”

“He would come and visit now and then. If anything was needed, he would find a way to make it happen,” said Sollows.

On cold snowy days, there would already be coffee on when the staff arrived and paths would be shovelled.

A broken pencil sharpener would be repaired without people having to barely mention it and the school was spotless.

“He treated the school as something that was a source of pride to him. He was an example to others,” said Sollows.

Doug Melanson died in 2009. Doug Melanson was a custodian for the former Milton school. A new park in Yarmouth is named after him.