Paul MacNeill and Fred Hyndman on Robert Cotton

I missed this when it was published in 2020: Paul MacNeill interviewed Fred Hyndman about his uncle, the businessperson and philanthropist Robert Cotton. From the transcript:

Robert L. Cotton was a quirky, bowler hat wearing World War I veteran with a strong aversion to sending his hard-earned tax dollars to Ottawa. By trade, he was a contractor who brought the rent-to-own concept to PEI, allowing hundreds of islanders to own their first home. But it’s what he did with his money that stands the test of time. During his lifetime, Bobby Cotton established trusts, which in today’s dollars would be valued at more than 13 million dollars.

“Annual proceeds have funded everything from scholarships at Holland College, construction of the Sheraldown Boardwalk, development of the former provincial tree nursery in Bunbury, provincial parks in Broodnell and Stratgartney, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, and hundreds of community projects over the past 50 plus years. There should be a statue to Bobby Cotton. So immense is his contribution to island life.

The Cotton Trust for Public Parks remains active, funding efforts to acquire and develop parkland across Prince Edward Island. 

The episode is one of the Because Life is Local podcast from (RSS), which includes episodes with Dennis Ryan, Doug Griffiths, and Dennis King. The show, alas, appears to have gone into hibernation.