Hi Ernie. I had emailed you in the past regarding my Uncle Lou Robino. He passed away recently and I wanted to share an appreciation written for him that mentioned Tiny. His interaction with Tiny brought joy to his life.

~Matt Chase (his nephew)

LOU ROBINO – AN APPRECIATION

My uncle died recently so I decided to write his obituary for the Gazette. It started off like this… Uncle Lou rode off into the sunset at the age of 91. His legacy lives on in generations. He was born and lived in Taunton but his spirit now overlooks his beloved Arizona. His eclectic life would have given Howard Hughes a run for the money. He had a gift for entertainment: magic, music, and movies. He joins his hero’s in the sky: boyhood idol Fred Thomson, Tom Mix, Gene Autry and the many cowboy actors and musicians of the silver screen.

But after a while, I decided to look at his life more in celebration. I thought of the year he was born - 1917. That meant he was 11 or so at the start of the Great Depression. I wondered about him growing up in such a time. When I was a little boy I never really believed his story about putting cardboard in his shoes to walk to school. I suspect it deepened his compassion for simple humanity.

After his retirement from the Taunton Sewer Department, Uncle Lou spent his day’s outdoors at a place that he loved and inspired him - Boyden Park – a sanctuary on the outskirts of the city. There he walked and cleaned trails, played his guitar, wrote songs in collaboration with Tiny Tim, and entertained. His imagination and colorful stories instilled other area landmarks like Profile Rock, Dighton Rock, and The Blue Hills. Christmas Eve was especially memorable when Santa Claus delivered Cracker Jacks and comic books wrapped in elastics. This was the same Santa who wrote “Dream of Christmas Day” and “Cape Cod Waltz” among many others. I remembered he was called “Pops Robino” in softball and was a fierce Italian Club bocce competitor. Often seen at the dog track he may also have coined the phrase “Go Greyhound” - until lottery scratch tickets came along.

Uncle Lou’s life was filled with dreams. He made his way west with the Army where he saw Sedona, Hollywood, and the desert. Both the Civilian Conservation Corps and Army taught him the virtues of physical labor and kept him in shape for his passion of boxing. He was proud his song “There’s A Great Big Candy Roundup” was recorded by both his hero Gene Autry and Riders in the Sky. He was also producer, director, and lead actor in the local 8mm cult-classic “Monster of Zubango” starring many of his nephews and neighbors. One of the last songs he wrote…

THE SOLDIER AND HIS GIBSON GUITAR
By Lou Robino

DRAFTED FOR THE ARMY IN THE YEAR OF FORTY-TWO
BOUGHT A GIBSON GUITAR FROM A FRIEND THAT HE KNEW
ENTERTAINING HIS BUDDIES THAT WAS HIS GOAL
WITH SONGS THAT HE WROTE AND SONGS NEW AND OLD
WHEN THEY’D GET TOGETHER THE MORALE AT CAMP WAS HIGH
EVEN THOUGH SOME SONGS WOULD MAKE SOME SOLDIERS CRY
ONE DAY HIS GUITAR WAS STOLEN IT WAS A SAD DAY FOR THEM ALL
IT ENDED THEIR JOY OF TOGETHERNESS SINGING AND HAVING A BALL
WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER ONE DAY WHILE ON THE ROAM
HE STOPPED AT A PAWN SHOP JUST ONE MILE FROM HOME
IN A DARK DUSTY CORNER A GUITAR WAS HANGING THERE
IT WAS AN OLD GIBSON THAT HAD ITS DAYS OF WEAR
WHEN HE LOOKED IT OVER TEARS FILLED HIS EYES
HE KNEW IT WAS HIS GIBSON TO HIM A BIG SURPRISE
HE BOUGHT THE OLD GIBSON LOADED WITH DUST
CRACKS COULD BE SEEN BROKEN STRINGS TURNED TO RUST
NEAR A PICTURE OF HIS BUDDIES IT HANGS UPON A WALL
WITH MEMORIES OF A TIME HE CAN STILL RECALL

Uncle Lou was unique in character, kind in heart, and graced us with his sense of wonder. He had a way of brining out the “Candy Roundup” in all of us. Goodbye Uncle Lou. I’m very glad I had you for an uncle. Uncle Lou’s song is ended, but his melody lingers on.