Paris family asks council to ‘right a wrong,’ rename Windsor, N.S., street after father

CURRYS CORNER, N.S. — The family of the late John (Buster) Paris is hoping that after more than a decade of waiting, the Curry’s Corner street where they grew up will soon bear his name.

Percy Paris, a son of Buster Paris, presented to West Hants council Jan. 23, explaining the family’s quest for the road name change.

“This should be a joyous occasion. Unfortunately, it’s not,” said Paris, who grew up in Windsor and was the Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank MLA from 2006-2013.

“This is a matter that should have been resolved many years ago.”

Paris said before his father died in 2007 at the age of 87, the family talked about his accomplishments and how he could be remembered. They talked about renaming Cottage Street – a small stretch of road in Curry’s Corner where the Paris family lived.

Buster Paris was a Second World War veteran who took part in the liberation of Holland. He was wounded during service. When he returned home to Nova Scotia, Percy Paris said his father not only had to fight for everything he had but faced much racism. He went on to have a career with Canada Post, and volunteered his time with a number of organizations, including the Royal Canadian Legion Hants County Branch No. 9 in Windsor, the Windsor and District Lions Club and the Windsor Regional Air Cadet Squadron. He was actively involved in the local sports scene and was well-known for promoting minor ball.

“Anybody and everybody that went to the post office knew who Buster was. He had a word for everyone – a kind word. He never spoke ill of anyone,” said Paris.

The petition

Paris said he approached the former Windsor town council to ask what the prerequisites were for renaming a street.

“Now, I wasn’t born yesterday. The town told me, and my brother was with me, that if I got 100 per cent – I reiterate, if I got 100 per cent – of the residents on the street to sign a petition, not a problem,” Paris said during the Jan. 23 meeting.

“You know, and I know, and I knew at the time that the 100 per cent prerequisite that they outlined to me wasn’t fair nor was it accurate.”

Still, he wasn’t deterred and went door-to-door seeking support. He said, “without hesitation, everyone signed the petition,” including those operating the large senior citizen’s complex at the end of the street.

In 2012, he presented the petition to council only to have the request denied. He said he was told “the Paris name didn’t have enough history attached to it.”

Paris said he feels if his family was not Black, this would not have happened.

He cited a staff report dating back to December 2012 that indicated the previous civic addressing co-ordinator said that while the West Hants Historical Society deemed the Paris name to have “historical significance for Curry’s Corner, it has little for the town itself.”

Support given

After hearing of this report, current West Hants Historical Society president Shirley Pineo offered the organization’s support to the Paris family cause.

In a letter written to council, Pineo said the opinion expressed in 2012 does not reflect the present organization, which has a mandate of preserving all local history and has a robust genealogy section.

“The name ‘Paris’ is long and significantly associated with Windsor. The West Hants Historical Society hereby wholeheartedly endorses and recommends that the request put forward in the petition signed by all residents of Cottage Street be accepted,” she wrote in the letter to council.

Coun. Bob Morton thanked Paris for the presentation and encouraged his fellow councillors to consider what was said.

“I really encourage council to think of the presentation, really take it in. If you have to go home and re-watch the presentation that Percy just gave us, certainly do that, and ask questions,” Morton said during the meeting.

Moving forward

In 2020, the former town of Windsor and the district of West Hants merged into one regional municipality.

Paris said he’s hopeful this council will “do the right thing.”

“You have an opportunity in front of you to right a wrong. You have an opportunity to rewrite history, to remove a blemish that is on this town. It’s a blemish that will remain. But you have the ability, hopefully you have the will, to do the right thing.”

Mayor Abraham Zebian said in a phone interview after the meeting that council was receptive to the idea of changing the street name and said the topic will return to a future meeting where councillors could give it more time and consideration.

“I can’t speak to 2012 and the process back then. I’m not even sure we could go by a former or past application,” said Zebian, noting they may need something more up to date.

“Again, not putting up any roadblocks. I fully support his request. I believe council is in full support, it’s just the information needs to be presented in a full staff report back to council and direction given on that.”

Zebian said it’s important to take the time to get the necessary information “to proceed in the correct way rather than doing it on the fly and missing something, or not paying attention to something. I think we’re all in support of it, we just want to do it correctly.”

Current bylaw

West Hants Regional Municipality currently has a civic addressing bylaw in place that outlines what must occur should a road name change be considered in any of its districts.

The bylaw notes that an application form must be filled out and submitted to the civic addressing co-ordinator. This submission must include a petition signed by the owners of 75 per cent of the lots with frontage on the road. The civic addressing co-ordinator would then evaluate specific criteria.

The criteria includes such things as the name being “easy to pronounce and spell” and contain recognizable words. It notes that “consideration must be given to the long-standing local usage of the name” by the public.

“A personal name (given name and surname) should not be applied to a road unless such application is in the public interest,” the bylaw reads. “The person commemorated should have contributed significantly to the area where the road is located. The adoption of a personal name during the lifetime of the person concerned should only be made in exceptional circumstances and with the person’s written consent.”

Family hopeful

When wrapping up his presentation to council, Paris asked councillors to look inside themselves to find a way forward.

“I could say much about this. I could say the irritation that this has caused myself and my family over the years has been very, very disturbing,” he said.

“I put my faith and confidence in you that you don’t harbour the same attitudes, the same views, the same opinions of decades ago; that you will do the right thing,” he continued.

“I call upon your conscience. I call upon your integrity. I call upon your will to do the right thing.”

In June 2023, West Hants council officially renamed the new ice hockey rink after John Paris Jr., a son of John (Buster) Paris. He is considered a trailblazer in hockey circles. He had a number of firsts during his career, notably becoming the first Black minor hockey elite AAA head coach, the first Black scout in the NHL, the first Black coach and general manager in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and the first Black coach in professional hockey.