To hear him tell it, it was an involuntary stumble in a parking lot that scratched his glasses. But those who know Ferndale’s iconic “Papa John” (aka John Robinson) know to take pretty much everything he says with a grain of salt.
He’s known as a prolific spinner of the double entendre, innuendo and ironic humor. If you don’t know him by name it is at least likely you have seen him walking through downtown to the Haggen food court, a nearly daily walk he makes. Receptionists and business owners along his route know to expect his drop-ins with a fresh batch of jokes and puns. Or, if you attend city council meetings, you know him as the administrator of student visitors and a chronic humorist during the opening public comments.
One day one of his friends, Michelle Renee, noticed how scratched up his glasses were. When she asked about them, he told her they were about 7 years old and he couldn’t afford to replace them on his limited income.
So Renee took to social media to alert other Ferndale neighbors. She also set up an account people could donate to at Vision Plus, 1815 Main Street (located inside the Haggen store building).
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Click for more informationHey fellow Ferndale Friends, I was speaking with Papa John today and realized how scratched up his glasses are. I asked him about them and he said they are about 7 years old and he can’t afford new ones…….I spoke with Vision plus Ferndale (inside Ferndale Haggens) they will set up a chart for him. If we all donate a little we can help Papa John get some new glasses. I know how caring this community is and he is a friend to all. This would be an amazing blessing and gift for him. He has no clue that I am setting this up for him, I was thinking it would be a wonderful Fathers Day gift for Him!
Please make donations at the Vision Plus inside Ferndale Haggens.
The plea went out on April 29th. By May 2nd, Renee announced the needed several hundred dollars had been donated to cover an exam for an up-to-date prescription and the cost of the lenses and frames.
The plan quickly formed to deliver the news to Robinson on Fathers Day. That meant relying on everyone involved to keep it under their hats for over a month. But they did.
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Click for more informationThis last Sunday during the church service Robinson regularly attends, a presentation of a certificate for him to cash in at Vision One.
Tonight, Robinson took the opportunity during his appearance during the public comments segment of the city council meeting to share his appreciation and hoped everyone there would take the message further since he is not online and cannot directly respond to all the people that made this happen.
Discover Ferndale caught up with Robinson outside the city council meeting and provided him the opportunity to provide his personal message to the community. It’s in the video below. He was almost speechless.