By Suzanne Robicheau |
Harry Roberts wasn’t surprised at Yarmouth County’s designation as an internationally-recognized Starlight Reserve. As a young boy, Harry would climb to the top of a hill near his home in Argyle, Nova Scotia and scan the heavens with his homemade telescope. Thanks to a generous bequest in Harry’s will, a new scholarship at Saint Mary’s will inspire other naturalists of the night sky.
“My father was always drawn to the cosmos,” says Harry’s son, Chris, who studied Engineering at Saint Mary’s. “He came from a family of modest means, so he couldn’t afford to attend university, but he did take some astronomy classes at Saint Mary’s from Father Burke-Gaffney, the astronomy professor for whom the University’s observatory was named.”
Harry’s passion for astronomy paid off with a job as the first planetarium operator and lecturer at the Nova Scotia Museum of Science in the Technical College Building on Spring Garden Road. A broad range of talents saw him succeed in a variety of vocations, beginning after high school graduation, with a job offer from the new Atlantic Regional Labs of the National Research Council in Halifax. From there, Harry moved to the CBC, first as a cameraman for popular programs, such as Don Messer’s Jubilee, and later as the executive producer of educational TV programs.
“That’s where he met my mother, Inez Palmer,” says Chris. “When she passed away in 2011, they had been married for 52 years.”
Following his time with the CBC, Harry worked for the Nova Scotia Commission on Drug Dependency before forming his own video production company. He had many outside interests, including photography, electronics, and railways—both real and model—but astronomy always held a special place in his heart. He even served for a time as secretary for the Halifax Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
Harry’s will made provisions for many of the charitable organizations he and Inez had supported together, with the largest bequest to establish a scholarship for promising astrophysics majors at Saint Mary’s. A legacy of discovery, this gift will benefit students, researchers, and faculty members for generations to come.
“I think a seed was planted when my father took courses from Father Burke-Gaffney,” says Chris. “Astronomy was such an important part of my dad’s life that he wanted to provide opportunities for those who share his passion.”
For Dr. Marcin Sawicki, Chair of Saint Mary’s Astrophysics Department, this new scholarship is a welcome and wonderful way to support some very deserving students. “The Harry F. Roberts Scholarship will help young Nova Scotian astrophysicists pursue their study of the universe around us,” says Dr. Sawicki. “Harry’s life-long passion for astronomy lives on through his very generous bequest.”
