SPRINGHILL, N.S. – Sports plays a central role in small-town life across Canada. For Springhill, the star of the show was, and remains, the Springhill Fencebusters.
“The Fencebusters from 1920 to 1951 were well-loved and very successful,” Doug Spencer said. “And thanks to people like Pokey Melanson and Paul Sharpe, who both recently passed away, the Fencebusters remain vital to the town’s identity today.”
Spencer grew up playing baseball, hockey, and soccer in Springhill, and after living for 28 years in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ont., moved back to Springhill to open the Fencebusters Cafe on Main Street.
He believes sports has had a very positive impact on the town through good times and bad, and much of his restaurant is adorned with Fencebusters memorabilia so that people can see the rich history of Fencebusters baseball.
He plans to dedicate one wall in the cafe to Pokey Melanson and Paul Sharpe.
“They did a lot to bring the Fencebusters back and make it what it is today, so we’re currently looking towards having one wall dedicated in memory of their many contributions.”
Spencer’s journey back to the area has been a long time in the making.
“I moved away with my father, Lowell Spencer, to Windsor, N.S. in 1984 when I was 18 years old, and my two sisters remained here in Springhill with my mom,” the 53-year-old said. “And then in 1989 I moved to Kitchener/Waterloo for 28 years.”
His two sisters, Betty Weatherbee and Cathy Canning, live in the area, but his mother, Jean Melanson, passed away in July, and his dad in 2016.
Spencer worked in the restaurant business in Kitchener/Waterloo, and then moved into the trucking business. He decided the hustle and bustle of the big city was no longer for him.
“I had high blood pressure, so I sold my home in Ontario and came back here and invested into this place.”
Spencer originally had his sights set on the Rollways restaurant and hotel in Springhill but after it was destroyed by fire he bought the building on the corner of Main and Victoria streets.
He lives on the second floor of the building with his girlfriend Lynnette Surrette and says, in many ways, it feels like he never left Springhill.
“My high school friends and the friends I grew up with are still my best friends,” Spencer said.
He buys local products from many of the people he knew growing up.
“We rebuilt the building through the Springhill Home Hardware and my suppliers are local; Dickies Meats and Dickies eggs, Jerry Harrison brings my milk from Farmers, and Dave Henry and his crew helped me build the place.”
The cook at Fencebusters Cafe is Oxana Simonov.
“She’s a Russian lady and she’s cooked in Russia and Israel. She was a cook at the Irving in Aulac, but lives in Springhill.”
Spencer says Fencebusters Cafe is a family-friendly restaurant. They are currently open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and have a large breakfast menu, but they also focus on home-cooked meals cooked from scratch.
“Our daily specials are old, comfort foods like beans and brown bread, ham, steak, scalloped potatoes, cabbage rolls, and on Mondays our special is meatloaf.”
He says he will soon start serving supper three nights a week.
“Since I’ve opened people want me to open for supper, so in a month or two I will open again from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with six new entrées, mostly pasta.”
