Beloved Farmington leader remembered

FARMINGTON - Clyde I. Barrows was remembered Friday as a natural leader who was a successful businessman and founder of an organization that helps thousands of Mainers suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Barrows died Jan. 30 at his home in Spring Hill, Fla., at the age of 87. He moved to Florida in 1983, but continued to return to Franklin County during the summer.

"He was definitely one of the key figures in Franklin County in many different ways," said Paul Mills, Farmington historian and attorney.

Barrows owned and operated a number of businesses in Farmington including a fuel company, a motel, and a real estate and appraisal company.

"He was known as Mr. Real Estate' for 20 years,"

Barrows built the Barrows Block on Main Street in Farmington, where Mickey's Hallmark is today, and operated his real estate business in part of it, Mills said.

"He was a very charismatic person," he said. "He had a persona of benevolently commanding authority. He was a natural leader."

He certainly helped promote the attraction of Franklin County as a place to live, , he said.

Farmington resident Clyde Ross knew Barrows for many years.

He was a "civic-minded person," Ross said.

He advocated for children and was a family man who loved his children, Ross said.

Barrows also is recognized by the Maine Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society as the founder of that organization in 1954.

Current President Russell Anderson said he met Barrows last year during the 50th anniversary of the chapter.

In 1948, Barrows' first wife, Marion Austin Barrows, became afflicted with a mysterious disease that progressively got worse and no one knew what she had initially, Russell said.

When Barrows discovered his wife had multiple sclerosis after reading an article in the Saturday Evening Post, and there was no treatment for her, he didn't think it was right, Anderson said.

So he invited several people to meet with him at his camp to form a Maine Chapter of the then fledgling National Multiple Sclerosis Society, according to a the history of the Maine Chapter.

Eleven people attended the initial meeting, and Barrows was elected chairman.

The office of the chapter consisted a drawer and a corner of the top of Barrows' desk in his oil business office on Main Street in Farmington.

Barrows served as chairman until 1961, the year his first wife died from multiple sclerosis. Barrows dedicated his life to finding a cure for the disease.

He served on the Board of Directors of the national society for many years and served on the National Advisory Council for years.

"He leaves a legacy of establishing a wonderful organization that helps thousands of Mainers who are today affected by multiple sclerosis," Anderson said.