SHREWSBURY – Ask Arthur “Art” Dobson about himself and he’ll go back to the very beginning.
In 1934, 2-year-old Dobson fell out of his family’s apartment window, plummeting four stories, colliding mid-air with some tree branches and hitting the ground below. Frantic, his mother raced to her son, who was immediately rushed to the hospital. She could only hope for the best.
Turns out, Dobson was just fine. He wouldn’t return to the hospital for another 90-odd years.
“I came home the next day. I had no injuries,” Dobson told the Community Advocate in an interview. “From that day on, I’ve been extremely lucky. I’ve had a great life.”
Born in Boston in 1932, the now 92-year-old Dobson has lived an action-packed life, filled with accomplishments and success in just about every direction. Along the way, he’s found community and formed long-lasting friendships in Shrewsbury, his home of 60-plus years.
Korean War veteran
Dobson graduated from Brookline High School in 1950 and had two main interests — marriage and the Marines. The following year, he accomplished both of his goals. After enlisting to serve in the armed forces and finishing boot camp, he married Dorothy, his high-school sweetheart.
“It was one of those things that just worked out beautifully,” Dobson shared.
As Dobson joined the Marines, the Korean War erupted. Dobson was deployed to the Mediterranean Sea for six months to start his military career, spending time in Spain, mainland Italy, Sicily, Greece, Malta and Crete. The tour was — all things considered — a good experience, Dobson said, noting the crew spent time exploring Rome and the Vatican City.
In 1953, Dobson headed to Korea, but peace was declared en route and his boat was turned northward to Japan, where he served for six months instead. Dobson spent three total years in the Marines and was discharged in 1954.
Although he wasn’t involved in any boots-on-the-ground fighting, Dobson finally visited South Korea in June 2019, taking part in the country’s “Revisit Korea” program, which is meant to honor and thank U.S. veterans who fought in the Korean War, including those who were stationed in Japan.
Dobson landed at Incheon International Airport alongside nephew and U.S. Army veteran Brian Conlon. The two were treated to six days of activities and tours; Dobson felt well appreciated for the entire week.
“It was the most unbelievable week of my life. We were treated like kings,” he said.
Shrewsbury, Spag’s, and supermarket success
After his military service, Dobson took the first opportunity he had to move to Shrewsbury.
“I said, ‘I’ll look at houses.’ So, I found a real estate agent and we saw a house. I bought it — the first house I ever saw. The population of Shrewsbury was 12,500; now there’s roughly 40,000. I lived in that house for 60 years,” he said, speaking of his Brookway Drive residence.
Dobson started to work at Iandoli’s Supermarkets — and it was a match made in heaven. Dobson focused on the bakery section, working to make the area more efficient by adapting shipment schedules, reviewing item codes and revising shelf placement. The work soon became his pride and joy.
“I was just fascinated with the bakery. I used to spend nights watching people shop for bread,” he said.
Dobson wasn’t just good at his job — he was passionate. After reading an edition of “Baker’s Weekly” that touched on supermarket bakeries, Dobson wrote to the editor to express his disagreement with certain practices. The editor responded to him, and next month Dobson’s picture was on the magazine’s front cover. Before long, he left Iandoli’s and managed 520 markets located between Maine and New Jersey.
Dobson soon became a “manufacturer’s representative,” serving as a liaison between food producers and supermarkets. Trying to find products and accumulate accounts, Dobson returned to what he knew best — bread.
“They had the best Italian bread,” Dobson said, referencing a small Eastern Massachusetts bakery. “I pulled into the bakery one day, I got 50 of those breads out of the oven. I went to Spag’s and I said, ‘I have hot bread from Italian bakeries. Would you be interested?’ They brought the bread in and had an in-store announcement. It was gone in five minutes.”
After another wildly successful week of selling Italian bread, Dobson was tapped on the shoulder. It was Anthony “Spag” Borgatti, Jr. — Shrewsbury legend and owner of Spag’s. Dobson remembered that the owner asked one casual, yet high-stakes, question: “What else do you have?”
The answer — as it would soon turn out — was cheese. Dobson promoted his client Cabot Cheese, the same company on supermarket shelves today, to Spag. Spag was immediately interested and the two made plans to travel to the Cabot headquarters in Montpelier, Vermont.
The visit went well, according to Dobson, and when 10 cases of cheese arrived at Spag’s soon after, the product was gone in two minutes. Dobson doubled his order, but it didn’t matter — the 20 cases of Vermont cheese went just as quickly as the first batch.
With the business success, Dobson and Spag quickly formed a long-lasting friendship.
“I used to meet Spag every Sunday… He’d call me up and say, ‘Do you want to come down to the store?’ We became very, very good friends… Then, I’d have lunch at Spag’s house every day,” he said.
With Spag’s support, Dobson began his own private label of cheese — The Charlie Cheddar Company. Dobson copyrighted the name, and before long he owned and distributed roughly 25 cheese products.
(Photo/Courtesy Art Dobson)
Shrewsbury through and through
Throughout his decorated business career, Dobson remained part of the Shrewsbury community.
For the last 44 years, he has been an active member of the town’s Rotary Club, currently serving as the sergeant at arms. He has never stopped loving the organization.
“I just enjoy it so much. There’s 1.2 million members worldwide… It’s just amazing the amount of work they do locally, in the state, nationally, and globally,” Dobson said, noting how he and Roy Balfour helped bring the Rotary Club to Kyiv, Ukraine, in 1992.
Dobson has been to more than 30 countries, but the town of Shrewsbury will always be home.
“People generally are very nice — very friendly, community-oriented… I’ve gotten to know everyone… It’s just a nice, nice place to live and raise your kids,” he said.
