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‘It’s part of our heart and soul’: Volunteers refurbish Lawrencetown Beach House

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Volunteers refurbish Lawrencetown Beach House
Sick of waiting for the government to fix up the aging Lawrencetown Beach House, a group of volunteers took it upon themselves to paint the building ahead of the upcoming summer season. Jeremy Keefe reports – Jun 1, 2019

If the result you want isn’t coming fast enough, perhaps take the matter into your own hands.

That’s the way a group of passionate volunteers felt about a lack of action in refurbishing the beach house at Lawrencetown Beach.

“The beach house here at Lawrencetown has been neglected for the last five years,” explained John Fluke. “We decided to take it upon ourselves since the government wasn’t doing anything to paint the shed.”

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Starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday, about 60 people took to the aging building with paint, tools and cleaning supplies, determined to spruce up what has been referred to in recent years as “an eyesore.”

“It’s been an embarrassment for the last couple of years,” explained Vic Ruzgys.

Ruzgys helped organize the volunteer efforts, which started as many do these days: via a social media plea.

It wasn’t long before it became clear they would have the help they needed to make the job a reality.

He believes the reason is simple; people love Lawrencetown and feel the beach has given them much more than they’ve put into it.

“For a lot of us, this beach has been our second home,” said Ruzgys. “We have a deep love for it, it’s part of our heart and soul.”
“It’s more than just a provincial park for us, it’s something special.”
Having a fixed up building isn’t the end goal, though. They’d like to see the government commit to creating a new facility for the iconic landmark that is often used in Nova Scotia’s tourism advertising.
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Showing the province they are serious is one way they believe they can get the necessary attention to make that happen.
“We’re out to send a message to the government that there’s people out here that really care about this beach and we want to be kept in the loop,” Ruzgys said.
“We want it known that this should be a priority.”
In a statement, the province said “Lands & Forestry staff have been, and will continue to, engage stakeholder groups and the public in the coming weeks on the infrastructure improvement plans. We look forward to finalizing and sharing these plans in the very near future.”

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