The final chapter of an epic story has come to a close in Busby with the completion of the community’s new fire hall.
It began a year ago, when firefighters realized their first obstacle on the way to an emergency was poor access to equipment in the overcrowded building.
Now, after nine months of construction, thousands of volunteer hours and an outpouring of support from people across the area, the new hall is open.
To say the feat was easy would be disingenuous. The hard work of Busby residents and their friends and family from around the community is not just unusual.
The community spirit, dedication, creativity and resourcefulness they’ve shown to bring this project to fruition is an example to us all.
Firefighters had two choices — wait in an never-ending cue for government funding, or grab a shovel and get digging.
They chose the hard road and began to gather funds, raising $90,000 to break ground on the project by the sweat of their own brow.
Sometimes it can feel like we live in an age of handouts and permissions, an age where nothing can be built without the authorization of a higher authority.
In Busby, residents took it upon themselves to be that higher authority.
Their actions speak to a kind can-do attitude that seems lost to many, a relic from a bygone era of barn-raising and blistered palms.
It just goes to show you what small-town work ethic can do.
To see the hall rise from just a pit in the ground, pushed up by the community’s hands is not just admirable, it’s truly awe-inspiring.
They made use of local materials, local business, most importantly, local knowledge to accomplish the task. Beyond fundraising and getting all of the resources themselves, the firefighters were the ones spending their evenings constructing the building.
What makes the project especially selfless is the fact that now that the work is done, the hall that these men and women have worked so hard to build is not even their property.
But that’s what volunteers do. And for that we offer our sincere gratitude.
