By Alison Strachan
So many people I talk to these days are struggling with the decision as to whether they stay on social media or leave. Most recently, that has surfaced because META’s news fact-checking — in an era where fact-checking seems so important — is not being continued on its sites Facebook and Instagram.
People I know are also struggling with the concept of authenticity in this age of dwindling face-to-face time. As a Lunenburg resident, I hear older folks grieving over the loss of the smell of fish, hemp rope, and more that existed during the fishing industry from the Age of Sail to the downturn in the fishery.
It seems ‘authentic’, in many places is a moving target in an era of community existentialism.
I’m going to share a story about one of the most consistent authentic experiences still celebrated on the South Shore. If you haven’t given up on Facebook or other forms of social media, you might want to tune into What’s Going On In The South Shore or local fire hall Facebook pages; community breakfasts are still going strong. Some are fundraisers for specific issues and some are just general fundraisers for community halls, etc.
A couple of years ago, I had carpenter Dennis LeBlanc, who grew up in the town, look at a few things I needed done at my home. Dennis got busy on a house across the street and so I never did engage his services.
But while I was painting my house back in those hot August days, every once in a while I would hear Dennis’ volunteer fire pager go off, followed by Dennis jumping in his truck to answer the call as a firefighter in Mahone Bay. Whether he was on the roof or working on the second-story deck, the pager would go off and within minutes, Dennis would be on his way.
This past fall, Dennis suffered a heart attack after being out on a fire call. He tells me he underwent an eight-plus hour surgery in Halifax. He also told me he hopes to be back pounding nails by this August.
So, when the Mahone Bay & District Fire Department started suggesting on Facebook in January that something big was going to happen to support Dennis and his family, I started paying attention. Some might call it a conscious effort to focus on what is good and what is real given the world of uncertainty so many of us find ourselves in.
That “something big” happened last Sunday, Jan. 12, in the form of a community fundraiser consisting of breakfast prepared by firefighters and what seemed like hundreds of items in a silent auction at the fire hall. A few days before, Lunenburg’s MLA Susan Corkum-Greek explained in a heartfelt Facebook post why she would be going to the breakfast:
MLA, Susan Corkum-Greek’s Facebook reminder about the firefighters’ breakfast & silent auction.
And what happened was indeed authentic and heartwarming. The breakfast was sold out by 11 a.m., and the fire hall was full to capacity. The volunteers serving, cooking, and mingling throughout the morning to make sure folks were all taken care of were amazing. People came from over the county and points further away.
The folks sitting on one side of me at the event, who said they follow the What’s Going On news, came from Halifax and fit the breakfast in before they spent a day visiting in the Mahone Bay and Lunenburg area. The silent auction continued until 1 p.m., while folks got caught up with each other, made new friends, and had an opportunity to chat with Dennis.
Mahone Bay and District firefighters Connor Veniot and Dennis LeBlanc
I can’t tell you how good for the soul, community and, of course Dennis, this event was. I was the successful bidder on some hot smoked salmon that I will pick up this weekend.
If you can find them, follow these kinds of events throughout the year. They tend to leave us all in a better place and frame of mind.
If you’re reading this early enough on Saturday morning, there’s one at the Riverport and District Fire Department’s hall from 7:30 to 11 a.m. Maybe I’ll see you there.
