Throngs of volunteers help with Lake Hopatcong Train Station cleanup
ROXBURY – An army of volunteers turned out Saturday at the historic Lake Hopatcong Train Station to help the Lake Hopatcong Foundation do a little house cleaning.
The Foundation recently purchased the stately 103-year-old stone building and is planning a total renovation. When complete, the Landing Road building will be home to the Foundation offices and serve as a cultural and environmental center for the community.
“We are eagerly looking forward to the days when this amazing building is our home and we are regularly hosting exhibits and events in this beautiful space,” said Jessica Murphy, LHF president, recently.
Jason Gee delicately maneuvers an excavator inside the Lake Hopatcong Train Station Thursday.
Volunteers braved the bitter cold and a biting wind, putting in more than four hours worth of work, completing an efficient cleanup both inside the building and on the grounds surrounding the building.
Earlier in the month general contractor Bob O’Donnell and his crew donated their time gutting the entire building, creating piles of construction debris in the process. On Thursday excavating contractor Al Hutchins volunteered two of his employees to help begin the cleanup. Using a skid steer and a small excavator they filled a 20-yard dumpster with concrete and a 30-yard dumpster with other construction debris.
Saturday’s volunteers were raking leaves, cutting brush, mowing the lawn, and hauling construction debris from inside the building, filled two more dumpsters.
“It was truly astounding and encouraging to see so many people take time out of their weekend to help us get this project off the ground,” said Murphy. “And it was done with such enthusiasm.”
Now that all the walls and drop ceilings have been taken down and the bones of the building are exposed, said Donna Macalle-Holly, grants and program coordinator at the Foundation, the nonprofit group will be working with architects to discuss restoration and then determine if a preservation planning document is necessary.
“There is still a lot to do but this was a great start and I can’t wait to invite everyone back to open the doors on the completed building,” said Murphy.
