Nanaimo community library destroyed by arson gets rebuilt
'People are really glad that it’s back up and the neighbourhood’s kind of whole again, if you will'
A community library box in Nanaimo has risen from the ashes, thanks to a local construction company.
On Jan. 20, Carolyn Sacht's take-a-book-leave-a-book library was destroyed by a suspected arson.
The loss was a blow to the community, but a local company stepped up and rebuilt the library.
Sacht says Pheasant Hill Homes was working on a home in the neighbourhood, saw the damage, and offered to make repairs.
The impacts of the replacement are already being felt, she said.
"This lady came along, stopped her car and said how grateful she was that it was back," Sacht told All Points West's Amanda Farrell-Low.
"People are really glad that it's back up and the neighbourhood's kind of whole again, if you will."
Sacht says the new library looks close to the original, but needs some glass installed, which a local glass company has offered to do.
The original library was made from Sacht's father's gun cabinet.
Her father was an avid reader, and Sacht, her sister, and brother-in-law built the library as a tribute to him.
With files from Amanda Farrell-Low