Nahant Life Saving Station to have big opening

NAHANT – There will be politicians, pictures and, most importantly, pie at the Nahant Life Saving Station’s Grand Opening on Sunday, May 1.”It will be the dedication for the station’s new life,” said Nahant Preservation Trust President Michael Rauworth. “We will have some fine words and a great gathering.”The event culminates many years of collaboration among the Legion Post, the Town of Nahant, the Nahant Veterans Association and the Nahant Preservation Trust. The Life Saving Station is approximately 110 years old, but was only turned over to the Town of Nahant in 2000, according to Rauworth.The American Legion Mortimer G. Robbins Post #215 has leased a portion of the building’s first floor for their hall, which was dedicated April 16. Sunday’s dedication will showcase The Boat Room, which originally stored the life-saving boats but has been converted to an exhibition space that will display artifacts and historical documents and can be rented for events, Rauworth said. The Trust is currently advertising for a tenant for a 1,700 square-foot, partially finished apartment on the second floor. According to their website, the Trust estimates that the cost to finish the apartment may reach $100,000. Rauworth said they are looking for a business to rent space in the lookout tower. The garage currently houses construction equipment, he said, and they haven’t determined its future.But in order to make the dedication successful – and to feed the visiting dignitaries, who include Coast Guard historians and local officials – the Life Saving Station Committee needs Nahant’s finest bakers. There will be old-time snacks and hot-dogs served at the event, but the dessert course will be the entries in an old-fashioned pie contest.Contestants should bring their entries to the Life Saving Station by 1 p.m. the day of the event, and awards will be announced at about 2:30. After that, the remaining pieces of the entries will be offered to the audience. Please contact Judy Walsh at 781-599-5533 either to enter or to volunteer to judge. Contributions of other baked goods will be gratefully accepted.