Saturday, January 11, 2025
As we all grapple with Karen's death, my thoughts are with Karen's family, friends, and fellow volunteers.
Karen and I met through the Save Owls Head movement. Karen and I would talk for hours about campaigns from Owls Head and West Mabou Beach to Little Crescent Beach and, most recently, the Coastal Protection Act. We could (and did) sometimes disagree on tactics but never failed to have fulsome and friendly conversations, defined by mutual respect and a desire to make change.
Karen was spirited, tenacious, and a stalwart volunteer. Her involvement in environmental causes, the Red Cross, and an untold number of elections were all focused on trying to get things done for the public good. She not only believed in democracy and fairness, she devoted herself to helping to ensure it, both here at home and abroad.
She moved the needle in the Owls Head campaign in a very impressive way despite a number of pressures behind the scenes. She found and coordinated with over 50 sign volunteers from Yarmouth to Cape Breton to get the message out about Owls Head and more recently, the Coastal Protection Act. Often known as "the sign lady," I think she'd be very happy to know these signs have become a lasting part of her legacy. She loved her family, her friends, and her sign volunteers fiercely. Even in her last days and weeks, Karen remained very concerned about the government's failure to proclaim the Coastal Protection Act and there's no question that we will continue to fight on in her honour.
