by Carolyn Green & Peter White
reprinted from " New Maritimes", May/June 1996
We first met Larry Lamont in 1982 and soon became fast friends. He was easy to like: he touched people in a special way. He was a social activist, community builder, mason-restoration craftsperson, a neighbour, and friend who embraced life with enthusiasm.
Larry started his long career as a social activist early in life. In 1970, while he was still a student at the University of New Brunswick, he ran for the provincial New Democratic Party. After once again running for the Party in the 1982 New Brunswick provincial election, he moved to Halifax where he worked in many elections, always helping in the organizational trenches. Any time there was a Party meeting, convention, or election, Larry was there. He was especially popular because he was "the guy with the truck" and was always generous enough to lend it when needed.
Working for the NDP represented only a portion of Larry's commitment to social change. he was also very interested in international development issues. He trained to become a journeyman mason, and this enabled him to go overseas as a CUSO development worker in 1980. He spent two years in southern Sudan helping local masons develop new methods of making bricks, but he admitted that his real love was making houses and other brick structures with local artisans. Back in Canada, Larry supported CUSO's work, as well as that of a number of other internationally focused groups, such as OXFAM, Amnesty International, and the Nova Scotia-Cuba Association.
As a community builder, Larry was especially interested in development projects and the cooperative movement. In New Brunswick, he helped in community development projects and with the Capital Credit Union in Fredericton. He was one of the leaders behind developing the Direct Charge Co-op in that city. After moving to Halifax, he worked in the cooperative movement and served on the Board of the Halifax Metro Credit Union. More recently, Larry helped in the drive to establish a co-op store in Lower Sackville. He began driving to Windsor every couple of weeks for the family groceries just so he could shop co-op.
Larry the community builder was also Larry the mason and craftsperson. He combined his political beliefs and values with his profession. He was always active in the union, the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, and in the early '90s it hired him for two years to lead a union-sponsored literacy programme. In 1995, he was instrumental in forming the Halifax Bricklayers Workers' Cooperative. He knew this might be a risky venture, but he believed in it. He specialized in building masonry heaters and other energy-efficient fireplaces. He gained considerable skill in home renovation by restoring his family's own historic home, as well as other nearby homes. The craftsmanship in these houses serves as a model for neighbourhood improvement.
For Larry, political activism started in the neighbourhood. He always tried to shop Canadian, shop union, and shop local, even when it cost more. He was involved in municipal politics and was a community leader in recycling. Before Halifax started its own programme, Larry would collect discarded recyclables in his basement until he had a truckload to take to the recycling depot.
As a friend, Larry was unparalleled. He often helped those in need, sometimes by hiring them to work on his home restoration projects. He was always fun to be with, mainly because of his many enthusiasms. In recent years, Larry embraced Scottish culture, jined the Clan Lamont Society, and bought a kilt. He would host annual Robbie Burns dinners and invite his friends. Before long, some of us were sporting kilts in our own plaid! Larry was always ready to embark on new experiences, and new adventures: "Let's go canoeing and camp for the weekend!"; "Let's go and see what it's like to kayak!"; "I'm joining an old-timers hockey league. Why don't you come along?"
Larry was always modest about his amazing accomplishments. But none of his accomplishments was greater than his development of a personality and lifestyle that served as a model for others to follow. Maybe Larry sometimes worked too hard, but there was always so much to do, so many more experiences to embrace and savour. He thrived on hard work, just as he thrived on learning and new experience.
Larry would have laughed at all this high praise: he had a self-deprecating sense of humour and loved telling bad jokes. He would have said, with a big smile, "I'm just an ordinary guy." Indeed he was. Just an extraordinary guy.
Larry Lamont died on May 18th while sea-kayaking near East Ragged Island, Shelburne County. A long-time friend and fellow craftsperson, Barry Bower, also died in this tragic accident. Larry is missed by his mate Margie Macdonald and their two daughters, Lisa and Miranda, by his mother Olive and brother Charlie, and by his community, neighbours and friends.