04/24/2026
A local opportunity to help bring historical talks to the Bridgetown care home residents!
My name is Steve Skafte, and I'm a lifelong resident of Bridgetown, Nova Scotia. I've kept an uninterrupted daily journal of my adventures since 2007, exploring the wilds of my homeland. I was 20 when I started, now I'm 38. One of my main focuses has been abandoned history, especially lost cemeteries, overgrown roads, and derelict homes. I also write about people I encounter, my childhood, and nature. I've never missed a day since I started, and never will until the day I die.
I've released many books through the years, including two with Nimbus Publishing. First was The Dead Die Twice (2023) about abandoned cemeteries, and then This River Was Once a Road (2025) on abandoned roads. My latest release is Outskirts of Ordinary (2026), stories of survival from Annapolis Valley, about people who overcame the odds to be themselves. My work has been widely featured in the national and local media, including CBC (Radio and TV), CTV (News and W5), Global, and The Chronicle-Herald.
In recent years, I've been heavily engaged with in-person storytelling, booking venues across the province. Mainly museums, libraries, historical societies, and community halls — but also local businesses as well. I spend about an hour telling tales from my books, showing photos, and answering questions. Some of these locations include DesBrisay Museum (Bridgewater), Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (Halifax), Uniacke Estate Museum, the Truro Library.
Earlier this week (April 2026), I spoke at an old folks home for the first time (Parkland, West Bedford), and the audience and overall experience was lovely. Several women came up to me later, expressing how happy they were that I'd come so far to see them. As a kid, I never made friends my own age. That made my connections with elderly neighbours and grandparents all the deeper. When I ran my Bridgetown art gallery in the 2010s, many of my most-loved artists were near the end of their lives. I valued their company and conversation dearly.
In my latest book, Outskirts of Ordinary, one story included is Denny Lunn. He was a former Air Force mechanic, retired since before I was born. In his old age, after losing his wife, he got into folk art. He painted on just about everything, from buoys to barrel staves, driftwood, saws, muffin tins, and milk jugs. The man was a bright spark who managed to stay independent to the end. I took this picture of us together in 2017. Denny died in 2022, at the age of 88.
But so many of our elders in Nova Scotia are not as free as Denny, shut away with few visitors and little to pass their time. In the future, I'd love to book more occasions with retirement homes in Nova Scotia, but that's proven near-impossible from a financial standpoint. Most have next-to-no budget for events, and as a working artist, I'd soon go broke with the price of gas. But if I'm able to raise some funds (as little as $200 per venue), I can start adding free appearances for the elderly on my book tours — going to see the folks who can't come to see me.
Will you help out on this journey? Even your pocket change can make a difference. Every venue that this fundraiser allows me to book will be added to the "Updates" section.
Donate Here: www.gofundme.com/f/send-steve-skafte-to-old-folks-homes
If you can't, no worries! Just please share this post so it's able to wander and reach to those who can. Thanks so much!
Books for sale and my upcoming speaking engagements: www.abandonedroadsNS.com
