ROCKPORT — Hammers were pounding and table saws cutting all day Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Rockport Fire Station, as 12 guys and two children built an ice shack that will soon join a series of other shacks on Damariscotta Lake, all specially constructed for military veterans.

The goal is to get vets outside and back into environments they love. To many, sitting in a warm shack on the ice in the dead of winter, waiting for fish to bite — well, it’s peaceful and good for the soul.

Vets on the Ice involves Camden, Rockland and Rockport fire departments all building their own shacks, with firefighters volunteering their time and skills on the weekend. 

“Tim Hoffman had approached us, asking if the Rockport fire department would like to build one,” said Rockport Fire Chief Jason Peasley. “It was a simple yes. There are several members of our department who are veterans. They want to help those who served and those who have been injured. It is also a great team-building opportunity to work on a project outside of firefighting.”

The men who showed up at the station on Saturday know how to build; four of them own their own construction companies.

By noon, the shack was framed, with its first wall getting erected. As soon as that milestone was reached, they sat down to eat pizza and talk a little bit about pending football games.

“We had a great time with many laughs and chuckles,” said Peasley. “We are about 85 percent completed and will be putting the final touches on it this coming Saturday.”

Camden and Rockland are looking to begin their shack construction this coming weekend, as well.

While the firefighters have donated their time, local construction companies and lumber yards have donated all the materials, gratis. In fact, businesses across the country have been helping out with the effort, and a Wisconsin fishing company even sent a large box of fishing equipment east.

To organizer Tim Hoffman, of Rockport, it is a collaborative effort by many to expand opportunities for veterans to get into the “great outdoors.”

Vets On The Water is a nonprofit initiative that gets veterans out in all seasons to fish, sail and get in boats. 

Last summer, more than 150 veterans participated on various trips. The Recreational Therapy Services Department under Maine’s veterans healthcare system takes vets to Damariscotta Lake, as well as Rockland, Rockport and Camden harbors, where Vets on the Water has lined up skippers and boats.

Vets on the Water provides fishing and pontoon trips for the Kieve-Wavus camps, and is currently exploring shared activities with Freedom Fighter Organization, which is an East Coast program that provides sport fishing trips donated by private and charter captains.

Vets on the Water also works with other organizations, such as Embrace A Vet, Wavus Veterans Camps and the Travis Mills National Veteran’s Family Center.

Vets on the Ice is the winter incarnation of the activities, and the fish shacks, each measuring eight feet by 10 feet and weighing approximately 1,000 pounds, will be trucked from the fire stations and hauled out onto the ice at the north end of Damariscotta Lake.

Each shack will be equipped with an efficient little wood stove. One of the shacks will be handicap-accessible.