It’s not unusual to see Dwight Rhodenizer collecting bottles on the side of the road; the Bridgewater, N.S. man has been working Highway 3 for 48 years.
“I just remember seeing this bottle in our road you know, mom said they were worth money,” says Dwight. “Sometimes it goes alright, sometimes you got to be in the right place, you got to be where there's a string of them, you get a string of them you're all set.”
Nearly five decades later, Dwight hasn’t looked back. Community members say the 61-year-old is a well-known figure in the Bridgewater area, collecting bottles and beautifying the community.
“It's a tremendous service,” says Allen Sullivan, hospital foundation board member. “I think the department of highways should find an award for this young man somewhere, because he does a fabulous job and also very generous.”
Most recently, Dwight began donating part of his hard-earned cash to the Health Services Foundation of the South Shore.
As someone who uses the hospital's services, Dwight wanted to help a cause close to his heart.
“He's decided to give back, he's a gentlemen that travels around the county collecting bottles and cans, raising a little money for himself, and making the community a little nicer,” says Phil Bradfield, chair of the hospital foundation board.
Dwight says he has no plans of slowing down, he's considered retirement, but not for a little while.
“Mom thinks I should go another two years to make it to 50, but I don't know, I might make it to that,” says Dwight.
Congratulations to Dwight Rhodenizer, our Maritimer of the Week.
If you know someone deserving of our Maritimer of the Week award, we want to hear about it.
It doesn’t matter how old they are, the nature of the good deed they’ve done, or what part of the region they live in — we want your ideas!
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Maritimer of the Week
P.O. Box 1653
Halifax, N.S.
B3J 2Z4
