HANSVILLE — A new sign was installed on the front of the old fishing-resort boathouse at Norwegian Point Park, and the volunteers that created the sign were thanked in a ceremony June 13.

More than 50 people attended the event, including County Commissioner Rob Gelder and Kitsap Parks and Recreation Director Jim Dunwiddie. The sign was made by members of the Norwegian Point Park Volunteers, a committee of the Greater Hansville Community Center.

The park volunteers began rehabbing the park in September, when committee members powerwashed and painted four historic structures — three former cabins and the boat house. Committee member Fred Nelson said at the time they wanted to bring back the original fishing resort look for visitors coming down the hill into Hansville.

While preparing to paint the old boathouse last summer, the volunteers removed a historic sign that had been on the building for more than 50 years.  Many people asked if the sign would be repainted and put back up, but time had taken a toll on the sign.

“It was a real challenge trying to duplicate the unique hand-painted lettering style on the old sign since many of the letters had just disappeared, but after many hours of work we made it look similar to what it did decades ago,” Connie Gordon said.

The new sign features metal sculptures of a salmon and crabs made by Jerry King and a painting of one of the resort’s rental boats by artist Jerry Dalphonso.

The fishing resort was built in the late 1930s and had several owner/operators over the years. It was one of the more popular fishing resorts on Puget Sound, offering rental boats and cabins, live bait, a restaurant, and a gas station for vehicles and boats, according to the Norwegian Point Park Volunteers. The facility was purchased for use as a park by Kitsap County in 2007.

Now that the painting and the new sign are completed, the committee has several more projects planned for this summer.