In the snowy rural parts of Ontario, Canada, there lives an elderly man with thinning white hair and thick white beard. At first look, he seems like an ordinary old man living in his peaceful farm, feeding his chickens and milking his cows.
But to the people who knew him, he’s far from ordinary. Unknown to the people outside his town, this man has secrets buried beneath his land waiting to be found out…
His name is Bruce Beach, an 83-year-old man, who lived with his wife in Ontario, Canada. He was originally from Winfield, Kansas, but in the 1970s he decided to move up north with his family.
Bruce lived during the most tense era of America, and he knew he didn't want to raise his family in that kind of place. But what traumatized him so much that it made him think about leaving his country?
Bruce lived in an era of guns, tanks, bombs, and danger waiting for him on every corner. He lived through the brutal and bloody Vietnam and Cold Wars.
He couldn’t stay with this danger anymore, so Bruce packed up his things and brought his family to a new journey up north. Little did his family know that moving wasn’t the only journey Bruce was embarking on…
His family was worried about where their new home would be, but Bruce already had everything planned out down to the last detail. They got to Canada in 1970 and settled down in a small, sleepy village in a rural corner of Ontario.
Aside from its safety and distance from the wars, it was also his wife's hometown. But Bruce picked Horning’s Mills because of a far greater reason—his life’s big new mission.
In the years between 1980 and 1985, Bruce had started to gain interest in an unusual thing—school buses! And not just ordinary functioning school buses, he took great interest in old and retired buses. He scanned the entire country looking for them and had paid $300 for each bus.
In total, he was able to collect 42 old and rusty school buses. But where in the world will he keep them? And what was the reason behind his very unusual hobby?
Before buying all 42 of his collection of school buses, Bruce already prepared the space he needed to keep them in way ahead of time. He had bought a massive space of land that stretched out to over 12.5 acres near his family’s home.
That could fit a whole neighborhood! Still, what was he planning to do with all the buses?
To be able to fit dozens of school buses, Bruce had to dig deep, as deep as 14 feet underground and create a crater-like hole in the middle of Ontario, Canada. After digging up the hole, he then tore apart each bus into pieces. And later on, reconnected them.
His family was starting to get concerned. What was he doing?
As Bruce lowered each of the buses 14 feet underground, he removed the doors and divisions to create a long and wide stretch of a maze... After putting everything in place, he covered the buses in two feet of solid concrete, away from the outside world. Did he buy those buses just to bury them underground?
Absolutely not. Bruce has enormous plans, he just hasn't told anyone yet...
For many years that followed, Bruce tirelessly worked around his collection. He tore them apart and put them back together.
He buried them and covered them underground. He built, built, built, and built, until one day, his creation is finally done...But it was nothing close to what they expected...
Upon finishing his project, Bruce named his work “The Ark Two.” Ark Two is one of the most massive underground structures in North America! It holds a massive 10,000 square feet of land! And the underground maze built from old school buses can hold up to a maximum of 500 people.
Bruce built this structure knowing and believing that one day, people will need and beg to be let inside the Ark Two. That’s why he came up with a very strict screening process…
Bruce doesn't want anyone to just enter his ark. He wants to make sure everyone is clean, healthy, and strong before letting them in.
People who have infections and diseases won't be allowed inside. So, to keep everyone inside safe, everyone needs to go through a very strict screening process...
Bruce prepared a decontamination area for people to clean and wash first before entering the ark. No one gets to enter the facilities unless they take a long shower first.
But why was Bruce so keen on keeping the Ark Two safe and free from harmful diseases? Was he even sure if the ark was good enough to keep 500 people alive and breathing?
Bruce Beach didn’t build the Ark Two all by himself. It was his idea, but he needed professionals to help him with the proper execution. So he got help from one of the best engineers in the country, the same engineer who built the subway system in Toronto, Canada. They made sure that the underground structure provided a very livable situation for humans.
The Ark Two is packed with diesel generators with fuel supplies that can last up to three months. Plus, there's a working plumbing system underground. But how about food and water supplies?
Don’t worry because you’ll never get hungry in the Ark Two. Bruce knew exactly what he had to prepare. So he built a large kitchen with working pots, utensils, and ovens for everyone to use.
He also stocked up on supplies over the years, like food, toilet paper, soap, and other basic needs. But as the ark wasn't being used yet, he had to throw out a lot of spoiled food. Aside from mountains of supplies, he also built his own well to make sure everyone in the Ark drinks clean water. And the kitchen wasn't the only part he had ready...
If you’re used to having your own rules in the outside world, well, once you get inside Bruce's ark, get ready to throw those rules out the window because Ark Two comes with its house rules. First of all, boys and girls can’t sleep in the same room. Why? Because Bruce knows that if families stay together in the same place, they would take up too much space.
They also wouldn't let strangers stay with them. So he had to divide sleeping spaces between men and women to maximize all the space that he has. Unlike Noah's ark that was all barn, Bruce's came in with special features...
Of course, Bruce also thought about the kids. He thought about their studies and their need to play and have fun. So he made a mini school and a playpen inside the Ark Two.
There are chalkboards, books, and other materials waiting for the kids. For younger ones, he also built a nursery filled with toys. Bruce knew life didn't have to stop even when they started living underground...But why would they even need to live underground?
Having 500 different strangers live together in one house underground for months will be challenging. They will have their differences, they will argue, and they will fight. And Bruce knew that.
That's why he made a solid set of ground rules for everyone to follow. But what happens if someone goes against the rules?
Bruce has set up three security cameras around the ark to monitor everything that goes on inside. And if he catches anyone breaking the rules, he'll send them to the holding cell. Yes, Bruce went so far as to make a cell for misbehaving guests. But it was nothing brutal.
The cell is just a small space to be alone and reflect. But the big question still remains, why is Bruce doing this? What is he preparing for?
Bruce Beach is one of the people who call themselves "preppers." Preppers are those who believe that an apocalypse is coming, and it's coming anytime soon. So they start to prepare for it as early as now. They hoard a lot of things like toilet paper, food, duct tape, and any kind of survival items.
Preppers have different beliefs; some spiritual, and some believe predictions. But all of them believe that the end of the world could happen anytime. They might seem unheard of, but there are thousands of preppers all across America.
Just like any other group, preppers have private meetings. They talk about plans, strategies, and challenges they need to prepare for. Preppers train for zombie attacks and getting stuck in the wilderness.
And of course, they think of ways to survive the apocalypse. That's why Bruce had the idea to build something like Noah's ark. But what did his family think about his creation?
The massive Ark Two did not only take up a giant piece of land, but it also took a giant piece of Bruce's savings...He had to pay for everything! His children watched him collect and buy odd objects over the years, never knowing what their dad was doing. They saw him spend so much time building and hoarding items because of something that might not even happen. Unlike Bruce, his kids didn't believe in the apocalypse.
So they just couldn't get what he was doing. Now that they're all grown up, they express their dislike about the ark even more. But his kids aren't the only anti-fans of his ark...
Obviously, the government wasn't a big fan of Bruce's ark. In fact, they want it shut down and gone for good. Overs the years of building the Ark Two, the government had tried to shut it down several times.
Bruce had to face lawsuits and even went to court more than 30 times! But he wasn't one to back down. He fought for his vision and believed that he was different from the other preppers...
Bruce said that most preppers only prepare for the end of the world to save themselves. They don't care about others. For them, it's the survival of the fittest. And Bruce wasn't anything like them...
He built something that could host other people in times of need. He has worked half of his life working on something that could help not only him but also the people around him when disaster strikes. So despite the negative reactions of his family and the government, Bruce Beach continued to work on his ark. Knowing that one day, the day will come when it will come in handy.