diff --git a/spin-node.sh b/spin-node.sh
index a60300b..8d2b886 100755
--- a/spin-node.sh
+++ b/spin-node.sh
@@ -366,6 +366,8 @@ for item in "${spin_nodes[@]}"; do
     fi
     echo "$cmd"
     eval "$cmd"
+  else
+    echo "preserving existing data in $itemDataDir"
   fi
 
   # parse validator-config.yaml for $item to load args values