There we were, 46 older adults in a sleek Cyr tour bus from Maine, broken down on a busy highway - Route 20 at Columbus Street - on a very hot June day, and getting hotter.
Our group was on a five-day Maine State Grange tour of this beautiful Finger Lakes/1000 Islands New York area. After a busy morning at Weaver Farm and lunch at Belhurst Castle, our tour group was headed to the Ward W. O'Hara Agricultural Museum when, as we approached an intersection, the bus broke down. Following some repeated short start-ups and stops, our skilled bus driver, Bill, maneuvered our bus over to the breakdown lane - what to do?
As the temperature rose dramatically inside the bus, passengers exited to a grassy, somewhat shady area seeking some relief from the oppressive heat.
A few brave souls from our group trekked off to seek water and were very lucky to quickly locate Indelicato's Meat Market on Columbus Street. The folks there readily emptied their cooler of all their bottled water for us and our folks hastily returned to the scene of our distress.
A kind man who declined to identify himself from a volunteer fire department near Auburn dropped off two cases of water and two big bags of ice and cups.
Then Randy and Margaret Pickard and their daughter, April Plenty, having seen our breakdown, returned from their home to the scene, after having cleaned out their refrigerator of refreshing cold drinks and cups.
After a local replacement tour bus arrived on the scene, these generous, hospitable folks assisted some of our handicapped and/or vulnerable group members into the “new” bus.
Larry, the “new” bus driver had already been out all day on a tour for fourth and fifth graders and had been on his way home when he received a call and agreed to extend his already long day to come to our rescue and save our day and evening itinerary - what a great guy!
How appreciative and grateful we all are for the spontaneous and caring response of these good Samaritans from Auburn, N.Y.! What really could have been a cruel crisis evolved into an experience that will warm our hearts all the way home to Maine. Thank you so much, you wonderful people!
Steven C. Verrill
Verrill is master of the Maine State Grange.
As the temperature rose dramatically inside the bus, passengers exited to a grassy, somewhat shady area seeking some relief from the oppressive heat.
A few brave souls from our group trekked off to seek water and were very lucky to quickly locate Indelicato's Meat Market on Columbus Street. The folks there readily emptied their cooler of all their bottled water for us and our folks hastily returned to the scene of our distress.
A kind man who declined to identify himself from a volunteer fire department near Auburn dropped off two cases of water and two big bags of ice and cups.
Then Randy and Margaret Pickard and their daughter, April Plenty, having seen our breakdown, returned from their home to the scene, after having cleaned out their refrigerator of refreshing cold drinks and cups.
After a local replacement tour bus arrived on the scene, these generous, hospitable folks assisted some of our handicapped and/or vulnerable group members into the “new” bus.
Larry, the “new” bus driver had already been out all day on a tour for fourth and fifth graders and had been on his way home when he received a call and agreed to extend his already long day to come to our rescue and save our day and evening itinerary - what a great guy!
How appreciative and grateful we all are for the spontaneous and caring response of these good Samaritans from Auburn, N.Y.! What really could have been a cruel crisis evolved into an experience that will warm our hearts all the way home to Maine. Thank you so much, you wonderful people!
Steven C. Verrill
Verrill is master of the Maine State Grange.
The Citizens' Say
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CayugaWatch wrote on Jun 19, 2007 5:00 PM: