Suzanna Atkinson
June 18, 2014

This is not the first time we’ve been in the area. We have stayed in Sault Ste Marie and then gone on to Nipigon and we’ve travelled the other way as well, driving by White Lake Lodge, the Barrick Gold Mine, and Marathon—no big deal. June 16 was different. We had the tires checked before we left. “No problem. They’re in great shape”.
By six o’clock that night, we had blown both front tires on our 32 foot RV in the space of five hours. Let me tell you about kindness. First there was Angelo of Albert and Sons Service Centre and Spence of White Lake Lodge. They helped with the first tire. Then, on the side of the road with no cell service, there was a nice young couple hitch hiking. She was eight months pregnant. They loaned us their phone. Then there was the kind 911 dispatcher who sent us Officers Hutton and Bennett. There was Jamie, from the Mine, who called and asked an employee of Fountain Tire to stop on his way back to Marathon to assess. He sent James and John who brought us a loaner tire to replace the second flat as the spare had been used on the first.
James escorted us to Penn Lake Campground right in the heart of Marathon. He came to pick us up in the morning. John Larue and Grayce Abbott took care of us. They located tires in Sault Ste Marie. Carl installed them today. They were all fabulous.
When I went to pay for the campsite, Janet, at the Town Office, insisted I borrow her phone to make the calls I needed to make. I said I felt pathetic. She laughed and wanted to help.
We have been overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of this community. Our heartfelt thanks to everyone. You have renewed our faith in the human spirit.
Suzanne Atkinson
David Weintraub
Eagle Head, Nova Scotia (currently on our way to Qualicum Beach, via Marathon, Ontario).