Local News

A Good Deed

Locals Aid Driver Stuck On Snowy Road

On sunny days during COVID, my husband and I have gotten into the habit of setting out for drives around the local area and beyond.

We rarely know where we are going when we leave the house. My husband asks "Right or left?" at the end of our driveway and that's pretty much how the whole outing goes.

But our recent drive was different. Before we left home, I had decided I wanted to check out the side roads off Route 430 between Greenhurst and Mayville. I used to live in Greenhurst so I was familiar with several of them, but hadn't been on most for over 40 years. We drove up and down some that dead-ended at Interstate 86 and then turned right and left onto and off of the through roads. We almost always find something of interest at the end of roads with dead end or no outlet signs posted.

About an hour and a half into our venture, we saw a long, snowy lane that looked like a gas or power line. There was a house located at the bottom and we could see a vehicle nearby. I wanted a picture of the snow-covered hill and had wished the homeowner or their company hadn't parked on the road.

I snapped a picture as we rounded the curve at the bottom of the "power line." Then both my husband and I realized the vehicle was parked behind a very high pile of snow that went all the way across the opening.

We turned around so we could see if there was someone in need of help. The side road that looked like a power line was plowed just beyond the driveway to the house on the corner and the snow was plowed across the road. On the back side of the 3 1/2-foot-high snow bank was a small delivery van with the driver standing beside it.

We learned that he did not see a seasonal limited use sign on the other end, and once he realized there was a foot of snow in the road, there was no place to turn around. In fact, he almost didn't see the icy snowbank at the bottom of the hill, stopping just inches away from it.

He had arrived a few minutes before we came on the scene and was assessing the situation. Armed with nothing but a very small snow shovel, his chances of getting out by himself were slim.

We assured him we would find someone who would help, since that is what country people do. We stopped to speak with a man who was walking his aged collie and was directed to another road to the home of retired Chautauqua County deputy Tim Gustafson.

As I stood at the open door telling Mrs. Gustafson what had happened, her husband stepped out and said "I'll get him out." Within a few minutes the retired lawman was bundled in his Carhart coveralls driving up the road on his John Deere tractor that was equipped with a bucket attachment.

After Mr. Gustafson moved several big scoops of snow, he pulled out a chain, attached it to the delivery van and pulled it through the opening.

There are a lot of good people in the world and we were happy to have witnessed the good deed of one more on that cold, snowy afternoon.