In a world that can sometimes feel rushed and impersonal, a simple, genuine act of kindness in Niverville has left a deep impression on a local mom.
Mellissa Gladue recently shared a touching story on Facebook about an experience she had at the Co-op gas station.
“I had all four of my kids with me and I was taking one of my daughters to dance class, so it was quite a busy day. My fiance was at work, so I was alone by myself with the kids. I went to the Co-op gas station in Niverville, and I was delighted by this lovely young man.”
Gladue had told him how much she enjoyed the prepay at the pump because, with four little ones, it can become tricky to take them all inside the store.
The young man showed Gladue how to pay at the pump. Unfortunately, technology didn’t cooperate that day. The tap feature wasn’t working, and the card’s insert option was also giving her trouble.
“I had to quickly ask him if he would just wait a minute so I could call my fiance to get the new card pin that we just stated on the card. So, he waited a whole phone call out to my fiance who was at work, so he wasn't able to help me out.”
Realizing she didn’t have enough cash for the full tank she originally requested, Gladue asked the young man if he could just put in half the amount, and to which he replied, ‘No problem’.
“He starts to proceed to fill my gas and what happened is he had went to go hang up the trucks gas right in front of me, and I take a glance back at my gas tank and it looked like he put in the original amount I had asked for, the full amount and my heart kind of sank.”
She explained once more that she didn’t have enough cash to cover the full amount of gas she had initially requested.
“He looked at me and he said, ‘You know what, the other half I actually have sitting in my wallet, and I've been meaning to spend that bill, and I really want you to know that this one is on me,’ and I was just flabbergasted.”
Gladue was caught off guard and very surprised by the gesture.
“I said, ‘Pardon me, no, you can't do that’. And he replied, ‘I really really want to do this for you’.”
As a mother, this gesture struck her deeply.
“I was just so enlightened by this young man and me having four kids myself, I was just like, who raised this young man? It was just so beautiful. I just thanked him, and I said to him, ‘You know what, I'm going to get you back, you deserve the world. Thank you so much’.”
Gladue says it’s heartwarming to see people like him in the community, and she hopes to cross paths with him again soon.
“I just hope this story reaches not just him, but just helps spread love around the town and the community and just shows that Niverville is an awesome place to live.”
Gladue’s Facebook post about the experience has since received hundreds of reactions and comments from others in the community.
“There have been many people I know from the community and also people I don't know that are saying they've had a really wonderful experience with him at Co-op.”
She also made sure to acknowledge the business.
“I just want to say good job to the Niverville Co-op and for Rose and Pete, who own Co-op, for having employees like that, it's just really enlightening, and it just makes me feel like I don't want to go anywhere else besides the Niverville Co-op.”
With files from Kenton Dyck