ARTHUR — Travellers stranded in Arthur during extreme winter weather events need not worry: there's likely a warm meal and bed already waiting for them in town.
For almost 60 years, a group of Arthur residents, also known as "the storm stay people," have been opening their doors to motorists stranded in town when roads are closed and/or during extreme weather periods.
Taking the reins from Ethel and Grant McEwan almost 25 years ago, Chris and Bonnie McIntosh from Be Sure Financial currently coordinate the group of at least 40 residents who have all offered to provide a warm house, bed(s) and potentially a meal on short notice.
Bonnie said the group started because most travellers have "nowhere to go when the road's closed" since there are no hotels, motels or bed and breakfasts in Arthur.
"We just put ourselves out there like what if it was us, you know? It can easily happen," said Bonnie. "Most of the people we help will have left when it was sunny and then all of a sudden they get here and they haven't been able to see for the last 45 minutes or they've been in accidents ... it's scary for a lot of people."
In addition to putting up posters around town, Bonnie said they'll go out with a list during extreme weather periods or when the roads begin to shut down, looking for cars and people who look like they need a hand – gathering as many people as they can find and making sure they're put up in an appropriate space.
If they run out of billets, Bonnie said it's not uncommon to turn to Facebook for help or extra supplies.
"A few years ago we had a storm that lasted two days and the roads were closed for maybe three days and so there were a lot of people at Tim Hortons ... that didn't want to be billeted. They were just going to wait for the roads to open," said Bonnie. "The next morning, when we went down, there were a lot of people that had changed their minds. One older lady said 'I just want to go into a warm house and put on a pair of slippers.'"
The group usually expects at least one big storm per year but said it can vary. On average, the group helps between 40 and 60 people per weather event, although one year they helped close to 200 including a hockey team.
"One year somebody had a tank load of tropical fish in the back of their truck ... and they had to get in out of the cold. So then we had to find aquariums to put them in," said Bonnie. "The stories are wild ... it's exciting, it's fun and it's just so gratifying."
And it's not uncommon for people to stay in contact after, said Bonnie. In one instance, a volunteer was wearing New Balances when she put up a man who worked for the company; a month later a new pair arrived in the mail.
"One older couple who lives in our neighbourhood, the couple they put up, they come back every time they drive through town to visit them. Other times you'll get a parent who thanks you because you put up their young son or daughter," said Bonnie. "It's really interesting the connections you make- it's actually fun."
When asked why they keep doing this, Chris said "Why not?"
"It could be our kids, our parents, us – I just put myself right there and I think what would I do?" said Bonnie. "Especially if you have little kids or you're 70+, I just think oh my gosh somebody needs to reach out to them."
"If people need help, they need help," said Chris. "If everybody did it, the world would be better."
Any Arthur residents interested in becoming a host are encouraged to dm their name, phone number, the number of people they can accommodate and whether that includes animals to Bonnie McIntosh on Facebook.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
