Dear Downhome,

We are Gordon and Colleen (Newhook) Sheppard. We are from a small town in NL called Spaniard's Bay but are now living in Barrie, ON. We are resident managers of Marina Bay Condominiums here in Barrie.

Through our work, we have the pleasure of dealing with the Barrie Fire Dept. Station One B Platoon. These wonderful people are Dave Dunt, Jeff Noble, Matt Monkman and Paul Stacey. As a part of their training, they use our building for high angle rescue maneuvers.

I read your magazine faithfully every month and I would like to share a story of Newfoundland generosity and hospitality. On June 16, 2009, the Fire Dept. Station One, B Platoon were here to practice repelling. They were here from 8am to 7pm and in between practicing they were called away on two emergency calls. So needless to say, these guys had a very busy day.

My wife, Colleen, had been making a pot of homemade spaghetti sauce this same day. Around the time they were finishing their practice, Colleen commented that the firemen must be starved by now. To which they replied yes they were and they would have to make themselves something back at the station. Well, she looked at me, and I at her, and I just nodded my head. So, Colleen went to the captain and asked if they would like to take her pot of spaghetti sauce. That way all the guys would have to do was cook their spaghetti. She even provided them with the garlic bread she had. Needless to say, they appreciated her generosity. To Colleen, however, it was no big deal. She is after all, a Newfoundlander.

The next day I received an e-mail from the officer in charge of training, Dave Dunt. He wanted to thank us again and let us know that they had been just about to warm the sauce when another emergency call came in and they had to go. When they got back, they were even more thankful for Colleen's thoughtfulness. If not for that, they would have either had a supper of potato chips or gone hungry. The following is the letter:

Gord:

Just wanted to thank you and your lovely wife on behalf of Station 1, B-platoon, for your hospitality, mate. The meatballs and pasta sauce were VERY much enjoyed. We no sooner had the sauce on the stove than we were off running emergency calls and, to be quite honest, if your wife had not taken the trouble, we may well have gone hungry or found ourselves eating bags of chips for the night.

Thanks again mate,
Dave

A week later, as a thank you, the B Platoon invited us to have supper with them. This time they cooked. We had hot roast beef with all the fixings.
So there you have it. No matter where a Newfoundlander may roam, their generosity, caring and hospitality stays true.

I have attached a photo of my wife, Colleen and two of the firemen from that day. Left is Acting Captain, Jeff Noble, center is Colleen and on the right is Dave Dunt, the training officer for high angle rescue.

Thanks from a true Newfoundlander,
Gordon Sheppard
  Submitted By: Gordon Sheppard