Princeton man warms hearts of stranded travelers with ‘Secret Santa’ gesture

A gesture of goodwill warmed the hearts of many who were stranded in Princeton Friday night as the highway shut down.

A local man, who wished to stay anonymous, called the A&W where truckers had parked for the night as road closures rolled out. 

“He was very thoughtful,” A &W manager Lenore said.

“He just wanted to help people who were stranded — the truckers and everyone else.”

stuck in princeton, bc until the highway opens but want to give a HUGE shoutout to the person that paid for any and every truck driver stuck here to get a free meal at A&W!!!! ?? @globalnews @CTVVancouver @DriveBC @TranBC @ pic.twitter.com/q0EwrK4jSy

— Marc (@TheRealMarcHerr) December 21, 2019

Shortly after the call, he made his way through the snow to the drive-thru, put down $200 on a gift card and requested staff offer it to people as they went through and say their bill was on “Secret Santa.”

“It was very nice,” Lenore, the A&W manager, said. “A lot of people were having a rough day and it made it easier.”

In all the many years she’s been at the restaurant, she’s never seen such a grand gesture, though smaller acts of kindness have been made.

“A lot of people were surprised and appreciative so they said next time we see him, let him know they were thankful,” she said. “He just wanted to do it because he thought it was the right thing to do.”

Marc Herr definitely thought it was. He was one of the people stranded and he offered his thanks Friday night through Twitter.

“Stuck in Princeton, bc until the highway opens but want to give a HUGE shoutout to the person that paid for any and every truck driver stuck here to get a free meal at A&W!,” he wrote.

The highway is slowly reopening this morning and Lenore said that there are still a lot of truckers parked in the A&W lot.

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