GLACE BAY, N.S. — An act of kindness in Glace Bay has quickly became contagious.
After the Cape Breton Post broke the story Nov. 1 about Good Samaritan Jeremy Locke putting a new roof on the house of a woman he didn’t even know, free of charge, the calls started.
Locke, owner of Locke’s Roofing and Construction in Bridgeport, said he was surprised by the reaction over what he did to help Jeanette MacDonald of Glace Bay.
“Absolutely,” he said, adding he just wanted to see this woman and her grandchildren get a safe roof before winter started.
“The way the community pulled together for this project is absolutely insane. It’s more than I could ever have imagined.”
Locke said ARL Mechanical Ltd. was on site Monday morning installing a heat pump and Woody’s Tree Service showed up with wood for her wood stove. The owner of NAPA Auto Parts was in Florida and reached out to Locke wanting to help in some way.
“A fellow from Las Vegas even called, another Good Samaritan congratulating us on our efforts.”
The story told of how Locke, the owner of Locke’s Roofing and Construction, would drive by the home of Jeanette MacDonald in Glace Bay for years, always noticing how bad her roof was. In March, he stopped by and offered to put on a roof for free, but she told him she had applied for a grant. A few weeks ago, he noticed the roof was as bad as ever and was worried for the family living there, with winter coming on. Knowing MacDonald wouldn’t take a handout, he stopped to ask if she’d want to be included in a raffle for a new roof. MacDonald eventually accepted his offer for help but soon afterwards discovered she would have been the only ticket in the raffle.
Meanwhile, Locke, a third-generation carpenter, had his grandfather, Flynn Locke, and two uncles and other relatives on site at MacDonald’s home on Monday, working on her roof.
Locke said even a new door — which the Post story had described as being held together with duct tape — was purchased for MacDonald by a local woman.
The entire scenario has been a shock and completely overwhelming to MacDonald, who woke up Monday morning at 7 a.m. to staging being put up and carpenters all over her property.
“I feel awesome,” she said. “I can’t believe what Jeremy’s done. I can’t thank him enough. There’re no words to describe him, none.”
MacDonald, who doesn’t like to take from others, said the old roof made life difficult when it rained because it meant placing buckets and pots in various areas of the house. MacDonald had applied for a grant through the Department of Housing but was turned down. However, since the Post story ran, she said the department has phoned her and is sending an inspector out to check her house.
As MacDonald was looking over her new heat pump on Monday, she described the feeling of shock that came over her when a crew from ARL Mechanical Ltd. showed up with one with a heat pump to install in her home.
“You couldn’t meet a nicer group of guys,” she said, “They were really awesome. They are just like Jeremy and the ones with him."
Holding up a frame with various photos in it, MacDonald said she attributes these efforts to them connecting her with Jeremy Locke.
“That’s who sent them, these angels — my mother and my father and my sister that passed away,” she said, softly. “God love them.”
In the meantime, others are wanting to help and are contacting Locke.
“Anyone else who wanted to donate we told them to buy Superstore cards, Sobeys cards, Walmart cards,” he said.
“We have Christmas coming and winter months, we don’t want people having to choose between their heating bills and electrical.”
RELATED: Good Samaritan resorts to trickery to make sure Glace Bay woman gets new roof
