CLEARFIELD – Your mother always told you to do it, but it happens so infrequently in today’s age.
It’s called the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you would like to be treated.
That is exactly what several men did on Interstate 80, and because of their generosity, the Joseph and Elizabeth Shaw Public Library will benefit.
On July 29, Otto Robinson, an attorney from Scranton, was traveling on I-80 with a new sailboat that he had purchased in Michigan. As he was traveling in the area, a pin that secured the trailer to his vehicle slipped out, causing the trailer to drop down onto its safety chains.
Robinson was able to pull off of the roadway and walked about a half-mile looking for the pin.
As he was walking under a bridge, he said a man on the bridge asked if he could help because he lived a short distance away, according to a letter written by Robinson to the Clearfield Borough Council.
Robinson asked the man for a bolt, a nut and some washers. The man on the bridge left, and as Robinson was walking back to his vehicle, another man stopped and stated that he had the exact pin and a lock that Robinson needed.
In the meantime, the man who had been on the bridge returned with the other parts.
Robinson wrote that neither man would accept money or give their addresses, stating only that they were locals. One man said he was a mechanic who worked on “big rigs” and was just happy to help.
Robinson wrote, ” … it is heartening to see that there remain such stalwart individuals willing to give of themselves to help their fellow man.”
In his letter, Robinson enclosed a $1,000 check for the council to do with as it saw fit.
A suggestion from Susan Reed led council to donate the money to the library because it was likely that the man was traveling through either Lawrence Township or Bradford Township at the time. The library is funded by Clearfield Borough and the two townships.
“If you can locate these people, I would like to suggest that they be appropriately recognized,” Robinson wrote. “If you cannot locate these people, you can at least derive satisfaction from knowing the good people that you have residing in your community.”
The council asks anyone who might know the identities of the good samaritans to contact the borough office at 765-7817. Information can also be sent to GantDaily.