Snowstorm hospitality

By John Gallup

Earlier in the month we had a 37” snowstorm. In the midst of this I sallied forth to help get people unstuck on Timberline hill. The first couple of tows were successful, and hubris impelled me on. The Powder God smiled and turned it up a couple of notches.

Soon I had added my wife’s Forester to the ditch at the top of the hill. To this scene of whiteout carnage rode Andy Hehnlin, big plow, chains all around. He pulled a couple of the big pickups stuck right in the road and got them up onto level snow from whence they could depart. He then did a very clean extraction of a nice sedan from the depths of the ditch. We had shoveled our car out as best we could and we soon had it back on its paws in the white maelstrom. He declined my offer to pay, and I was fortunate to get back to the driveway. The Powder God hadn’t counted on Andy.

He and I are polar opposites in many ways, but I am proud and happy to be acquainted with him. He epitomizes what makes Girdwood special.

Fast forward, and we had managed to down a couple of spruce in my yard that needed to go. I had begun the slow process of burning off a sizable mountain of slash, when Schubie came by and stopped. He offered his pickup so that I could haul the slash to the dump, saving me days of smoke inhalation. Again, for no compensation. Example #2 of the largesse of Girdwood folks.

Both of these gentlemen are Girdwood small business owners, and I would encourage you to look them up should you need an equipment contractor (Andy) or a building contractor (Schubie). Folks like that are Girdwood!