Passing heroes thanked for tour of duty
The owners of an area business recently hosted a group of out-of-state heroes on their way home from a mission of mercy in the coronavirus pandemic hotspot of New York City.
The act of kindness and appreciation started with a chance meeting April 30 at the Emlenton Truck Stop off Interstate 80 in Scrubgrass Township, Venango County. There, John Irwin was pumping his pickup with diesel fuel.
Up drove an unfamiliar ambulance. Enter April Anderson, an emergency medical technician, a recently certified paramedic and an assistant manager for Midwest Medical Transport, a private ambulance service based in Nebraska.
The service also operates in five other states — Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio and South Dakota.
With Anderson was Scarlett Kendrick, also an EMT. The Nebraska women had just spent a grueling three-week voluntary stint helping New York City first-responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 outbreak.
They were part of a 35-ambulance contingent sent by their company April 9 and 10 to New York and New Jersey, another hotspot.
The two EMTs were still far from home when they pulled into the truck stop. Both were tired and hungry.
Irwin, of Emlenton, struck up a conversation with Anderson. He got a quick lowdown of what they had been doing for the past 21 days. He wanted to say thanks, somehow.
He told them he knew of a good place to eat, the Allegheny Grille, just three or four miles down the road in downtown Foxburg, Clarion County. He and Jim Marron of Foxburg happen to co-own the restaurant.
“The offer of a hot, fresh meal was very enticing,” Anderson said.
But she told Irwin there were four other ambulances — two EMTs in each — with her.
“John says, “Bring them all,” Marron said. He insisted the food was free.
Anderson and Kendrick were awe-struck by the natural beauty of the area, en route to the restaurant that overlooks the Allegheny River.
“It was amazing,” Anderson said. “It's the most beautiful town I've ever been to.”
“It actually looks like something out of a painting,” Kendrick said. “It's perfect.” The view, she added, was “breathtaking.”
The convoy of ambulances that ended up at the restaurant could have been much larger. But one group of five ambulances had already passed the exit leading to the truck stop, and another group of five was well behind.
The Allegheny Grille has been closed to walk-in customers since March 17, because of the pandemic, Marron said, but delivery and curbside pickup has been available.
“They got our takeout menu and were told they could have whatever they wanted off the menu,” Marron said, referring to the way, way out-of-town guests.Anderson, Kendrick and their colleagues enjoyed their meals, with the French fries and homemade ranch dressing getting particular accolades.During their nearly 90-minute visit, the EMTs shared some of their experiences with their hosts.“(Emergency medical services) is very much a family-centered position,” Anderson said. “When we heard our brothers and sisters were having trouble with the COVID-19 crisis, that's all it took to want to help.”The regional outbreak hit especially close to home for Kendrick. She has a cousin who lives in the New York/New Jersey area that is being treated for the virus.The volunteer EMTs worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week.“We were running any type of 911 call you can think of,” Anderson said, “whether it would be difficulty breathing, or COVID patient, or an accident.”“It was long hours,” Kendrick admitted,” but we were all in it 100 percent for however long we were needed.”Because of confidentiality rules and company policy, the women declined to speak further about their experiences on the emergency tour.April, however, called it “the best, worst thing ever.” She also described it as “enlightening” and “sobering.” Kendrick agreed, adding “educational” and “gratifying” to the list of descriptions.Once home, they got tested for COVID-19 and spent a week-and-a-half in self-quarantine.Anderson, the mother of five children, and Kendrick, the mother of two, noted their appreciation for all the support they got from the communities they passed through during their journey, including from their brief stay in Foxburg.“They were so great and so nice,” Anderson said of the Allegheny Grille owners. “They were telling us how grateful they were and we were telling them how grateful we were.”Marron didn't hesitate when asked the reason for the gesture of kindness.“They're heroes,” Marron said. “It's just plain and simple.”
