Shelly Andrews, outreach worker at the Embarras River Basin Agency in Newton told us the story of Clarence, a 96-year-old WWII veteran. Shelly describes him as very thrifty. “He says, I gotta make my $900 a month last.” One day the pantry received a large donation of soda which they kept in a cooler with a lid. Clarence asked if he could look inside and he spotted a pack of root beer on the bottom of the cooler. He said, “I haven’t had one of those since I was a kid. Could I take one?” Shelly offered him the whole pack, but he refused. “No,” he said, “Save that for someone with kids. I’d be happy with just a couple.”

Shelly noted that every time he takes his groceries to his car, this gentleman comes back into the pantry to help other with their groceries. “Here he is a 96-year-old man and he’s carrying other people’s bags and boxes to their car.”