It's not every day you hear a wonderful story of a random act of kindness, but on a warm September morning, kindness spread its warm fingers across Luseland. The Golden Prairie Restaurant in Luseland, owned by Estelle Skogen, received an incredible donation Sept. 10, from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
The donation put smiles on many faces. The donation: the donor was to pay for $1,000 worth of food and drinks for the customers who came through the door that day. So, from 9 a.m. - 10 p.m., many surprised customers went home with full stomachs and happy hearts.
Customer Alvin Bekemeier said the donation was "a pleasant surprise" and Jim Dimitroff said, "It was unbelievable."
The staff of the day, waitresses Cheryl Woodward and Estelle Skogen and cooks Murray Skogen and Genevive Valgoma, were on hand to witness the goodness that spread through the day.
Says waitress Cheryl Woodward, "This was one of the best days I have ever had at work. I got to take people's orders, watch them enjoy their meal and when they came up to pay I got to tell them that it was free. People are shocked and wanted to know why they were getting a free meal or coffee. When I told people about the generosity of someone giving this gift to our restaurant and community it made people smile and you could tell it had such a positive impact on them. There was lots of 'wows!' and 'seriously?!'
"It was an event that our community will be talking about for quite a while and hopefully got people thinking about what a nice gesture they could do to make someone else's day a little brighter. I like to think that we can all do small acts of kindness on a daily basis."
And those small acts of kindness are being paid forward. Since Sept. 10, they have had a customer come in and pay for six coffees for friends, and another, who had enjoyed a free meal Sept. 10, came back and randomly picked a couple and paid for their supper.
And while the town and surrounding areas are abuzz with excitement, so are the social media sites.
The following was posted on the Golden Prairie Restaurant Facebook page: "RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS IN A SMALL TOWN: What started out as an ordinary day of work at the Golden Prairie Restaurant in Luseland, SK soon transformed into something very special. An anonymous individual left the funds to cover $1000 worth of meals for restaurant customers. And while the amount itself is undeniably generous, what is even more heartwarming is that this person didn't choose who would benefit from their gift, they just simply gave. I hope that 'anonymous' realizes just how far-reaching a random act of kindness can be. To the owners of the restaurant, the pleasure of knowing that you chose their establishment as the means of expressing your thoughtfulness. To the waitress who got joy from seeing the surprised smiles of the customers when she told them their meal was paid for. To the customers who got not just a meal but also the reassurance that there are goodhearted people in this world. Because really, today wasn't just about a meal. It was an amazing opportunity for us to be reminded that one person can make a difference to many. Anonymous may not have expected to be thanked, but you do deserve thanks for making us take a moment out of our busy lives to discover our own ways to pay it forward. They say that good things happen to good people but I think good things happen BECAUSE of good people.."
The page now has over 1,100 likes, comments and shares. Proof that something so generous can have a lasting impact on many.
Staff concluded by saying, "This kind gesture lit up every face with a smile. People were very appreciative of this kind gesture and wanted to pass on a thank you to whoever the anonymous person was..This is something we see on commercials or in news stories from the big cities. Hard to believe that it can happen in real life in a small town."
