Volunteer gas pumpers mark 14 years of doing the service every Wednesday morning
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Gary Kent, one of the directors of the Albion Betterment Committee, pumps gas this morning for Ronnie Scott of Albion.
Kent and a group of other volunteers pump gas for senior citizens and others who want the service every Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m. at Crosby’s in Albion.
Kent and the Betterment Committee volunteers offer a friendly face to the senior citizens. It’s also a chance to connect with seniors to see how they’re doing, Kent said.
Sometimes the volunteers will also check car fluids and walk the money inside the store so seniors don’t have to get out in the cold.
Kent has been pumping gas since the first week it started in 2004. Clarence Winkelmann has been doing it 13 years and Gary Westlund has been dedicated to the task for 12 years.
If someone can’t make it, Kent has backups, who today included Tim Tierney of Medina and Mike Wright of Albion. Wayne Wadhams and Phil Brady also help out some weeks.
Tim Tierney pumps gas for a senior citizen today at Crosby’s in Albion. Tierney said the seniors appreciate the effort from the volunteers. There aren’t very many gas stations around that provide the service.
“It’s fun,” he said. “I don’t mind doing it.”
