'Thank you for your hospitality': Stranded motorists laud Manitoba town for warm welcome during storm
Riley Laychuk | CBC News | Posted: December 8, 2016 11:56 PM | Last Updated: December 8, 2016
Mike Randazzo and partner among more than 60 people who slept in the town's community centre Tuesday
Mike Randazzo hadn't heard of Virden, Man., before Tuesday, but now he plans to revisit the Manitoba town in the future, albeit under slightly better circumstances.
Randazzo and his partner were on their way to Ottawa from Vancouver when they were redirected into Virden by the RCMP after a powerful winter storm closed the Trans-Canada Highway.
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They were among the more than 60 people who were forced to spend the night in the town's community centre. RCMP said more than 200 motorists became stranded in Virden by the storm.
"We were a little bit skeptical about what was going to happen when we got there," Randazzo said. "We didn't know what to expect."
"I had some sort of thought that we'd be sleeping on gym mats, I had no idea how they would feed all those people," he said.
The storm, which dumped 30 cm of snow on some parts of southern Manitoba and brought gusty winds of more than 60 km/h, left every hotel room in the town of 3,000 people booked and transport trucks lined up for five kilometres down the Trans-Canada Highway for nearly 30 hours.
'It was heartwarming'
Randazzo certainly didn't expect what met him when he walked through the doors of Tundra Oil and Gas Place.
"It was the best of the worst situation."
"It was heartwarming. You never felt lost or ... stranded because of the community feel," Randazzo said. "The amount of donations that came running through the door ... consistently every hour someone would come with some sort of baked good, a pot of chili or sandwiches."
Randazzo said he was told it was only the third time in more than 20 years that the Westman Emergency Group has had to open an emergency shelter for travellers due to weather.
He said the community's support to help complete strangers was impressive and went far beyond what he anticipated. He also made some new friends along the way, including a doctor from Winnipeg.
"We got to know him pretty well. He said anytime we go to Winnipeg ... we should call him up and come over."
Randazzo said he hadn't heard of Virden before Tuesday but now plans to visit again one day, hopefully when the weather is more cooperative for travel.
"Thank you for your hospitality," he said. "Maybe [we'll] get a hotel room next time."