Good Samaritans take action after major snowfall in Gravenhurst

Volunteers from all around the Muskoka region and other nearby areas rallied together this week to help those in need following heavy snowfall in Gravenhurst, Ont. over the weekend. 

Thomas Marshall from Bobcaygeon, Ont. gathered his snow clearing gear, including plow trucks and skid-steer loaders, and headed to the affected area on Sunday.  

He and members of his team at Marshall's Excavating have been helping dig out streets and homes all week.

"I just wanted to help some people out," Marshall told CBC Toronto. "We just really wanted to just give everybody a hand. There was people that were messaging us and they were like, 'Hey, my child needs this medication and we haven't been able to get out in five days,' you know what I mean?" 

Gravenhurst, which is about 176 kilometres north of Toronto, was hit with around 140 centimetres of snow over the weekend. The town declared a state of emergency early Sunday with much of Highway 11 closed between Orillia and Huntsville. 

The region has seen more snowfall this week, with up to 10 centimetres falling on Wednesday.

Most major roadways were cleared by Monday evening, but at the time, Ontario Provincial Police were reporting many residents were stuck in their homes without power and a number of drivers were stranded in their vehicles for hours.

That's when the Good Samaritans of the region jumped into action. 

Jesse Grimes lives in nearby Bracebridge, Ont., and owns and manages a Sobeys grocery store in Gravenhurst. 

He told CBC Toronto his drive into work Sunday morning — normally about 10 minutes long — took more than two hours.

Local grocer delivers meals to stranded truck drivers

Grimes said he encountered several stranded freight trucks along the way. 

"I wanted to try and get to all these guys and give them something... something to look forward to," he said. "They've been sitting there for over 24 hours, a lot of them."

When he arrived at the grocery store, he and one of his customers loaded his truck with food and water, and headed back out to meet with the stranded drivers.

"The look on the drivers' faces when we knocked on the door … most of them were sleeping," Grimes said. "[They couldn't] believe that, like, someone actually came and checked on them."

It was just the right thing to do, he said.

"When you play a lot of hockey and stuff, you're always coached about effort and you've got to give it your all effort," Grimes said. "I look at it the same way as that, you know, it's your time to be the captain here." 

Meanwhile, staff at the Muskoka Steamships and Discovery Centre, including president John Miller, were dealing with their own crisis due to the snow. 

On Monday, the historic RMS Segwun — North America's oldest operating mail steamship — had started listing from the weight of the snow.

But once again, helping hands came to the rescue. 

Volunteers save historic steamship

"It took about five or six hours, I think it was," Miller told CBC News. "We had, you know, eight or 10 people shoveling and then more people on the dock just assisting and supporting. The fire department was here and the town of Gravenhurst assisted as well." 

The majority of people helping to get the steamship upright were volunteers, he said.

"It was kind of time sensitive," Miller said. "We just kind of got to work and started shoveling and did what we could. So I mean, it was a pretty chaotic situation."

Many acts of community service like these have been shared on social media. 

Volunteers like Marshall said they encountered lots of others out offering assistance in various ways. 

That includes rooms and meals provided to volunteers by local hotels and restaurants, he said. 

"Everybody from everywhere was just helping, honestly."