Gordon Fleming and his wife Angela are proof that the small-town spirit is still alive in Acton.
The local man says he hasn’t had much reason to smile as of late due to some health issues. That was at least until one day in July when he and Angela were out for a walk and ran into 11-year-old Aurora Creary.
“Hey you in the red hat. Look at me, I’m Spiderman!” Fleming recalled Creary yelling to get his attention while jumping on a trampoline, making him laugh.
She may not have known it at the time, but her youthful play was just the boost Fleming needed.
With his wife’s encouragement, he bought Creary a Spiderman costume and Funko Pop figure. He also wrote her a letter, which he signed, “From the guy in the red hat and his wife.”
Fleming says he made the gesture as it was “a kind thing to do.”
“It was sort of spontaneous,” he added. “I thought they’d get a kick out of it.”
Both Aurora and her mother Kate Downes certainly did, with both describing the unexpected gift as "really sweet."
Initially, Downes thought that Canada Post had made a mistake and sent the package to the wrong house.
She went to Facebook asking for the “man with the red hat” to message her. Angela Fleming replied and told her the story about Aurora and the trampoline.
“We’ve all lived in Halton Hills our whole lives and that’s just the way we are around here with each other,” Downes said. “Everyone is nice to each other.”
“We live in a friendly neighbourhood," noted Fleming. "It's just uncanny how friendly people are [in Acton]."
Angela said her husband has a generous character. When asked where he gets it from, Fleming pointed to a number of things.
He hails from St. John’s, Newfoundland, where he grew up in a family of 14 kids and was surrounded by four living generations. Generosity was, he says, “the way we did things.”
He also considers himself a lucky person. He’s had a good career as a software engineer and has even won $250,000 with a low investment of a quarter.
“I haven’t wanted anything,” he said.
Downes and her family are no different. Aurora Creary has done food drives and lemonade stands to raise money for a charity run by her school. Her brother Hayden founded a not-for-profit called Hayden’s Rebicycling, where he recycles and gives away bikes.
“Every Christmas, we find families that can't afford gifts for their kids and we do a collection for them,” Downes said.
“Helping people is something that you should do even if you don’t really want to do it. Because some people can’t afford to do Christmas or Easter," Creary said in encouraging others to give back.
Anyone who wants to contribute to these efforts should keep an eye on the Acton Tell and Sell Facebook group. There, Downes, James Creary (Aurora’s father) and Leah Lywood keep locals updated about their community work together.
