Our trip from Mankato to Grand Marais for an extended weekend hit a speed bump on Saturday, June 2. After a brief stop at Palisade Head to take in the view, the instrument panel of our Camry indicated that a rear tire was leaking air. Not such a big deal, except that our cell phones were not working and it was well after business hours on a Saturday on the North Shore.
After failed attempts to work with AAA, we decided to try to get to the Holiday station in Tofte to fill the punctured tire with air. The young man at the station mentioned that Cooter’s Repair was about two blocks up the Sawbill Trail. We located the shop, knocked on his door and spoke to a woman who answered; she confirmed that the owner should return shortly. When Randy Nelson (AKA Cooter) drove in and saw us sitting in front of his garage, I could tell that he was hot, tired and ready for his day to be over. Despite this, he asked how he could help.
He immediately said, “No problem, I can take care of that” and within 15 minutes we were back on the road to Grand Marais.
I know this doesn’t sound like a big deal. However, had we not stumbled upon Cooter who had both the means and inclination to drop what he was doing and assist us on a Saturday evening, we would have likely spent most of Sunday in Grand Marais trying to line up a repair shop for Monday, thus ruining our trip.
We have been coming up the North Shore for many years and have always found the people to be very friendly, hardworking, generous and kind. The gracious service provided to perfect strangers by one of your residents was very much appreciated. I doubt that we’ll ever have the opportunity to repay Randy Nelson’s kindness but thought others should at least know that there are some great folks living on the North Shore. Thank you so very much!
Mark Anderson
Mankato, MN
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