Stowe Electric Department employees — those battling the elements in the wind, rain, snow and flying tree branches and those handling the phone calls and running logistics at the utility’s headquarters — might have missed some meals during a multiple-day holiday power outage if it weren’t for the provisions provided by various Stowe eateries.
At least, as soon as those places had power.
Edelweiss Mountain Deli dropped off sandwiches and snacks for the utility’s staff a few times during the outages, which started early Dec. 23 and weren’t fully fixed until four days later.
“I’m sure they are still working, even 10 days later,” Jeff Clarke, Edelweiss owner, added this week. “All of those accolades they have received are more than well-deserved.”
Stowe Electric Department general manager Jackie Pratt said The Bagel, Dunkin Donuts and Haven Property Management also all brought food — and perhaps more important, hot, caffeinated beverages — for the staff all throughout the ordeal.
“They were wonderful,” Pratt said.
Pratt said she and her staff tried to keep people’s spirits up via social media, posting a mix of updates about what parts of town the crews were headed next, photos from the storm and the crew being fed, thank-you cards from local kids, and memes like a silhouetted Santa and his sleigh that tree-trimming crews spotted flying over Barnes Hill on Christmas Eve.
“We were trying to keep everybody’s spirits up out there.” Pratt said. “It was tough because it’s the holidays, it wasn't just a normal outage, and I think anxiety levels were high for customers trying to figure out what to do for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.”
Clarke said a core part of Edelweiss’s business model is supporting the community, especially first responders, whether it’s the line workers struggling to get the power back on or cops, EMS workers or firefighters working to keep people safe when things get rough.
He said the office staff at Stowe Electric were also heroic during the peak of the outages, whether it came from offering gentle and empathetic counsel over the phone or from the still-new general manager greeting people at the door.
“It was a very small thank you for what they were going through,” Clarke said. “It was off the charts, the magnitude of what they went through.”
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