Markeshia Ricks Photo
11-year old Sophie and 8‑year-old Jacob had a little more snow shoveling power left in the tank. Little sister Esther was ready to pack it in.
Their parents, Amy Marx and Rob Schonberger were amenable to accommodating both more shoveling and getting out of the cold. But first they had to finish clearing out Evelyn Maze’s driveway, sidewalk and steps because that’s how snow yeti’s roll.
They and other shovelers Tuesday were self-described “Yetis” — neighbors who answered the call of helping their neighbors shovel out after Winter Storm Juno dumped between eight and 12 inches of snow across the city.
They charted their progress online with the hashtag #ROOAR, which pretty much summed up how people felt about helping their neighbors, many of whom couldn’t otherwise get the snow cleared.
People posted requests for help with removing snow — their own or a neighbor’s — on SeeClickFix, the New Haven-based international communal information-sharing site. Yetis swooped in with shovels to get the job done. Some went so far as to clear sidewalks and driveways of empty properties. When they closed a request, many shared a celebratory #ROOAR on the site.
Courtesy Photo
Yetis Josh Mandell, Emily Hayes and Ifeanyi Awachie.
Caroline Smith, lead generation executive for SeeClickFix, said she was impressed with the number of people who turned out Tuesday. She worked with a team of four people in the Dwight neighborhood, and found that people were already moving quickly to help people shovel out. She also discovered that a lot of people wanted to volunteer but didn’t have shovels. Yale pitched in with shovels for the volunteers.
A Helping Shovel
The job that Marx and her family of Yetis tackled at Maze’s Ray Road house was a big one. It was so big that Upper Westville Alder Darryl Brackeen Jr., another neighbor, and Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School student Derrick Sims added their muscle to the effort.
Brackeen had already swooped in to help some men at the intersection of Whalley Avenue dig out a car attempting to make a left turn on an unplowed Sperry Street, so he was good and warmed up for the task. The alder, who grew up in Westville, said he’s been shoveling snow for neighbors since he was a kid.
Sims, who is 15, could have been enjoying a relaxing snow day at home, but decided to volunteer to shovel snow because, he said, he actually likes the cold. He said he also needs 40 hours of community service to graduate. His mom suggested that helping his neighbors might be a good opportunity to get those hours done.
Maze, who described herself as “old enough to know better and young enough to be taught,” said she usually tries to make arrangements to have the snow cleared out by anyone who might come around looking to make a little extra money. But this year no one came around.
“My kids that used to do it have grown up, but I grew older and I guess they don’t want to be bothered doing this because they’re looking for jobs that pay off,” she said. “I think that’s a good thing, but it leaves people like me in the lurch.”
When Marx and her family showed up and told Maze they’d clear away her snow for free, she was overjoyed.
“I think its wonderful,” she said. “Even though I offered them something, they wouldn’t take it. That was very neighborly, very nice. This person is truly very grateful.”
Answering The Call
After finishing up, the team of Yetis headed on to Sharon Jones’ house on Benton Street — a trip 4‑year-old Esther seemed excited about even though it would prolong her getting out of the snow. (Jones, along with Marx, is co-chair of the Upper Westville’s Ward 26 Democratic committee. She and Marx volunteered together last year as Yetis while simultaneously campaigning for the co-chair positions.)
Jones said her brother William, who goes by “W.C.,” usually is front and center when it comes to helping neighbors clear snow, and he uses his snowblower to do it. But on Monday night W.C. had to be admitted to the hospital for double pneumonia. He was doing OK at the hospital, but obviously unable to clear snow. So Jones knew exactly what to do: Call in the Yetis. They cleared out Jones’ driveway and then left to answer yet another call.
Esther and her dad headed home. Jacob and Sophie soldiered on with their mom.
A neighbor had posted that their elderly parents needed someone to look in on them and help clear out their snow on Whittier Road. The parents were OK, but the driveway and sidewalk were covered in snow that already had a couple of layers of ice underneath. Because the parents declined to be interviewed for this story, and the team was down a shovel after Rob left, the reporter put down the notepad and the camera, and picked up a shovel. It seemed unneighborly to just stand around and watch. #ROOAR