As a professional truck driver from the Yukon, George Rowe routinely hauls heavy equipment on winter roads, but lately he’s been focusing his driving skills on delivering firewood to some less-fortunate Prince George people who really need it.
He was out bright and early Thursday morning in his Toyota pickup with the Yukon plate, bringing wood pallets to few remaining residents of the Moccasin Flats encampment.
Rowe has been doing that for weeks now and he’ll keep doing it as long as the need is there.
“In Whitehorse, if you abandon people and it’s 40 below you’ll be charged by the law – you don’t abandon people that are out in the cold,” said Lowe.
Rowe, 73, moved to Prince George two months ago. He has no family ties in the city but has found a welcoming substitute and they continually strengthen his spiritual Christian beliefs.
“My family are those who are down and out, the people that need help are my family,” he said. “Led by the spirit of God are the children of God. I’m a Christian. I’m a helper.”
Rowe found a couple of birch trees that had been cut down at a house near Queensway and came by with his chainsaw to turn them into the firepit-sized logs he dropped off at the dozen or so campsites still occupied at Moccasin Flats.
“The woman that wanted the wood changed her mind because she had no place to put it, said Rowe. “So I backed up my truck, it’s four-wheel drive, drove into the yard and loaded it up.”
For his latest load he went to a local business that didn’t need the pallets and was going to toss them away.
He plans to keep making those wood deliveries as long as he can.
“It’s in my heart,” Rowe said. “I wouldn’t want to be out in the cold freezing to death and have people kick me when I’m down. You can’t kick people when they’re down and out because you know what happens, it’ll come back on you.
“People treat dogs better than these people are treated. As long as God puts it in my heart, I’ll keep doing it.”
Listen to George Rowe sing and play harmonica while he works:
