Strangers lend RV to displaced couple sleeping in van at Oregon State Fairgrounds
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SALEM, Ore. (KPTV) — They were prepared to sleep in their van for as long as they needed.
Lee Borgia and her husband, Chuck, their black lab Lola and their two birds were going to hunker down in their van after getting evacuated from their Gates home due to the wildfires.
They drove to the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem after being rushed out last week.
“We came here because this was the only place to stay, we had nowhere else to go,” Lee Borgia said.
Lee and Chuck are both battling health problems, Lee told FOX 12.
“[It was] very cramped for me,” Lee said, “I do have a bit of a heart problem- of course I’m supposed to have my legs elevated.”
The couple slept in their van for several nights until a Salem couple approached Red Cross volunteers at the multi-resource center across the street and asked if there was anybody that might be able to use their trailer.
Lisa and Joe Waldner said they were just trying to find a way to help some people who might be more vulnerable to the poor air quality.
“How do we get people out of the smoke, how do we get people safe, how do we get people out of their cars and some semblance of comfort?” Lisa said over the phone. “They gave us a license plate of a car and we went up and asked them if they would like our trailer.”
Lee said the gesture took her breath away.
“I said, ‘wow,’ this was heaven-sent, and that’s what I call them – the couple from heaven,” Lee said.
The Waldners moved the couple and their animals in and made sure they had everything they needed.
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“Plus, I’ve received a Kindle,” Lee said, “I’ve never seen one in my life! I’m thinking I died and went to heaven.”
The story warmed the hearts of Red Cross volunteers across the street.
“He went and bought a generator for them, because there’s no hookups over there, and every 12 hours he drives over there and he fills the generator with gas and just does a general check-up,” Red Cross volunteer Ellen Donovan said, “nobody asked this man to do this, he and his wife did this on their own.”
Lee called the Waldners “salt of the Earth.” The Waldners described Lee and Chuck in the same way.
“They don’t want anything in return, they just wanted to see people taken care of,” Lee said, “just overwhelming.”
The random act of kindness has perhaps turned into something more.
“We keep telling them that we’ve adopted them,” Lisa told FOX 12.
Joe admitted that he was initially apprehensive about loaning his trailer out to total strangers. He says he hasn’t regretted it for a moment.
“Chuck and Lee are great people and I’m so happy we were able to help them,” Joe said.
Lee says a sheriff’s deputy told her and Chuck that they may be able to return to their Gates home in four to six days. In the mean time, Lee says she’s having a great time.
“It turned out to be a home away from home,” Lee said.
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