A group of Rochester travelers headed for Inlet experienced car trouble when they reached Old Forge about 9:30 p.m. on Friday, October 3rd.
With service stations closed, the driver sought assistance at the fully lit Stick Candle shop on Route 28, where owner Doug Collum was putting in some late hours.
Collum checked out the situation and found that the lug nuts on the rear driver’s side wheel were loose. He jacked up the car and tightened up the wheel lugs, and following a hearty thanks, the group, who Collum only knew as Dwight, Summer, Sky and Lonice, were safely off to their destination.
But the story didn’t end there.
The next day they, and a bunch of their friends, paid a surprise thank-you visit to Collum…dressed in Super Hero attire.
It turned out that Dwight and his wife Summer were the organizers of an annual costume-themed weekend in Inlet. Last year’s theme was Cowboys and Indians, and the previous year, Cops and Robbers, they said.
“It was totally nutty and one of the most thrilling surprises of my life,” Collum said.