Janine Rennie, director of resident programs at the Mariposa long-term care facility leads a parade of honking cars to show support for frontline workers and seniors in isolation on March 30. Dale Boyd/Osoyoos Times

Sophie Gray

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Osoyoos is taking the noise making for front line workers on tour in the town’s own version of the nightly 7 p.m. cheer.

The brain child of Glenn Senft, an Osoyoos resident, the honking tour started up last week in the parking lot of Buy-Low Foods to show appreciation not just for healthcare workers, but all those still at work on the front lines to keep the community safe and stocked up.

Senft got the idea when he stepped out into his cul-de-sac one night and didn’t hear any cheering. He had seen people like Alison Laranjo-Huntington and her daughter posting to local Facebook groups about starting a 7 p.m. cheer and got inspired to take it to those who couldn’t hear it. So he called up a couple buddies from the Osoyoos Polar Bear Swim Club and took the appreciation to the streets.

 

“We’ve got all these people who are out there, all these unsung heroes,” said Senft. “The grocery clerks and the janitors and the chamber maids, all these wonderful people at the Pharmasave and these people that are keeping the restaurants open and the cooks, chefs, waiters and waitresses that are out there doing their thing; delivery guys and taxi drivers. The unsung guys, you know? And what am I going to do? And the only way I could get noise is to make my car work.”

The “honking for unsung heroes tour,” as Senft has named it, started with five cars and a drone early last week but is now up to almost 20 vehicles. The Osoyoos local sits down every morning to plan out that day’s route, sending out posts on Facebook to let people know where they’ll meet that night. The group is looking at taking the tour to Oliver, and has even started taking requests from the community.

“Everynight I get a call from someone, a message, someone who got sick while working whether it’s Covid or whatever,” said Senft. “This one child was like 19, he was stalking the shelves when the toilet paper rush happened and he wound up getting sick so he’s not able to go outside and appreciate what’s going on around here. His mother called me and said he needed to be cheered up. So I told the tour to go by his place and made his day.”

Senft has also had requests from care homes in town, asking the honking tour to drive by to give the locked-in seniors a chance to hear the horns in support of them and those working in their care homes. Senft said it’s just his way of doing something nice for those stuck at home or putting themselves at risk to keep communities like Osoyoos going during these tough times. 

“We kind of hope that everybody would do something like that for all of us, right?” said Senft. “It’s kind of like a Bill Murray mantra. I like to set my life to Bill Murray’s mantra. Bill Murray’s mantra is ‘if you can do something good for someone, do it! It makes the world a better place.’”

The honking for unsung heroes tour meets at 6:50 p.m. every evening at different locations around town. All are welcome to join, said Senft, provided they follow strict rules to stay in their cars and maintain proper physical distancing. Senft wanted to make sure to thank Brad Cornell, Alison Laranjo-Huntington and her daughter for inspiring him to start up the tour.