Talk about a late payment.
Frank and Pat Bonvarlez have been out of the general store business for 34 years. But they recently received a late payment on some penny candy that they had.
The couple, who lives in the Mitchell’s Bay area, said an envelope arrived with two $20 bills in it, and a note explaining the circumstances around the payment.
“Mr. & Mrs. Bonvarlez: Years ago, I stole a penny candy from your store. I have never forgotten how wrong it was or how bad I felt afterwards. I’m sure the money was more important then than now, but I am sending this money more to make amends. Thank you.”
Pat said she and her husband were surprised to receive the anonymous letter, and have no clue who the author is.
“It was funny, because we were showing it to our own kids. They said it could have been any kid in Dover Centre, including them,” she said.
Pat thinks it likely took place sometime between 1965 and 1980, and understands how tempting the candy must have looked to kids.
“With the kids, the penny candy sat right out on the counter. I’m sure all the little ones saw that as a pretty big temptation,” she said.
The couple donated the money to Canadian Food for Children.
“We just thought that would be a good thing to do,” Pat said.
As for the old store, she said the note brought back some fond memories.
“It was a good business. It was funny, because when we did close it, we had people come in and say they didn’t use it much, but they would really miss it,” Pat said. “Everybody knew everybody. It was kind of a meeting place where they caught up on the news, like coffee shops now.”
