Dad insists on clearing snow for neighbors over 10+ hours, neighbors critique his work: 'Did you shovel our walk? [...] we're not paying you'

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jan 8, 2025 3:00 PM EST

It's snowy season once again: time to break out your gloves, snow boots, and shovels!

For a while here in the northeast US, we didn't get much snow. However, the last few weeks, we've gotten quite a few inches of wet snow that's covered the ground and made the sidewalks icy. There's nothing like sitting in a warm living room with a hot beverage while you watch the snow fall outside! So long as you're staying cozy, watching the snowfall is a peaceful way to spend an afternoon. 

We don't really get too many blizzards here, but a lot of places have to deal with real snow. Here, you can salt your walkway and be done with it. In places like Canada or the northern USA, you need equipment! You need to be fully prepared to face off against the weather, as if you're going to battle. The residents near the Rockies own snowblowers to handle the intense snowfall, and even still, they might have to work all day in order to clear the snow from their driveways and roads. As u/eGrant03 shared, their father could easily spend 10+ hours clearing out the snow from their street. This kind soul also wanted to help out some of the neighbors, but they seemed less enthusiastic about his help. I think they underestimated just how much snow they'd really be dealing with: as this person writes, the area got 350% more snow than usual that year. 

Next up, read about the employees who actually didn't get fired, even after making giant mistakes on the job. 

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  • 01
    Later Care
    via Josh Hild on Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Snow Shoveling Dramas! I am reminded of a story that happened while I was living at home. You may enjoy it. On mobile and names have been forgotten, so I'm gonna make them up. This happened in the late 90s, early 2000s for reference.
    via u/eGrant03
  • 03
    My dad owned a snow blower. During the wicked weather this side of the Rockies, he would use his blower to take care of the sidewalks in front of everyone on both sides of our block. Most of the families on my block were either seniors, those with small families, or younger couples that inherited their de d relatives' home. Everyone knew everyone, and they understood that my dad was doing this as a courtesy. He was in his 50s and just trying to be a good neighbor.
    via u/eGrant03
  • 04
    So, my neighbors two doors down divorce and sell their house to a family from out of state. Fake name time: Picards sounds good. I know they were from a snowy state, but I don't remember where. They moved in during the late summer, close to the start of the school year. A couple months later, our state has a massive snow storm. It would snow for nearly 24 hours for almost the entire winter. You would shovel and clear snow just to get another dump, and you'd have to keep going and going. We had s
    via u/eGrant03
  • 05
    So my dad is out there during the first big dump with his snowblower, just taking care of business as he's nice and the third house down had an occupant that walked on arm crutches. He just made a path from our house to their's. No big deal; been taking care of this for a while now. He gets done and heads to work. He gets home late most nights so he's not expecting anyone to be at the door as he walks in. Low and behold, the Picards must have been watching out the window for him as they walk up
    via u/eGrant03
  • 06
    "Hey. Did you shovel our walk?" "Huh?" "Our walk! The one that runs in front of our house!" "Oh yeah. I did your sidewalk." "Well, we're not paying you for the shoddy work you did! You sprayed our tree with snow."
    via u/eGrant03
  • 07
    My dad is out of it after a 10+ hour day, commute not included, so he's not getting what's happening.
    via u/eGrant03
  • 08
    "I'm sorry?" "You should be! That tree is too small to handle that much snow blown on it. You need to blow it somewhere else."
    via u/eGrant03
  • 09
    As my dad was one that religiously read city bylaws, he knew the time frame for removing snow and where you could put shoveled snow. The city doesn't allow allow you to blow snow into the street cause it messes with the plow's ability to take care if the streets.
    via u/eGrant03
  • 10
    But Mr Picard insisted that he had to blow the snow elsewhere. Knowing what he knew, my dad directed the snow into the only other spot available, his driveway! A driveway that is almost 45 degrees down from the carport too! Or so it seemed; Wicked steep either way.
    via u/eGrant03
  • 11
    So the next day, the neighbor comes by to complain again. He didn't know that a small snowfall can get cars stuck in that driveway, let alone what we had plus a snowblower! His car got stuck halfway in the street and he had to get it towed out. (If my dad were home, he could have saved them the tow fee, but Picard didn't know that). So Picard is fuming and saying he's going to do his own walk from now on.
    via u/eGrant03
  • 12
    My dad tries to tell him he's just assisting the neighbor on the other side, and he doesn't charge for being a good neighbor, etc. It's cold and my dad wants the door shut, but Picard doesn't want to step in and my dad doesnt have his shoes or coat. So Picard just says "I know what I'm doing. I'm a grown man. I can deal with a little fluff!"
    via u/eGrant03
  • 13
    The next day, my dad knocks on the neighbors' door and tries to tell Picard about how strict the city is about snow removal, and how he has 24 hours from the start of snow fall to get things removed, etc. He wrote down a website where he can go to read the rules, but Picard didn't take it. The city was constantally driving down our block for reasons I won't go into here. The Picards were doing a semi sufficient job manually shoveling snow away properly, but then...
    via u/eGrant03
  • 14
    October in my state has a big teachers' conference, and most families go out of town for a late camping or early hunting trip. So did the Picards! They are gone for 4 days during the worst storm of the season. They hadn't arranged to have the walk shoveled, and the snow was piling so high, city inspectors came out! Parents and neighbors complained to the city that they couldn't walk down our street. It was obvious that the walks were being taken care of, so why not their's? The city posted a
    via u/eGrant03
  • 15
    48-hour compliance notice, but it would be 72 before the Picards got back to town. The city charged them with hazardous conditions and failure to maintain property accessible to the public. On top of the labor fee to shovel the walk, it was like $350 easily! The city kept a watchful eye on the property for the rest of the winter for any issues from then on! Once the city has you on their radar, it's hard to be done with them.
    via u/eGrant03
  • 16
    The cherry on top of the entire situation: There's a knock on the door in early November, same year. One of the Picard kids handed my sister an envelope and just walked away. We give it to my mom, and inside there's a note saying something like, "This is for the shoveling you did already."
    via u/eGrant03
  • 17
    There was $100 bill inside. My family tried to return it, but they never answered the door. So we used it to take our large family out to our favorite buffet later that week! Thank you Picards, for paying for a free service. We spent it well.
    via u/eGrant03

    The story has a happy ending! This dad just wanted to help out his neighbors, so the extra cash and recognition of his efforts must have made his day. 

  • 18
    eGrant03 OP He did the same thing! And they had many slip and fall cases that hot lumped together cause the city was in charge of enforcement. Walking through the park's parking lot was a lesson in gravity and yet...
    via u/eGrant03
  • 19
    scout336 Someone who shovels the snow of an entire BLOCK near the Rockies should be revered and be the recipient of many holiday favors. Your Dad was an awesome guy and I hope the Picard's wised up and learned to appreciate a great neighbor!
    via u/scout336
  • 20
    Cheezburger Image 10451698176
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 21
    gnilmit People like that just boggle my mind. Why would you ruin a good thing?! I'd be baking cookies for your dad every time the snow fell. Some people just refuse to get along with other humans and it's so ridiculously frustrating.
    via u/gnilmit

  • Along with having a neighbor that looks out for them, the residents of this street have saved hundreds of dollars thanks to this person's dad. With snow this intense, it takes a lot of effort to clear it all away, which doesn't come cheap. This person estimates the city would charge $350 plus a labor fee for having hazardous conditions. Now they know for next year: just trust the neighbor who's been living here forever. 

  • 22
    Swiggy1957 My son in law used to do this for the neighbors and got a reaming from one of them, so he stopped. Went up to their property line, turned around and went all the way to the end of the block in the other direction. My city, OTOH, doesn't like fining people for not shoveling their walks. b Is ended up getting sued when a kid slipped and broke his arm. They weren't happy.
    via u/Swiggy1957
  • 23
    TracyMinOB I lived outside of Pittsburgh for 4 years. Our city had laws about sidewalks being cleared for kids that walked to school. I would set my alarm at 5 just to see if I needed to shovel since I was less than 3 blocks away from the school. If it snowed, I'd wake up my son and we'd get it done before breakfast. My next-door neighbor was an elderly woman. We automatically did hers just because it was the neighborly thing to do. 121 Reply Share eGrant03 OP Then you get it!
    via u/TracyMinOB

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dads housing neighbors malicious compliance snow neighborhood malicious-compliance-reddit neighborhood-drama neighborhood-stories terrible neighbors snowy malicious compliance reddit shovel Father
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