P.E.I. butter delivery from stranger makes Maine couple melt

A retired couple from Maine will have butter on their biscuits and smiles on their faces for the upcoming U.S. Thanksgiving thanks to the generosity and thoughtfulness of a P.E.I. woman living in Halifax.

Julianne Bousquet and her spouse, Lynne Swadellive in Pittsfield, Maine. They have been coming to their cottage on P.E.I. every summer since they got married on the Island in 2007.

But they couldn't come this summer because of COVID-19. Not only could they not enjoy the P.E.I. summer, they couldn't stock up on their favourite butter made by Amalgamated Dairies Ltd.

Bousquet said her supply ran out in September, so she contacted ADL about having some butter shipped to Maine. She said the company told her it was not possible due to the pandemic.

Butter in the mail

She posted to Facebook about her dilemma, and on Friday, a few months later, she received a package in the mail. Inside were two pounds of ADL butter from a woman in Nova Scotia she had never met.

"I flipped out, I was so excited," Bousquet said.

The butter came from 48-year-old Tara Richard Hatfield, who grew up in Summerside and was home visiting relatives when she remembered Bousquet's Facebook post.

On her way back to Nova Scotia, Hatfield stopped at the Esso by the Confederation Bridge and purchased the butter, the only two blocks they had left in their fridge. She contacted Bousquet for her address and mailed it off.

"I know what it's like to miss those tastes of home," Hatfield said.

I know what it's like to miss those tastes of home.Tara Richard Hatfield

"I thought if I can brighten someone's day or put a smile on someone's face, you know, I just thought I would do that."

Bousquet said it came just in time for the U.S. Thanksgiving on Nov. 26.

'We're making biscuits and Lynne's background is Scottish so she's thinking of making some Scottish cookies, but she's afraid because she said we'll have to use a whole pound of butter. That means we'll only have one pound left. We have to ration it."

Wouldn't accept payment

Bousquet called Hatfield and offered to pay her for the butter and delivery, but Hatfield refused.

"Absolutely not, she said, absolutely not, I won't take a dime, it was just a gift," Bousquet recalled Hatfield saying.

"And then she wished me a Happy Thanksgiving. So how perfect is that?"

Bousquet updated her Facebook post to recognize Hatfield's kind gesture.

"In times like this, very stressful times we're all having, we need to hear good stories," she said. "We have always had a very positive experience on Prince Edward Island. We love it there."

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