CRAPAUD, P.E.I. — A Crapaud woman said she will remember her 90th birthday celebration for the rest of her life.
Gladys Lowther, who lives on the MacDonald Road, just off Route 13 in Crapaud, got quite the surprise on Sunday when she watched as a parade of cars drove by her house honking as the community came together to mark the milestone.
“I was quite surprised and I was elated,’’ Lowther said.
“It was something that MacDonald Road has never seen before, and I will never forget it. I didn’t have a clue what was going on. I will never forget it."
The family had the community centre booked to celebrate Lowther’s birthday, but with physical distancing rules in place, that wasn’t going to happen.
So, Lowther’s family got to work on plan B. They created a Facebook event and shared it to all their friends, suggesting people drive by with their well-wishes around 2:30 p.m., one day before her actual birthday.
They also put out posters on Lowther’s yard that read, “Happy Birthday, Grammy", as well as “Gladys is 90, Honk or Wave".
One of Lowther’s granddaughters also gave her some glasses that said “Happy Birthday" on them (they were disinfected before Lowther put them on).
Then, around 2 p.m., Lowther’s daughter, Rachel Lowther-Doiron, escorted her mother out of the house (while standing six feet away) and seated her close to the end of the driveway.
Lowther-Doiron said they saw some cars lined up ready for the birthday parade but had no idea how many people would actually show up. As it turns out, there were about 27 cars there to take part.
“I was very surprised," Lowther-Doiron said Tuesday, still overwhelmed.
“It was so heartwarming. There were some friends of mom's from church, and there were friends of mine and friends of my siblings."
Lowther-Doiron said they got the idea from Facebook, noticing that a few Island children also celebrated their birthdays in similar fashion.
“I had seen on Facebook some families were doing it for their children. Of course, children can’t have (normal) birthday parties through this social distancing thing ... so I wondered if we could get this pulled together and do a little parade."
She said Lowther figured when they sat her down in a chair on the driveway she might see a passing car or two drive by and honk. She wasn’t expecting an actual parade.
Lowther-Doiron said she can never thank the community enough for doing something that touched her mother.
“I can’t say enough about the people of Crapaud," Lowther-Doiron said, struggling to find the right words.
“How we come together in a time of need; how we come together in a time of celebration ... it was just above and beyond (my expectations). This town is just booming with pride."