THUNDER BAY – Paulette Husfeldt and Shirley MacDonnell have been friends for 42 years.
Both single mothers, they dutifully purchase tickets each year in the Fort William Rotary House Lottery draw.
On Monday, the two retirees were shocked to learn they’d won the $589,000 grand prize, a two-storey residence on South Creek Street.
It’s a life-changing win, the two women said, though added they aren’t sure what they’ll do with the prize – sell it or move in.
MacDonnell said they normally visit the home, but because of COVID-19 closures, were unable to do so this year.
She bought a ticket, over the phone, anyway.
“I just have a feeling this is going to be a good year,” MacDonnell said she told Husfeldt.
“You say that every year,” was her friend’s response.
The win was a long time coming.
“We’ve shared tickets for almost 20 years. We’re both newly retired. We were single moms when we were working. We’re just a little bit overwhelmed right now. I got a text from a girlfriend (asking) me, ‘Did you win a house?’ I was in the car, so I pulled over, and said, ‘I don’t know. I’m not at home,” MacDonnell said.
She quickly realized she and her friend did indeed hold the winning ticket.
“When Shirley called me said, ‘Are you sitting down? ‘ The first thing I thought was, ‘What’s wrong?’ Husfeldt said.
“It’s a good thing today.”
“This is so awesome. You have no idea,” MacDonnell said of winning the draw, which benefits local charities each year, including the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation and the HAGI Wilderness Discovery Centre, to the tune of more than $400,000.
“I’m just so excited. You have no idea what this means,” she said, the emotion coming through the phone as the reality of her win sunk in.
MacDonnell said she’s not sure what she and her friend are going to do with their winnings.
“I have to talk it over with my girlfriend who I shared the ticket with. I’m sure we’ll make some decision in the next little bit. But I need to come and see the house first,” MacDonnell said.
The draw sold out on Friday, a total of 14,000 tickets.
It wasn’t easy getting to this point, said Dave Knutson, chair of the house lottery draw.
COVID-19 struck a couple of weeks into their ticket selling efforts, forcing them to shut down their weekly open house events. Additionally, they weren’t able to sell at many of their usual locations around Thunder Bay, because of COVID-related closures.
With about 4,000 of their ticket allotment sold, they appealed successfully to Ontario’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission for permission to sell online and push the date back from the traditional Canada Day draw at Marina Park to Thanksgiving.
Knutson said the delay will cost them a couple of thousand dollars more in expenses, including the mail-out, but said the fact there were only a handful of refunds sought and the draw sold out, the last ticket going late on Friday night, is huge for the charities involved.
“Really we are so thankful to the community for the support we got. With the uncertainty everyone feels now with COVID, it’s just incredible that the community came forward and once again supported our house lottery,” Knutson said.
“All the money does stay in the community. All of our expenses are incurred in the community and it goes to people with jobs and livelihood. And all of the proceeds actually go right back to the community through the charities that we support.”
