It was 6:40 a.m. in early September when Della Spingle and her husband Chesley Griffin received the call that they won big.
On the other end of the line was their employee, a cashier opening up their general store which has been in operation since the 80s in the small community of St-Paul’s River, Que.
She told them Spingle was among the 14 people who won Quebec’s Lotto Max $50-million jackpot — and the store sold the winning ticket.
A group of people in the fishing village of about 150 residents had bought tickets for nearly two decades as part of a pool. Their win means about 10 per cent of residents are now multimillionaires.
“We won $3.5 million …. It was hard to believe this, right?” said Spingle, letting out a laugh.
“And I’ve been giggling ever since.”
Thirteen out of 14 winners live in St. Paul’s River, a town located in the municipality of Bonne-Espérance, Que., some 60 kilometres west of the border of Newfoundland and Labrador.
‘It’s almost unbelievable,’ says mayor
As the owner of the store that sold the winning ticket, Griffin received an additional one per cent of the earnings, worth $500,000.
Griffin says he’s now thinking of early retirement and says the lottery win will give a boost to other businesses in town, representing a win for the community as a whole.
“The local carpenters … they’re getting bombarded with calls from the people who actually won because those people are doing upgrades,” he said. “Some things that they wanted done for years and years and now we have the opportunity.”
Dale Roberts-Keats, the mayor of Bonne-Espérance, says she can’t shake her grin.
“I’m standing in this beautiful place watching 14 members of our community become millionaires, it’s almost unbelievable,” she said.
“We’re hoping that our community will benefit from this as well … maybe construction, maybe some new homes.”
While the town is not asking the winners for any money, she says maybe that will come in time. She advises the winners to reflect on how they want to spend the money and to get a financial planner.
“It’s easy to get rid of all that money if you’re not careful, we’ve heard horror stories,” she said.
Spreading the wealth
Loretta Griffin, who just turned 74, says this win allows her to retire from the fish plant where she’s worked on the floor for 30 years.
“It’s starting to sink in a little bit more,” she said.
She hopes to help out her family with her share. Her son requested a truck and her daughter wants a new bedroom set.
Bradley O’Brien, another winner, says his three children living away from home could do with a boost.
“For me, becoming a multimillionaire overnight … is going to help a lot of people,” he said.
His mother, Maud Griffin O’Brien, who also won, plans on building a sunroom. She joked she only has to take care of five out of her six children now.
“He’s good,” she said, referring to Bradley. “I’ll give some to the grandkids,” she said laughing.
