She gets up at 4:00 a.m. every morning. She goes to Bagel Delight, taking her place behind the counter. She never forgets a name or a face, and never fails to offer a smile. And she's been doing it since 1996.
As one Facebook commenter put it: "Bagel Delight and Eunice ARE Newtown!"
On Friday, Newtown residents give back to Eunice Laverty.
She wasn't entirely surprised when the banner announcing "We Love Eunice!" showed up at about 8:00 a.m.
"A little birdie told her this was coming," according to her daughter, Kate Laverty. "I told her, cook extra bagels today!"
Later, as Eunice worked the counter, a woman dropped off an envelope with her name and a heart. She smiled and greeted her by name.
Her daughter describes her as "saintly."
"I just hope I can be as great as her," she says. "Running a restaurant can be hard work. But when you see something like this, it makes it all worth it."
"We Love Eunice Day" was inspired by the 26 Days of Kindness movement that became a Newtown social media phenomenon last month. Residents Sue Vogelman, Susan Primavera and Mergim Bajraliu took the idea to Facebook, inviting more than 1,000 guests. (More than 300 plan to drop by Bagel Delight on Friday.)
"I sent it out to everyone I knew," said Charlie Nostrand, who only heard about the event two days ago. "It propagates — I don't know where it starts or ends."
A retired social worker, Eunice opened Bagel Delight in 1996. She's been a supporter of multiple civic organizations, including the Knights of Columbus — Nostrand said she sends bagels down all the time. In the afternoons, when school lets out and kids pour in, she'll give them bagels free if they don't have exact change.
"She'll just say, 'forget about it,'" says her daughter. "That's just the kind of person she is."
On social media, others agreed:
"I have many fond memories sitting at the corner table with Bill, Joe, John, Jan, et. al., drinking coffee, eating "gutted" multi-grain toasted bagels (filled with peanut butter) and looking out at the tree and Church Hill Road. Eunice is the best."
"I love Eunice! She made SHS book fairs a dream for me! She would have our huge baskets of bagels ready for me...with a small bag of bagels just for me! She always has a big smile and a warm "Hello" when you enter!"
"Eunice epitomizes all that is good in this world. We are so blessed to have her in our community. Oh, and we love her bagels too"
It seems like everyone has a Eunice story. What's yours?
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