NEW CASTLE, Ind. — A New Castle teenager found that hard work doesn't go unnoticed.
He's only 13, but Levi Perry has already learned some important life lessons from his dad.
“My dad said you have to get a good name and what comes around goes around, or what goes around comes around,” Levi explained.
Perry unexpectedly found that out this week when the secondhand lawn mower he’d just bought for his lawn mowing business caught fire from an oil leak.
“It was like six-foot flames and I was, like, nervous,” Levi said.
He didn’t have to be nervous for long.
After calling 911, the New Castle Fire Department showed up and quickly put out the fire. The flames were gone, but Levi had another problem.
He was out a lawn mower and a way to take care of the lawns of his regular customers, not to mention the veterans, along with older and disabled folks, whose lawns Levi mows for free or at a reduced rate.
“I think Levi said, ‘I put everything I had into that mower!’ and about that time, the firefighter asked me if he could have Levi’s phone number. I assumed they were going to hire Levi for a yard someday,” Levi’s dad, Donnie, recalled.
A few hours later, though, Levi got a call from the fire department, asking him to come to the local Walmart.
When Levi got there, several New Castle firefighters had chipped in and bought Levi a brand new lawn mower.
“I was shocked because I didn’t think the whole fire department was going to show up at Walmart with three fire trucks and with a $400 mower,” Levi said. “It’s a lot wider than the other one, so it gets a bigger cut and it cuts a lot better because of the new blade."
“Yesterday showed him when you go out and do what you’re supposed to do, people recognize it,” said Donnie.
Word about what the fire department did for Levi quickly spread around town and social media. New Castle’s mayor said he’s not surprised by these public servants’ generosity.
“It was exciting to hear they did something for a young guy that’s trying to do the right thing in the community,” said New Castle Mayor Greg York. “I think it went full circle and that’s why I’m proud to be a part of New Castle and I think the community’s full of people like that."
Donnie Perry is certainly trying to teach his son how to be one of those people.
“After all the years of feeling bad I don’t give him enough, I felt like I gave him more than I could have if I had money,” he added.
And Levi is grateful for the lessons.
“He taught me everything,” Levi said of his dad. “You need to respect people, get hard work and just get a good name and build up for the future."
“I couldn’t be prouder of him, to tell you the truth. I don’t want to sound corny, or say something corny, so I’m just going to say, he’s a good boy,” Donnie said.