AT&T technicicans replace Colton widow's flagpole as an act of kindness

It's a city proud of its patriotism, as the streets of Colton are lined with images of hometown heroes and the Stars and Stripes. But for Tani Robinson, the red, white, and blue at her house has a special meaning.

On a recent afternoon, Robinson had an AT&T technician working at her house, and they both noticed her front yard flagpole had broken and was lying on the ground.

She said she and her husband had a bracket on the home's exterior for a flag that they put up in the mornings and took down in the evenings. "My husband said, 'We need a pole in front of the house.'" Robinson said.

Her husband died of cancer before he got a chance, so she installed a flagpole in his honor. "He was patriotic, we both are. Both our fathers served in World War II; he had a brother in Vietnam," Robinson said.

Over time, the pole weakened and kept falling. But this last time, her flag of honor had its own savior.

"I walked out the door with the AT&T tech, and it was lying on the front walkway with half the pole -- it snapped right off," she said.

That's when tech Jorge Garcia said he could help. Robinson wasn't so sure. "He said— 'I think we can fix that,' and I thought— 'yeah right'." 

Garcia had been installing fiber for AT&T when he noticed the fallen pole.

"She was so nice!" he said. "As technicians, we're in, we're out, we are going to the back yard on the house, under the house. She pretty much gave me the trust and said, 'Jorge, you can come in and out whenever you want.'" 

So, Garcia submitted her flagpole for a companywide "Act of Kindness." A few days ago, he and his coworkers poured concrete and gave Old Glory a new home.

"They just did it out of the goodness of their heart," Robinson said.