Commuters Revved Up About Free Gas Giveaway Of 7K Gallons In Norwood

NORWOOD, MA - Gas prices today are no joke. So Norwood business leader and philanthropist Ernie Boch Jr. decided to turn April Fool's Day into "Apri Fuels Day," paying for thousands of gallons of gas Friday morning for elated motorists who waited in line for hours for the giveaway.

Boch announced Thursday on a morning radio show that he was paying for 7,000 gallons of gas at Rojo Car Wash on Route 1 to help people cope with the highest gas prices in history. He coordinated it with the station owner and Norwood police in two days' time.

Cars began lining up at 10 p.m. Thursday after hearing the news, Norwood police and Boch confirmed. Two motorists told Patch they waited for hours in the adjacent Burger King parking lot to get in line, which the restaurant manager verified.

Boch stood in the rain greeting thankful customers in an early morning torrential downpour. As if on cue at 7 a.m., the clouds parted and customers sprang from their cars to personally thank the auto entrepreneur.

"It didn't take long to coordinate it," said Boch as he greeted commuters at the pump, adding that he first thought of the idea last Friday. "It didn't take long for me to want to do it. I talked to my staff early this week and the police yesterday.

"It really just makes sense," he added. "It's April Fool's Day and I wanted people to be happy. It all makes sense to do this, between what people are going through and then the gas prices will be going up in the summer. It's bad, and I'm just trying to do my part."

Boch thanked the Norwood police department for providing the detail he paid for to monitor the traffic, which flowed efficiently to the 12 pumps.

"If it wasn't for the Norwood police and Chief [William] Brooks, it would have been a real [mess]," he added.

"It's definitely a good day," said Jerome Thompson, beaming as he filled his tank. "It's free gas. I've never seen this in my life."

"It's been going pretty smooth so far," said Rojo Car Wash manager John Shelby at 7:15 a.m. "Ernie just gave me a call and said he wanted to give away free gas. It's a nice little gesture to the community. I said of course I would want to do it. It took a little coordinating, but it's a lot of fun."

He added that he only knew the day of the event Thursday, so both his team and Boch's team sprang into action.

"They've been really incredible," he said of his crew, who served breakfast sandwiches to customers along Route 1 waiting for their turn, providing them with food fuel. "We were able to pull it off."

This is an added boost for his business, which has felt the impact of rising gas costs.

"People tend to be driving less and pumping less because of the higher prices," he explained. "And also the credit card fees, which are percentage based, they go up significantly when the costs go up. So the customer gets hit from both ends."

"I didn't get here until 5:15 this morning, and the line was long," said Rich Dean of Woburn as rain pummeled against his windshield. "The cop just told me the line is going back three miles."

Several Norwood police officers directed traffic and worked to prevent motorists from side streets cutting into the queue. One car tried to sneak in line in front of Dean's car as he was being interviewed, so the police had to direct the offending vehicle onto the highway.

"As soon as people caught wind, it was like wildfire," said employee Andrea Mendes. She confirmed that about 500 cars got free gas as of 7:30 a.m. "He just said, 'Let's do this.'"

The hardest part was letting people know Thursday that they weren't being gassed up with an April Fool stunt.

"People were contacting me all day Thursday," she added. "I had to keep saying this was really happening."

By about 7:45 p.m., all 7,000 gallons had been distributed. Employees had to walk Route 1 to tell people they missed their prime opportunity.

"It's been a challenge," said Brooks, adding he was notified a day before. "The Boch staff and the Rojo's staff have been great handling the traffic on site. They've managed the serpentine line going into the station while we have been handling the street."

"Mr. Boch paid for a detal for the event," explained Brooks. "But honestly, we had to pull people in from the shift because there has been some tension along the line. People have been getting out of their cars to argue and that sort of stuff."

Paul Kenney from Dedham heard about the giveaway on the evening news Thursday night and said he came not only for fuel but also to commend Boch for his generosity.

"I came here because I needed gas," he said, who went up to Boch and said "God bless you" as he thanked him. "I'm a working man, and I had a quarter of a tank of gas in my tank. I had to thank him because he's always doing something nice for somebody. There should be more people in the world like him who are willing to help others. I just call them like I see them."

"I came down because I thought this was a good cause," said Ron "Real Deal" Domenico, who has lived in the area for 75 years. "It's nice to see people happy again after the pandemic. Every little bit helps, and sharing is caring."

He noted that the gesture meant a lot to him and pumped up his sprits, as he has been grieving the death of his twin brother last year. Their birthday was last Friday.

While Boch is a public figure, some of his philanthropic efforts sometimes have gone under the radar. One example is his sponsorship of Giving the Glam, a Norwood nonprofit that provides prom dresses and tuxedos for economically disadvantaged teens from Boston through MetroWest.

One person who expressed some displeasure was Dawson Cathias Sr., the manager of the neighboring Burger King, who said the gas giveaway hurt his business.

"We had cars parked in my lot all night long," he said, noting that he received no prior notice about the event. "They just waited here. About 40 cars tried to get in here this morning, and they couldn't get through the traffic."