Street Sweeper’s Kind Gesture Salvages Little Girl’s Chalk Art

A little girl was drawing on the street and sidewalk with some chalk. Her father was photographing her and the artwork.

Then suddenly a street sweeper came barreling down the street. It looks as though he's about to completely erase the little girl's day of fun, but at the last second he turns off the brushes and drives away. He leaves the girl's artwork completely unscathed!

"The timing was uncanny as my husband was just taking pictures of my daughter's art when the street sweeper came around the corner. Please pass on my thanks to the driver, he made her day and she still talks about it," says Kristen, the little girl's mom.

The gesture becomes all the more kind when we consider one important fact: in a lot of cities in the United States, chalk art is considered graffiti and is illegal.

In Richmond, VA, a mother named Susan Mortensen was arrested for allowing her 4-year-old daughter to draw on rocks at a nearby park with chalk. The judge gave her 50 hours of community service.

If you love chalk, but are worried about the legalities of it, try making this easy upcycled chalkboard for inside the home!

Needless to say, when the street sweeper protected this little girl's fun, it wasn't just a kind gesture but it may have been his way of winking and saying, "Shh, this is just between us."

SHARE if you think what this street sweeper did was sweet!

Check out what happened recently when City employee Wendel L., operating the street sweeper, came across a chalk art masterpiece. The artist's mom, Kristen Pronick, says, "The timing was uncanny as my husband was just taking pictures of my daughter's art when the street sweeper came around the corner. Please pass on my thanks to the driver, he made her day and she still talks about it." Thanks for sharing this video with us Kristen!

Posted by City of Courtenay on Tuesday, July 14, 2015