Residents of Appleton, Wisconsin, were perplexed for weeks by a strange mystery that arose during the bitter Wisconsin winter.

The bins would emerge in their garages in the evenings, after they had trudged down their lengthy snow- and ice-strewn driveways with their trash containers.

Melody Luttenegger, who lives in the Grand Chute area, initially inquired of her husband, who responded by saying, “no, I’m not taking the trash cans up.”

Then she assumed it was the trash company, and she decided to stake out the location in order to find out who was responsible for the nice act.

“It happened the day before Christmas Eve,” she said,  “and I’ve prepared a little present for them… I stood there for what seemed like an eternity waiting.”

The Lutteneggers’ trash cans were being delivered by Dick Pontzloff, a 75-year-old senior who lives a few blocks away, at 8:21 a.m.

“When I retired, I became weary of sitting around doing nothing, so I began walking around and cleaning up trash cans. “It’s not just particular ones; it’s everyone’s,” he said.

He’s been a resident of Wisconsin for much of his life and has always enjoyed the winter season.

“I put this mask on because it feels good and warm on your face. It’s for this reason that I’m sporting it, it’s not really something I generally wear,” he said, laughing again.

“Just be friendly to everyone, it’s simply something you have to do. Consider the situation if you were at home and needed assistance.”