YORK, Pa. -- A mailman is the talk of his route for doing a very good deed.

For 17 years, Walter Janowiak (pictured, left), of Red Lion, Pa., has been delivering the mail in York County. Last Wednesday, the letter carrier got the surprise of his career. That's when Janowiak spotted a bag of money along Lancaster Avenue in Spring Garden Township.

It was laying next to a curb.

"I thought, 'Wow, that's a lot of cash,'" Janowiak said.

For hours, Ryan Beard had been frantically looking for the money, almost $1,000. It was from his grandfather's tavern in the city, where he tends bar.

Beard had taken the money home for safekeeping, but somehow managed to lose it.

Lucky for Beard, Janowiak tried to find the owner of the missing money. The mail carrier knocked on his door and Beard couldn't have been happier.

"Thank you Walter. If you are out there buddy, you are a good guy. You saved my butt," Beard said.

At the Gas Light Tavern, Ryan Beard's grandfather, James Beard, was also happy. He has been robbed three times in the last month, so it was a good feeling to get something back.

"I am just glad Walter found it. (He is) an honest man," James Beard said.

James Beard said he is a little upset with his grandson for losing the money, but he is thankful there are people in the world like Janowiak. And in the spirit of the holiday, he is sending him a $100 reward.

Despite the attention, the mail carrier said he didn't do anything special.

"It is really no big deal, honest to goodness, no big deal. You find something, you give it back," Janowiak said.