For Good Neighbor Day, Readers Share Stories Of The Best [Block Talk]

ACROSS AMERICA — His name was Mr. Neighbuhr.

“I kid you not,” Diana wrote when we asked Patch readers on Facebook to tell us about heir best neighbors ever for this special National Good Neighbor Day installment of Block Talk.

Good Neighbor Day is Wednesday. The idea behind it is to build social connections among people who live in the same geographic area. (Sounds a bit like Patch, but we digress.)

Mr. Neighbuhr epitomized what it means to be a good neighbor, and Diana, a Bel Air (Maryland) Patch reader who grew up in Baltimore, said she honestly figured “every kid had a neighbor named that!”

Her mother didn’t drive, so Mr. Neighbuhr often ferried Diana and her sister where they needed to go. He took them o Vacation Bible School at his church, out to dinner, and “would never take a cent from my parents for gas or dinners.”

And, what kid growing up in the era of black-and-white TV wouldn’t appreciate this?

“Mr. Neighbuhr let us watch his color TV,” Diana wrote. “He was the first person we knew to get one!”

Mr. Neighbuhr wasn’t just a good neighbor.

“Really, he was like an adopted grandfather,” Diana wrote. “Both of our grandfathers had passed. … We loved him like family. … We were so blessed to have him!”

The ‘Cover Up’

Had they met, Mr. Neighbuhr and “Mr. J,” a retired fire marshal and U.S. Navy veteran, probably would have liked each other quite a bit. Wallingford (Connecticut) Patch reader Michelle lived across the street from Mr. J until his death at age 92.

They had known each other since 1969. Over the years, Mr. J regaled Michelle and her parents with stories about his overseas rations while in the Navy and fond memories and history of New Haven, showing the family his kindness, wisdom and comedic wit. The whole family adored him, but especially Michelle.

Though they were 40 years apart in age, “I considered Mr. J to be one of my best friends,” Michelle wrote. At Mr. J’s wake, someone inquired about her identity and one of his family members said, “Oh, that’s Michelle. She’s Bill’s friend.”

They shared a mutual love for chocolate and would call one another during snowstorms to see if the other had any to spare. Mr. J also kept Michelle’s confidence.

“During my teen years, Mr. J would kindly help me ‘cover up’ a few minor stupid things I did — hitting my mailbox accidentally while backing out of my driveway and him straightening it before my father, Lou, came home is just one kind and funny example.”

‘I Had Gotten Sucked In!’

Jill, a Doylestown (Pennsylvania) Patch reader, and her daughter moved from Florida to a stone farmhouse sitting on five acres in Buckingham Township, Pennsylvania, right before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“Let’s just say ignorance is bliss,” Jill wrote. “My first meeting with Jim was my panicked call to him (he had worked on restoring my barn with the previous owner, so I had his phone number) as my little dog cornered a fawn in my pasture, and it died. He helped me carry it away. It was awful.”

Next, Jill found herself hobbling across the street with her leaf blower hanging from her silk Lilly Pulitzer dress.

“I had gotten sucked in!” she explained. “He got his screwdrivers and extracted me.”

Jim is in his 80s and Jill “a good bit less,” but their friendship developed easily as they swapped stories.

“We just became best friends, working on our yards together and helping each other out,” Jill wrote. “He was my best buddy during COVID, as we were outside most of the time.”

Jill moved back to Florida this past summer, but left her tractor and leaf blower behind, “so I have an excuse to go back to Pennsylvania and help him out.”

“I’m his leaf fairy,” she wrote.

‘He Saved My Life’

Matthew, a Lansdale (Pennsylvania) Patch reader, pledged not to forget what his neighbor Ken did for him.

“A few years ago, we had a snowstorm, and I was having heart trouble,” Matthew explained. “I had to shovel several inches, and he saw me struggling. Ken came over with his snowblower and my driveway was clear in a matter of minutes.

“Honestly,” he continued, “I think he saved my life that day, and it was one of the nicest gestures anyone has ever done for me. I will remember what Ken did forever.”

Gestures don’t have to be big to be grand.

“Amy,” an Andover (Massachusetts) Patch reader wrote, “is the best neighbor and friend ever had. She helps me with child care. She picks up my mail. She’s so friendly. She makes our neighborhood a better place!”

Still, the grand gesture isn’t lost on Lu, a Beverly-Mt. Greenwood (Illinois) Patch reader.

“My family and I were going to Hawaii for my birthday and to finally be able to visit my son after two years of COVID,” she wrote. “ My neighbor gave me her points for Disney. We had three special days at the Disney resort totally free thanks to my very generous neighbor.”

To her neighbor, it may not have been a big deal, but Toni Marie, a Waukesha (Wisconsin) Patch reader, also counts what her neighbor did as a grand gesture.

Toni found she had taken on more than she could handle in one day when she began cutting down a tree. She finished what she could, then left the rest of the job for the following day.

“When I got home from work the next day, my neighbor had finished cutting down the whole tree, placed it into neat piles, and had already made two trips to the dump to dispose of it,” Toni Marie explained. “When he refused compensation, I placed an envelope in his mailbox.”

‘They’ve Treated Us Like Family’

Brick (New Jersey) Patch reader Katie Celeste said all the people on her street should be given “best neighbor” awards.

“When my mother passed, they all got together and provided food for days,” she wrote. “We look out for each other’s houses when someone is away, get our kids off the bus for each other, one of the neighbors built a little lending library for the kids in the neighborhood, and the list goes on and on. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

Doug, a Trumbull (Connecticut) Patch reader, also had trouble choosing just one of his neighbors for a shout-out, but said the next-door neighbors are “especially wonderful.”

“The winter we moved in, there was a monster snowstorm that dumped over a foot of snow on our long driveway. After an hour of struggling to shovel, I went inside for a break,” he wrote. “Minutes later, I heard the sound of my neighbor's tractor and looked out the window to see him plowing our driveway.

“Since then, they’ve treated us like family. Always giving our kids gifts on their birthdays or holidays. And bringing us fresh maple syrup back every time they go up to Vermont. We’re definitely blessed to be living next door to them.”

Single mom Amanda, a Howell (New Jersey) Patch reader who works long hours as a first responder, understands that. She lives on a farm, and her neighbors pitch in like family members — helping her with her fur babies and property maintenance, but also acting as a security guard for her and her daughter and always making sure they’re OK.

“[I don’t know] how many times I’ve come home to him cleaning my gutters, getting rid of bee hive — the list goes on and on,” Amanda wrote. “I don’t know what I’d do without him and his wonderful husband, who bakes us yummy things.

“It’s been so hard with all my family out of state, but I feel like I still have family with them next door,” she wrote.

‘We Managed Life Together’

Caren, a Long Island (New York) Patch reader, was a young mom when she moved into her home.

“My new neighbor knocked on my door with a huge fluke and beautiful tomatoes from his garden. I told him that I loved him,” she wrote. “My husband came home from work, filleted the fish, and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner.”

That was the beginning of a friendship that lasted 30 years, despite a difference in their ages of 50 years.

“We managed life together through the great and the worst, always supporting each other,” Caren said. “Sadly, he has dementia now and doesn't know us. His wife was one of the first casualties of COVID, passing that early January at the age of 97. I miss her every day.”

Pattie, another Trumbull Patch reader, was missing her neighbor, Mike, within two days of his move, but said Mike’s new neighbors are “beyond lucky” to have him living next door.

After Pattie’s husband, John, got sick a couple of years ago, it became harder for him to take care of chores around the house.

“Mike was willing to go out of his way to help with yard work, snow shoveling, car troubles — anytime he saw anyone outside, he came over just to see if he could offer a hand,” Pattie wrote. “It never went unnoticed, and we all appreciate it. Thanks to him for also always seeing past all the drama that comes with three children close in age in a home, as well as two crazy dogs.”

Mike and one of the dogs, Rocky, were especially close.

“The holiday treats left on the door step for Rocky were always such a genuine thought,” Pattie continued. “Rocky looked forward to them. He was just as devastated as we were when Rocky passed.”

About Block Talk

Block Talk is a regular Patch feature offering real-world advice from readers on how to resolve everyday neighborhood problems. If you have a neighborhood etiquette question or problem you'd like for us to consider, email beth.dalbey@patch.com, with Block Talk as the subject line.

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