Good Neighbors

Everyone loves to have good neighbors regardless of where they live or how old they are. Different people have different opinions as to what makes a good neighbor. Like other things today, that may have been revised as well. Most of us have been fortunate to have some neighbors that are always friendly and don’t cause any problems. Neighbors that had kids the same age as yours grew up together as friends.

When my family moved to the North Side on Heatherwood, there were not a lot of homes right in our area. We lived on the last street in a small development. Our street was only one block long and there were no houses across the street. When we started attending the new school, we met kids that lived in the area and began to make new friends.

I am not sure what year it was, but it was not too long after we moved there that a new family moved into the house next door. Mr. and Mrs. Roy had three daughters and they became good friends with my younger sister. Most of the kids in the immediate area were a little younger than me and there were not many boys my age close by. We all played yard games together and in the early years, none of the homes had fences.

Mr. Roy had a big shop building in his backyard and had a lot of tools. He only had daughters, and I was old enough to mow yards to get some spending money. He became one of my first customers. I knew he was always working on something in his shop when he was home from work. One day when I was talking to him, he took me into his shop and showed me the boat he was building. That began a relationship that I value to this day and helped me learn to share knowledge with others. I got interested in working with wood and he showed me how to use tools like a lathe to turn blocks of wood into some unique pieces like a lamp base. It was on his lathe that I made the legs for my desk which was my woodshop class project in school.

What made Mr. and Mrs. Roy great neighbors was how they treated our mom after dad passed away. Mom had other neighbors that she was friends with, but the Roy’s were like family. They would check on her on a regular basis and help her with whatever she might need help with. Mom would also help them if one of them was sick or needed something. After Mrs. Roy passed away, he continued to be there for mom, and he was not shy about letting us know his feelings when he thought we should be doing more for her. He was a great neighbor.

When mom passed away, there were two things that Mr. Roy had made for her that I wanted, and they are special reminders of her, but even more of him. They are not items that most would consider valuable, but they are to me. They remind me to be willing to help others who could use a little kindness and to pass on to someone a little bit of what I enjoy doing. You never know what spark you may ignite in others to try new things.

Over the years, I have made many things working with wood without thinking about Mr. Roy which taught me that you can do much more if you have enough confidence to try and keep trying to improve your knowledge and skills. I remember that day that he pulled that boat out of his shop and was ready to put it in the water. It was no small boat and oak alone used for the ribs would be expensive today not including the many hours of labor.

That neighborhood has changed a lot over the years, and we are a lot older, but some of the kids have remained in contact with JoAnn and me to a lesser extent. So, for a few more years, the memories of that old neighborhood will be kept alive.