Submitted by Sandy Johnson
Extension Council Member, St. Charles County


 The Mole Man

 In our neighborhood, my husband Bill is known as the “Mole Man”. Our homeowner’s board offered us the option of engaging a critter-catcher service to deal with our mole infestation at the cost of $75 per captured mole. Bill decided that was a hefty price to pay for such a tiny creature.

After researching mole traps, he purchased several of them to use for our yard in lieu of using the service. At first, he used them only for us, but he soon had requests from neighbors to extend the service. He now surveys the yards near ours from our backyard deck for signs of moles and places traps whenever he’s asked. We can’t even imagine how much money he has saved us and our neighbors!


When Push Comes to Shove

 

My daughter was visiting from Seattle. Her son was a recent college graduate and had landed a job at a financial firm in Clayton. She was here helping him get settled and find a different car, since the one they had bought him as a graduation present was proving to be a lemon.

She was coming to my house for a quick visit and driving his car. Just as she turned in to my street, the car stopped completely! She called me and I walked down to the gate. When I arrived, I found my neighbor talking to her. He lives on the corner, and her car was blocking his way home. Being the resourceful guy he is, he had come in using the “out” side of the street.

After some discussion, we all decided to try to get the car out of the way and into the fire station next door. With me steering and the two of them pushing, we maneuvered the car into place at the station, out of the way of the emergency vehicles.

It turned out that the car had completely given up – the timing chain was broken and it needed extensive repair. Thanks to my neighbor, my daughter was safe.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS

Image
NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS Submitted by Deana Tucker Dothage, March 26, 2024 The beautiful woman in this photograph is my mother, Alice. The picture was taken in 2019 during a trip to Oklahoma. In 2024 she turned 94 years old. From mid 30's to retirement , she was a career woman, and before that a mother of four. After she retired, she worked in my insurance agency taking on the bookkeeping and payroll.  During her late 80's to now, she has had some health setbacks, and recently, a terrible fall resulting in multiple broken bones. After a brief hospital stay to treat wounds, she is home with me and my brother, where she has lived for the past 13 years.  As neighbors learned that she left and returned by ambulance, they started reaching out to find out what was wrong and if we needed anything. Soon after, pizza was delivered. Next, a plate of dessert arrives. Many texts, private messages and phone calls as well as a shout out from a neigbhor's driveway have been received, i
Read more
Image
  GETTING TO KNOW MY NEIGHBORS June 2023 Deana Tucker Dothage Buckhorn Court has been my home for 19 years. We have babies through age 95 who live here. People move out, move in and some lived their last days in homes on this street. My son and one of his closest friends were raised here. My neighborhood is green! Lots of trees and well-maintained landscaped yards. There is a pond in the backyard on both sides of our street. It’s a joy to wake up and look out the windows, to sit on the deck or front porch. As my involvement in the Engaged Neighbor increased by delivering programs about being a good neighbor and getting to know your neighbors, it occurred to me that I could be a better neighbor. Gathering printed materials about Engaged Neighbor events, newsletters, Good Neighbor Week and Engaged Neighbor St. Charles (8/29/2023) to distribute on my street was easy. Putting pen to paper, I composed a letter of introduction that starts with “Let’s get to know each other.” One reques
Read more

BIRTHDAY PARTY IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD

Image
 BIRTHDAY PARTY  IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD Carol Braun, 90 Marie Moore, 95 In June 2023, I walked door to door on my street distributing Engaged Neighbor program information and a letter about myself. My goal was to encourage my neighbors to get to know each other for the first time or again. One neighbor, Carol,  told me her 90th birthday was in September. Another neighbor, Marie, was celebrating her 95th birthday in August, the same day my son turned 22.  My neighbor Carmen and I decided to throw a birthday party for Carol and Marie. We created a flyer and distributed the invitation door to door. Calls came quickly, offering to contribute food for the event.  Years ago, neighbors on my street had a semi-annual front yard cookout. The cookouts ended after losing some of the incredible people on our street. Tonight, our tradition comes back to life.  Most of the people on our street gathered in my yard. Seeing everyone walk or drive over with generous contributions was so sweet. We shared foo
Read more