Am I A Good Neighbor?

  Would you like to learn more about the value of neighboring and how to get started!  Please reach out to me to schedule a presentation in your neighborhood, your church, and your social organizations. Deana Tucker Dothage    Extension Engagement Specialist  MU Extension in St. Charles County  260 Brown Rd | Saint Peters MO 63376-1042 O:  636-970-3000 |  C:  636-578-1123 E:  deanadothage@missouri.edu  |  W:  https://extension.missouri.edu/counties/st-charles

 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 contribution...

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 diffe...

  Engaged Neighbor Program - St Charles Our guest presenter will be University of Missouri Extension Community Development Specialist David Burton who is at the forefront of a national movement recognizing the importance of neighbors in community development. He aims to encourage the development of engaged neighbor relationships, foster healthy neighborhoods, develop grassroots leaders, and fund neighborhood connectors in under-served communities. Burton recently completed “state of neighboring” study shows a majority of Missourians rate two traits as tops for good neighbors: respects my privacy (70%) and is quiet (65%). That same study shows less than 20% of Missourians take proactive steps, 25% know none of their neighbors’ names, and 40% do not see engagement with neighbors as needed. We think it is more important to become an engaged neighbor than a “good” one.  During this training, Burton will explain the process of becoming an engaged neighbor, explore why that is impor...

  June 20, 2023 Deana Tucker Dothage On Saturday, during a visit to A1 Nails & Salon in Warrenton, I carried in a packet of Engaged Neighbor material to share with the business owners/friends.   The wife/owner was with a customer. Towards the end of my nail session, the wife & her customer took a break from talking. I asked if I could share information about the Engaged Neighbor program. They kindly agreed. After listening to the details, the customer said, “I love that idea.” She mentioned that her new husband and she had moved into Warrenton recently but didn’t know many of their new neighbors. She told me where their home was. My response was, “You are my neighbor!! I live around the corner from you.”  What a coincidence!  We all laughed and discussed what a small world it is, when you meet a random stranger that turns out to be your neighbor.  We talked about our respective careers, where she and her husband grew up, and more. When asked if she and...

WHAT HAPPENED TO ME WHILE SITTING ON MY FRONT PORCH June 2023 Deana Tucker Dothage This week I’ve worked from my home office, more specifically my front porch. A few days ago, two ladies walked by my house multiple times. They were knocking it out of the park for getting steps in. Eventually, one of them walked by again, but alone. I commented on how many steps she must have accomplished. She looks at me and says, “I know you!” I did not recognize her but went to the street to learn more. Turns out, she and I have two mutual friends, who sadly, have passed away. We discussed how we each had met the father & son and how important they were to both of us. We laughed and we cried. We agreed to keep in touch with the intent to get to know each other. Each day I’ve seen her walk by, we wave.  She texted me a picture of one of our friends. What a sweet gesture. A simple yet significant act of kindness and compassion. By taking the time to sit outside during my home office time, I had...

  FATHER’S DAY AND NEIGHBORING June 2023 Deana Tucker Dothage   Deana Tucker, Seibert Tucker When I was a young child, my dad lived on a lake in Illinois. He spent most of his time with my brothers when he was not at work. I was with them on weekends, holidays and summer weeks, some of the happiest times of my life. We were outside grilling, shooting soda cans, riding motorcycles, hiking, selecting Christmas trees, playing with the dog, and my favorites, boating and fishing. When I was 13, a drunk driver hit our dad head on, while traveling across an Illinois bridge. It was so devastating to my brothers and me. A destructive loss that has cost us more than one can imagine. What does this have to do with neighboring? My next door and nearby neighbors in St. Charles surrounded me with kindness and friendship. My neighbors took care of me, which also helped my mother tremendously.  These neighbors were my friends. Their siblings and parents included me in fami...