Stories from Missouri Good Neighbor Week: There Is More Than One Way to Be a Good Neighbor

 

One of my favorite parts of my work with neighboring is reading the stories people submit from across Missouri.

Statistics can tell us whether people know their neighbors. Research can document loneliness and social isolation. Surveys can measure our sense of belonging.

But stories show us what neighboring actually looks like.

As of August 26, 2026, I have had four Missourians send me some good ones to share as a way to inspire action (and reporting) for Missouri Good Neighbor Week.

Waynesville, Missouri Along Interstate 44

In Waynesville, a group of about 40 travelers from the Netherlands arrived while making their way along Route 66 to Amarillo in a solar-powered car. They needed somewhere to rest, camp and recharge before continuing their journey.

A City of Waynesville employee, Nathan Carmon, and his wife, Melony, opened their property to them.

Think about that. Forty strangers from another country showed up in town, and someone essentially said, "You can stay with us."

That is neighboring through hospitality.

Houston, Missouri in Texas County

In Houston, Missouri, the Community Betterment and Arts Council organized a community pool party celebrating America's 250th anniversary. More than 200 people attended. Students volunteered. Businesses provided free admission. The fire department participated. There were cupcakes, popsicles, prizes, quilts and a giant American flag.

It took many people and organizations working together to make it happen.

That is neighboring through community. Check out my blog about the impact of this project in Houston.

Rural Kansas City Missouri

Then there was a story from Kansas City that stopped me in my tracks.

This woman was tired of hearing complaints about homeless people gathering near a building in her neighborhood. Instead of joining the complaining, she decided to go meet one of them.

She found a young man who was only 17.

She asked about his story. Then she listened.

Eventually, they went to a gas station, where she bought him water, a sandwich and an ice cream. But I don't think the food was the most important gift she gave him.

She saw him.

"I will never forget that day of just doing what a grandma would do," she wrote. "I just spent a little time with him and listened to him talk."

That is neighboring through compassion.

In the City of Kirkwood, Missouri

And then there is Kirkwood, where one neighborhood has perhaps the best neighborhood leadership title I have encountered: the "Blockhead."

Each year at their block party, neighbors elect a Blockhead who organizes activities for the coming year.

This year's Blockhead, Diana Gray, came up with something wonderfully simple—a walking tour of neighbors' backyards.

"We see everyone's front yards but never the back yards," the person submitting the story explained.

Neighbors walked from backyard to backyard and finished by gathering for a happy hour.

That is neighboring through fun.

Four Missouri communities. Four completely different stories.

Hospitality. Community. Compassion. Fun.

Yet all four started with essentially the same decision:

Someone created an opportunity for people to connect.

That may be one of the most important lessons I have learned about neighboring.

There is no perfect formula.

You don't need a neighborhood association. You don't need a grant. You don't need a committee, matching T-shirts or a strategic plan.

Sometimes you need a backyard. Sometimes you need a swimming pool. Sometimes you need enough space for 40 unexpected visitors from the Netherlands.

And sometimes you simply need to stop complaining long enough to ask another human being, "What's your story?"

Good neighbors notice people, make room, extend invitations, listen, and create reasons for people to gather. And sometimes they buy a 17-year-old kid an ice cream.

We often make community building sound complicated. These stories remind me that it usually begins much more simply.

See someone. Start a conversation. Extend an invitation. Make room at the table—or in the backyard.

Then see what happens.

Because there are a thousand ways to be a good neighbor.

The important thing is to choose one.

WRITTEN BY

David L. Burton

For more information, visit the Engaged Neighbor website. Take our pledge and become part of a movement! Or subscribe to our newsletter. Access some of the research documents written by David Burton, the author of this blog. Or better yet, purchase one of his books off Amazon. Contact David L. Burton via email at dburton541@yahoo.