Even with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic hampering our everyday lives, we know there is a lot of good going on in North Georgia, as people step up to help to each other. AccessWDUN has been asking you to submit information about the good deeds happening in your communities, and we'll be sharing those over the next few weeks. Enjoy reading about all the 'Good Neighbors' in our region. If you have someone you'd like to salute, tell us about them by email at [email protected].
No matter the crisis, a good Southerner knows the best way to soothe the angst is with a good casserole or a fresh-baked pound cake. Of course, a hug always helps, too, but since hugs are taboo during the COVID-19 pandemic, community members have been keeping their distance while offering up meals in abundance. AccessWDUN readers have submitted story after story of neighbors and co-workers who are fortifying others as the pandemic lingers. While restaurants have been among the businesses hardest-hit by the crisis, restaurant owners and managers have been more than generous, offering free meals to hospital workers and others on the front lines of the battle. Enjoy a few of the stories our listeners have shared with us. [A few folks have asked to remain anonymous, so if you don't see a name, that's why.]
- Perhaps Gainesville High/Clemson University/Houston Texans football star DeShaun Watson can claim credit for getting the ball rolling on feeding the workers on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic - not that he would ask for any attention for his good deeds. Early on as the crisis developed, Deshaun made a call to Tim Bunch at Longstreet Cafe and ordered food for local police officers and firefighters, as well as workers at Northeast Georgia Medical Center. Tim gave DeShaun a salute on the restaurant's Facebook page, and since then, Longstreet says donors - many of them anonymous - have placed orders for those front line workers.
- Angela Horst, her husband Duane, her daughter Tiffany Greif and her son Ryan Greif all work at the Gainesville campus of Northeast Georgia Medical Center. She said the four of them have been working some grueling days at the hospital, so when her neighbor Libby Cook showed up with dinner the other night, it was a huge relief. "She decided to make the most delicious and wonderful dinner for our family, complete with wine and dessert, as a way to say 'Thanks' for the hard work we are putting in at the hospital during this difficult time." Angela said Libby was a good neighbor "when she didn't have to be."
- A lady by name of Paula, who works at Longstreet Clinic in Gainesville, says she and her co-workers have been well-fed as they work during the pandemic. "Thanks to Chicken Salad Chick, Panera Bread and Jaemor Farms for feeding us while we work during the coronavirus pandemic!"
- Of course, grocery stores have been swamped as people have tried to stock their pantries during shelter-in-place orders. Michelle Simms works at Publix in Oakwood and she wrote to salute the owner of Smokehouse BBQ in Oakwood. "I want to tell everyone about a woman with a huge heart," Michelle said. "Last week she brought over enough food to serve everyone, not once but twice, so everyone could eat. She is a wonderful and thoughtful person! I heard she had been doing a different business every day."
- Stephanie Brown said she received a personal delivery from a neighbor and her young sons. They had made pumpkin bread for everyone in the neighborhood. [See photo] "She drove alongside her son on his bike who placed one in each mailbox. Such a sweet gesture to uplift our spirits and offer assistance if needed. Not to mention the life lesson this family is teaching their boys!!"
- Blanche Barton said not just one person, but her neighbors, ladies from New Bridge Baptist Church and her family members have been keeping close tabs on her and making sure she doesn't miss a meal. "I have not been without a meal since we were told to stay in, not a day that I haven't gotten calls wanting to know if I need anything," Blanche said. "I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart and this makes me feel so safe, also."
AccessWDUN will share more stories about the good neighbors across North Georgia in the coming days.
