“We are all neighbors. Be kind. Be gentle.” – Clemantine Wamariya, author
In a time where it seems people are growing farther apart, one neighborhood in Minnesota is showing how they take care of one another. It all started with a chair. And a World War II veteran who likes to go for a walk, twice a day, every day, around his neighborhood.
Harvey Djerf, 95, said that while he doesn’t move as quickly as he used to, he still loves walking. He said that he has been making this walk around the subdivision for more than 65 years. Djerf, who is also a retired biology teacher, said he thinks his neighbors started noticing his daily walks because chairs started popping up in yards on his route.
Neighbors greet Harvey Djerf while he uses a chair that was left out for him to take a rest during one of his daily walks. Photo from CBS video
“As I got older, I stop and rest more often and the neighbors have noticed Harvey’s stopping and taking his breath so then they’ve been putting out different chairs and inviting me to sit and take a rest,” Djerf said. As more chairs started appearing, he began to realize how many of his neighbors were paying attention to him. He’s become a bit of a celebrity, he said, laughing.
“It’s a wonderful experience and it’s a social experience and I get to know the neighbors and they get to know me,” Djerf said. Lately though, he said his walks not only keep him healthy, they also make the slower days feel like they are moving a bit more. But more than that, he said, was Djerf’s wife, Patricia, suffered a stroke and is now recovering at an assisted living facility.
“My wife said years ago I just – I’m antsy. I can’t sit still,” he said. With Patricia away, life is a little bit lonelier. But the chairs that have been left out for him have changed that. A while back, Djerf said, he noticed that one neighbor had put a chair out in their yard for him. “It’s kind of snowballed now. I’m up to 12 chairs now,” Djerf said.
They must’ve seen that I was pausing and catching my breath and that’s when they probably took pity on me.”
It’s kindness not pity that makes Djerf’s neighbors in Plymouth, Minnesota, put chairs out for the veteran. It’s simple kindness. Tom and Melanie Heuerman said that after noticing that there hadn’t been any chairs put out on their street for Djerf. “We were looking out there one day and noticed there’s no chairs on our entire street here, so we put one out for him,” Melanie Heuerman said. “He found it the very next day.”
World War II veteran Harvey Djerf with his wife of 69 years, Patricia. Photo courtesy of the Djerf family
“I joked to Melanie: It’s kind of a status symbol in the neighborhood to have a chair out for Harvey,” Tom Heuerman said. “He’s a beloved character. I actually felt that it would be an honor if he sat in our yard.” The goodwill isn’t lost on Djerf. He said that he and his wife have lived in the same neighborhood since building their houses in 1951. The couple, who have been married for 69 years, have five children, 17 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
The walk never gets old for Djerf. “I look forward to it every day,” he said. “They know I’m alone so they give me companionship,” Djerf said of his neighbors. “I’m very well taken care of.” Watch below to see Djerf finds his chairs, and neighbors, while on his daily walk.
