CHERRY LOG, Ga. — A man in the North Georgia mountains is feeling the warmth of community after living alone and in the cold for years.
Known as Mr. Rogers to his new friends, Roger Alexander lived in his Cherry Log, Georgia, home without heat. The home, which he built himself in the 80s, had been falling apart for years.
"This was my first and only home," he proudly said.
The only company to keep is the rushing streams and the wind in the trees.
"It's isolated, the way it feels," he described. "I spend a lot of time by myself."
And it does seem lonely in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood. For more than three years, Rogers hadn't seen another soul.
He got his groceries delivered and had no visitors to his home; he sat alone on his couch. He mostly enjoyed the solitude.
Until, one day, his neighborhood came to the door.
"He said he had just given up on people," Michelle Patton said. "He said he didn't want to burden anyone; he didn't want to ask for anything."
Patton owns a cleaning company and responded to a Facebook post about an elderly U.S. military veteran who needed help. She thought she was just going to tidy up but found he needed much more than that.
So she asked for the helpers - and her friend Virginia Allgary stepped in.
She took Mr. Rogers out for lunch as volunteers started assessing all of the work that needed to be done in his home.
"It was amazing to spend time with him. He is an amazing person and that's why everyone wants to help," she said.
Patton made a post on social media asking for other people to come share their talents and skills to help fix Rogers' home. A community now dubbed Mr. Rogers' Angels.
"We don't want anyone in our community to live like this, or any of our elders to be scared to ask for help, or to sit on a sofa for three years without having someone say hello," Patton said.
So the neighborhood got to work, hundreds of people volunteering their time and skill, clearing trees, rebuilding the deck, creating room in his home - and space in his heart.
"I'll never be able to repay what they're doing for me, and I hope they know how I feel about it," said Rogers.
Patton says the work is bringing them all closer together. Thousands of people joined the group rallying around Mr. Rogers online.
"The world is going through a lot right now. There are a lot of differences, a lot of things that will make you forget that we all just at the basic of it, we want love. We want to be loved, we want to share love," she said.
Sharing love and creating a new purpose in the neighborhood.
"Now we have this family," Patton said. "We were strangers - and now we are going to love on each other and be there for each other, and this is a forever thing."
To the veteran, it is a beautiful day in Mr. Roger's neighborhood.
Here are all of the companies that helped restore Mr. Rogers' home:
Tucker's Tree Service & Excavating, Inc.
North Georgia Crawlspace -NGC
Bucktown Grading and Construction
Patton Enterprise's
Docks Home & Excavation Services
Live Oak Roofing + Exteriors
Legacy Mechanical Services, Inc.
Controlled Climate Services
Sebastian Gonzalez Tree Service
Three Rivers Junk Removal
Ellijay Roofing Company and Restorations
AfforablepaintingandremodelingofGa
Sissontrees
STR Cleaning and Concierge
Puckettcareseniorsolutionsllc
Atlas Cleaning & Maintenance
Ks Painting
Rain Man Roofing
Restoration Cabinets
Handy Randy
Underwoodflooringandmore
Jason Chumley - Chimney Service
Vulcan Materials
Danny Ensley delivery driver
Affordable Painting & Remodeling of Ga LLC