Oxford resident Eleanor McMullen shared a feel-good story with the Chester County Press about how people have been helping each other in Oxford.

Eleanor is 85 years old. Her husband Bob is 90. They will celebrate their 65th anniversary together in August. When the coronavirus pandemic sent everyone into lockdown in mid-March, handling routine tasks like picking up groceries from the store or medications from the pharmacy became a little more difficult for them—and a lot more risky than normal.

Eleanor explained that under normal circumstances, she and her husband don’t buy too many groceries at one time because it’s hard to carry them all in to their home and put them all away at one time.

One day, a man contacted the McMullens and said he’d heard that they could use some help and would be willing to help pick up their groceries so that they could avoid having to go in to a grocery store.

“He came over to see us and we talked for an hour. He was very nice,” Eleanor explained. They learned that the man is married to Kathryn Goodley Cloyd, a member of Oxford Borough Council. Eleanor described Kathryn as “a very lovely person” who has also helped bring groceries and medications to the McMullens. On those occasions, Eleanor said, she has given their helpers a little bit of money so that it can be used to buy some groceries for someone in the community who needs it. It’s a way to pay a good deed forward.

Eleanor also said that she has been able to call Rite-Aid in Oxford and one of the helpful employees has been able to gather the few items that the McMullens needed so that they can just be picked up quickly. In Oxford, people helping people is widespread.

Eleanor said that she and her husband have missed going for visits with their friends and neighbors during the quarantine, but they are making the best of it, and they are getting by—with a little help from their neighbors in the Oxford community.