On Monday morning, residents of Duluth awoke to snow covering the ground – welcoming the return of winter weather right before the holiday season.

“Compared to last winter, I’m kind of expecting this to be a little bit of a change in the season and a change in the amount of snow we get this winter. I hope it’s not like two years ago,” said Dave Stringer, resident of Duluth.

Monday morning, Stringer rushed to prepare his snowplow in hopes of beating his elderly neighbor to the task.

“I’m just over here helping my elderly neighbor, Sulo Kangas, take care of a little bit of snow that we got here,” said Stringer.

No matter the amount of snow to clear, Stringer does his best to ensure that Sulo doesn’t need to worry about clearing it himself – an act that does not go unnoticed by the Kangas’s.

“Well, Dave is pretty set on helping us, and I just think we are blessed to have a neighbor like him help us. In so many, many ways,” said Marge Kangas.

“You see this?” said Sulo Kangas, gesturing to his cane. “I’ll tell you what, that guy right there (Stringer), you can’t beat him for a neighbor. He’s done so much for me and helped me so much in many different ways. He’s good mechanically and just got a heart of gold.”

And as snow continues to fall, neighbors like Stringer are ready to lend a helping hand.