The first month after moving into a new neighborhood is often spent attempting to make a good impression on the community you’ve joined. The overzealous might even try to check off a list of good deeds: baking treats for the next-door neighbor, mowing the lawn of the guy across the street, pulling in the trashcans for the elderly woman a couple of doors down.

These kind acts would almost certainly win the affection of your neighbors. But how long would they last? Fred Rogers, the quintessential good neighbor, said that a lasting neighborly spirit requires making a habit out of kindness. Few people have followed this advice as closely as Lamar Harris, the “Mayor of Cherry Hill.”