MUSKEGO, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) -- Surrounded by a pond, fountain, and trees, the Regency Senior Living Community in Muskego is a place to enjoy some beautiful peace and quiet. However, since the onset of COVID-19, it  has been a bit too quiet. With group activities cancelled to protect the health of residents, it can be a lonely time at this independent senior living complex.

Eugene Schopper, known to everyone as Skip, decided he had to do something to still be able to say hello to his neighbors. It is the reason that every night at 6pm he takes to the walking path at the complex, armed with an American flag, and makes the rounds to say hello.

Skip says he does it not only for a bit of socialization, but also to check in on neighbors from a safe distance.

“If I’m OK, they are OK,” says Schopper.

Skip says he is glad that he is able to bring joy to neighbors even by doing something as simple as saying hello and waving the flag.

“There is a song called Little Things Mean A lot. I remember that, my wife liked it too. Just the little things, lending a smile. Saying hello in the morning, something like that,” says Schopper.

For neighbors, getting to look forward to his daily trip around the pond does in fact mean a lot.

“He is just the best guy there is! He is! Just so nice to see him out here everyday and waving the American flag. That is how it is supposed to be,” says neighbor Janice Biermann, who sits on her back porch nightly alongside her husband.

While Schopper says he looks forward to the day when he can once again get together with his friends to enjoy meals together and play cards, he is now willing to keep up his flag tradition as long as he needs to in order to bring everyone together. ​