A month after returning from Hurricane Matthew to find their neighborhood “looking like a war zone,” Strathy Hall neighbors Ronny Gerrald and Fred Warnell wanted to thank some of those who helped get it cleaned up.

The pair cooked lunch for about two dozen Bryan County DPW workers Tuesday by the island at the end of Strathy Hall in front of Warnell’s home.

“They came in and cleaned up this subdivision and a lot of other areas really nicely and we appreciate it,” Warnell said. “It was a disaster in here.”

Warnell and Gerrald spent the morning cooking hamburgers and sausages, and they had chips, baked beans and drinks to go with it. When another neighbor rode up on a golf cart and unloaded a Dutch oven, that only meant one thing: peach cobbler for dessert.

“I’ve heard that some people have been complaining but I think these guys are great,” Gerrald said. “They’ve been working non-stop to get everything back to normal.”

Buddy Shuman, Bryan County’s public works director, said the gesture was much appreciated, especially by crews that have been working as much as 12 hours a day seven days a week.

“We’ve collected about 400 tons of debris so far,” he said. “We’re pretty much done with our first round countywide.”