A Good Neighbor Heating & Cooling
Photographer / Jessica Whitehead
On a January night in the Lakes region, the wind cuts across open fields and lake ice forms in the dark. Inside, life feels much better when the furnace runs steadily and the air in each room feels clean and comfortable. For many families around Middlebury, Elkhart, Goshen, and the surrounding lake communities, that steady comfort comes from A Good Neighbor Heating & Cooling.
Owner Bob Dwyer likes to say he was “born into it.” His grandfather launched the family’s heating business in Chicago.
“It started originally in 1919,” Bob says. His father later stepped in, and Bob grew up in an apartment behind the heating shop.
“We had a heating shop in the front and an apartment there in the back so we lived behind the heating shop,” he explains. “I was just sort of raised in the business.”
School days meant walking through the shop to get home, cleaning sheet metal, and learning how things worked. By about 12 years old, he was already installing equipment. Someone with a driver’s license would take him to job sites so he could work, long before he could legally drive himself.
Bob remembers his father with deep respect.
“He just looked at his job as helping people. He was a good man,” he says.
Those long winter calls to help families with no heat left a mark. When Bob eventually took over the Chicago business, that quiet example of service guided him. Over the years in Chicago, he not only carried on the family’s heating and cooling work, but also tried his hand at other small ventures, drawing on that same willingness to work hard and serve people.
In time, though, city life no longer felt like the right place to raise his children. During a visit with friends who camped near Middlebury, he saw something very different from the inner city where he had grown up. Amish buggies shared the road with cars. Produce sat out in boxes in front of farmhouses. People waved to one another.
“I just fell in love with Middlebury,” he says.
When a real estate agent wrote down what Bob’s Chicago house might sell for, Bob laughed and told him to go ahead if he could get that price. About an hour later, the agent called back to say someone had written a check for the house. Bob sold his Chicago heating and cooling company, along with the other ventures he had built, and the family moved to Indiana in 1999.
At first, Bob worked out of his home. “I stuck a little sign in the front yard that said ‘A Good Neighbor Heating’ on it,” he recalls. Within days, the first customer called with a problem no one else had solved. That single service call became the first of several thousand.
A Good Neighbor later moved into a small storefront on Main Street. Then, about 12 years ago, it settled into its current building at 524 South Main Street in Middlebury. The move turned out to be one of Bob’s best decisions. Customers now visit not only for service, but also to step into the HVAC room and see how modern systems sound and operate. They can sit down with Bob over a cup of coffee, ask questions, and get clear explanations in everyday language.
The building itself reflects his willingness to notice what his neighbors need. In addition to heating and cooling, the shop has become a local stop for items like grills, spices, pool water testing, barbecue tank fills, and even knife sharpening. Bob laughs that it makes them “a kind of strange company,” yet that variety means people have a reason to walk through the door even when their furnace is working just fine. An industry leader who visited from out of state once told him he had never seen anything quite like the combination of services in a heating and cooling business.
Bob’s wife, Brenda, assists in the office and brings her own gifts to the business. During the economic downturn from 2007 to 2009, when the local newspaper closed and the RV industry slump hit Middlebury and nearby LaGrange County especially hard, she wrote and produced a monthly Christian-based “good news” paper that reached thousands of homes. It gave local businesses a place to advertise and gave neighbors something encouraging to open in the mail. That creative effort helped the company weather a difficult season and even drew national attention in the HVAC industry.
Family continues to be woven through the company. Bob’s son, Robert, works in the business and will one day take it over. His daughter-in-law, Anita, plays a central role in the office. Other relatives are involved as well. Bob notes that they are the last heating company in Middlebury still owned by the original owner.
While many competitors in the region have been purchased by large investment groups, Bob has no desire to sell or chase aggressive expansion. His hope is simpler: that the company “continues the same way it always has.”
That steady approach shows in the services A Good Neighbor offers. Core work includes furnace and air conditioner repair, replacement, and new installations. The team also installs heat pumps and ductless mini-split systems for homes that need flexible zoning or for older houses that never had central air. Easy-to-see thermostats with large numbers and a clear optional cover are available for anyone with impaired vision. Those same models also help customers who live with arthritis because the straightforward controls do not require repeated, precise finger movements on tiny buttons.
Indoor air quality is a major focus. Bob’s crew can measure particle counts in a home and identify problems that most people cannot see. Often the issue is simple: “not enough fresh air coming in the building,” as Bob explains. The team may recommend better filtration, sealing leaky ductwork, or adding equipment that brings in filtered outdoor air while exhausting stale indoor air. For families with young children or older adults, this can make a real difference in everyday life.
Duct cleaning is another important service. Over time, dust and germs collect deep inside ductwork where a standard vacuum cannot reach. A Good Neighbor’s duct cleaning helps remove those irritants and stubborn odors. Dryer vent cleaning is an additional often overlooked service that the business takes seriously. Clearing built-up lint from the vent shortens drying times, protects clothes, improves energy use, and lowers the risks of house fires.
Once the air is cleaner and the equipment can “breathe” the way it should, comfort also depends on moisture in the air. Humidity control makes homes far more comfortable. Humidifiers and dehumidifiers help keep houses in the “comfort zone,” protecting furniture, calming static electricity, and making cold-weather breathing easier during long winters.
Education is one of Bob’s favorite parts of the job. He loves helping homeowners fully understand how their equipment works and what they can do themselves. That education often starts with something as simple as a furnace filter. Many shoppers buy the thickest, most expensive filter on the store shelf, assuming it must be the best. Bob explains to the client that putting a dense filter into a standard furnace can choke airflow, raise internal temperatures, and shorten the life of the system. For most customers without significant medical issues, he recommends a basic filter that allows plenty of air to move.
“It’s sort of like if you’re trying to breathe and somebody’s choking you,” he says of high-resistance filters in the wrong systems.
His goal is to help people protect both their indoor air and the equipment that conditions it.
For those who want extra peace of mind, A Good Neighbor offers a maintenance program with several levels. Homeowners can choose the plan that fits best, from basic furnace and air conditioning checkups to packages that also include water heater checks and dryer vent cleaning. Bob sums up the purpose clearly. He firmly believes that knowing your equipment is safe ranks first, running efficiently comes next (which keeps utility bills lower), and longevity follows close behind, so systems do not need to be replaced as quickly.
Financing is available for new systems, including 0% options for set periods. Bob is frank with customers about how those plans work behind the scenes and walks them through several choices so they can understand the trade-offs. He wants people to spread the cost of a needed upgrade rather than face a single large bill, and his straightforward approach carries through to the way customers describe their experiences.
Customer reviews give a window into what that care looks like in real homes. Betty Berkey shared that A Good Neighbor installed a complete heating and air system for her family in just two days. She described the crew as “so polite and professional” and appreciated that they made sure she understood how the system worked before they left. She calls it “great service and product” and encourages anyone who needs a unit or service to give them a call.
Garrett Cupp wrote about a service visit, saying, “Bobby came out and inspected my whole system.” In his review, he explained that Bob walked him through the steps he could take to better maintain his air conditioner. After Garrett followed those directions, his AC was running again in less than an hour and a half. “Definitely recommend these guys!” he added.
Heather Brunswick contacted A Good Neighbor to install a mini-split AC unit. She noted how quickly Bob came out to give a quote, how smoothly the installation went, and how clean the crew left everything. Her family was “very pleased with the entire process” and plans to use the company again.
Bob thinks a lot about the future, not only for his own company but also for homeowners who may feel overwhelmed when comparing quotes. He has even imagined a retirement role where he would serve as a neutral consultant, simply helping people read through their furnace and air conditioning proposals and understand what they are being offered. The idea fits his nature and principles. He would share what he has learned over a lifetime in the industry, guide people patiently, and leave the final decision up to them.
That dream of guiding future customers matches the way he already cares for current ones. Behind these stories is a way of doing business that Bob hopes never changes. He wants people to see who they are as a company, understand what they do, and feel at ease inviting them into their homes. When someone faces the classic question of whether to repair an older furnace or air conditioner or replace it, Bob gives honest information about age, condition, and expected lifespan, then lets the homeowner decide.
“It’s not about selling them expensive equipment,” he says. “It’s about just being honest.”
He wants customers to know that the decision about what to do with their system will always remain in their hands.
Today, A Good Neighbor Heating & Cooling serves a wide range of communities: Middlebury, Elkhart, Goshen, Nappanee, Shipshewana, Syracuse, South Bend, and many smaller lake towns. Whether your concern is staying warm through a long winter, keeping the house cool and comfortable through July humidity, or breathing cleaner air all year, Bob and his family-run team are ready to help you live and function in a home that truly feels like a haven.
A Good Neighbor Heating & Cooling is located at 524 S. Main Street in Middlebury. For more information, give them a call at 574-825-1677 or visit them online at AGoodNeighborOnline.com.
