Scouting and the local community.

[Eamonn 61]

Some time back I was watching a documentary about town planning and urban sprawl.

Some guy with a PhD was talking about building a sense of community. He said it wasn't that hard and all you have to do is grab a group of people and let them live in the same place for a few generations.

As a kid growing up in London, I think we had a very close knit community. I knew that if the people who lived in our area seen me doing something wrong, the news would get back to my parents long before I'd arrive home. If we were at a friends house or they were at our house at a meal time everyone ate.

I was an Alter Boy and active in our church,which was attended by the Irish Catholics from the area, so just about everyone knew me.

As I got older, I became a regular at a couple of local pubs and our Irish Club. Again these were very community based. If someone knew that someone had something happening they tried to help.Collecting money to send flowers to a funeral, looking after someones dog if they were in hospital, sending a meal to the fellow whose wife was in hospital.

As kids we played with each other, fought with each other and got into trouble with each other. The local park was where we played as little fellows, hung out and smoked our first cigarettes as teenagers.

Where I live now is like that.

The nurse who comes in a couple of times a week to look after Her Who Must Be Obeyed,on her first visit informed me that she knew me. It seems I was Cubmaster when her two Grandsons were in the Pack.

Everyone seems to know OJ?

I just rented a house to a fellow who if he ever gets too close to a strong magnet will suffer serious injury! He has more bits of metal sticking out of him than a Sherman Tank. When I first talked to him, he informed me that his Grandma and my Grandmother-in-law (Who passed away 16 years ago) were friends. They played Bridge together. His Grandma is 104. Her Who Must Be Obeyed remembers polishing the silver before these little old lady Bridge Lunch meetings and how they would all try to be a little more "Classy" than each other.

I have owned a operated a couple of businesses in the area and it seems that everyone remembers the white hair and the accent.

Sadly our down town area is dieing. It has been dieing for a very long time, but we still have the best hardware store, where they don't try and sell you stuff that you don't need but have the stuff that you do need. We seem to have different Pizza shops every few months, one closes and is replaced.

I do what I can to shop locally. I fought with my insurance company to allow our local pharmacy fill our prescriptions. They donate to the FOS.

We have placed boxes at the local VFW and American Legion Post to collect flags. They donate to the Ship and FOS. When we have read Boy's Life and Scouting Magazine I put them in the waiting room of our family doctor, he donates to FOS and the Ship.

Our local newspaper also does printing so I use them for all of our printing needs, even though thanks to PC's this isn't what it once was.

When I needed menus designed I used local designers (And we won a national prize!!) He donates to FOS (I have yet to talk to him about the Ship.)

The local Beer distributor also sells ice. He is a long time supporter of FOS. I had the camp buy all their ice from him.

I used to send out a District News Letter to all the CO in the District 3 or 4 times a year. This has been replaced by the Ship's Newsletter, not because I have a hidden agenda, but because a few CO's said that they missed hearing from me.

I like my small town and small District.

The local Barber still only charges $5.00 for a haircut, I go in and he says "As normal?" I say yes even though I wish he'd take a little more off the back, but while he is cutting we talk about Scouts and what the kids in the area need. We both serve on the local Civic and Industry Committee, which for a community our size has a lot of money.

A good friend of mine is a pharmaceutical salesman. They seem to move house about every four or five years. Each time they move the houses seem to get bigger and better, but they are in sub-developments and everyone else seems to move every few years. The kids in the developments seem to hang out together, but there isn't any real sense of community. They don't volunteer to do anything because they know that they aren't going to be there very long. They have a son about OJ's age, he was a Cub Scout in Kentucky before they moved to New York. He is a nice Lad they send him to a Catholic Youth Camp and seem happy to spend the $465.00 for the week.

But then again they pay $22.00 for a haircut!!

I know that we are very fortunate that we still have a community a real community, which is more than an elderly person standing in the door way smiling and welcoming us as we enter and checking the bags when we leave.

But if we want the community to support us we have to not only support the community we have to be seen supporting the community.

Eamonn.

[FireKat 10]

Long live the neghborhood and the sense of community.

 

Please read Eamonn's spun thread about free shipping and handling.

 

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