In a time and age when schools close and consolidate, businesses and industries disappear, and area populations shrink, there are still some who help(ed) keep their communities together, linked to their current and past roots.
A sportsman club in an area most would call the middle of “No Where.” The club was begun by local rural residents. A few good residents broached the idea and engaged others. The initial members, perhaps 3 or 4 baker’s dozen in number, built a club house complete with bathrooms, a bar, generous seating areas-in and outside, a pool table/dance/entertainment space, and a modest snack or food preparation area. The club never has had debt, no wages are paid as members donate their time for all necessary tasks, and membership dues are minimal so all wanting to join can. After multiple decades membership has increased roughly 8-fold, far exceeding the annual enrollment of a nearby closed school. While they have an online web connection nothing beats a drop-bye, even if only once annually, where real face-to-face connections to the present and past are likely. Everything the club sells is essentially at cost, nothing wrong with low-cost quality beer.
Another case is an annual Independence Day Parade which is closely tied to the same rural community’s roots. The Parade draws crowds exceeding the rural area’s population. Little commercialism is allowed-mostly local entities, politics are non-existent, while dogs, cattle, children, Veterans, old cars trucks and tractors, and present and historical connections are welcome. The event was started by a resident who grew up attending a local, now closed rural school. Having returned to his local roots after working elsewhere for decades. The character of this Independence Day Parade that brings people together from the past and present annually is a tribute to a great resident, assisted by other great residents. The event allows for renewed annual connections for many, sometimes their final connection, and offers proof one never forgets “Home’.
While several key people who initiated these two community connections are gone their efforts will continue to produce positive connections for many years to come.