There are many definitions of community, but the one I like best, from Webster's, is an interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location. Whether communities are small, large or global, they all consist of people connecting with one another in some way. And often, in a special way.
I've always been drawn to the idea of community and this interest led me to explore (in my 2019 Heartwarming release) how lives can change from the sense of belonging that a community offers. Years ago, when I was a stay-at-home mother, I was lucky to live in an area of a big city with other parents who gathered together in a loose-knit community of like-minded interests to establish a babysitting co-op and a nursery school co-op, both designed to give us young parents a break but more importantly, to give our children opportunities to learn and socialize in their early years.
Later I was privileged to serve on a number of community Boards where I acquired some leadership skills that I was far too shy to learn in my high school and university years and I had a chance to get to know people from wide and diverse backgrounds. All of the above gave me a kind of satisfaction and fulfillment different from raising a family and teaching.
But I've also been lucky to see how smaller communities work, too. My husband's ancestors came from a hamlet in farm country in southern Ontario called Zurich, named no doubt by the immigrants from Europe who settled there in the mid 1800s. When we got married, Zurich (home of the annual Zurich Bean Festival!) had a population of 500 and it's not much bigger than that now.
When we visited his Granny there, our days went something like this: a post-breakfast stroll to the main intersection (four corners some 200 yards away) to collect mail from the small postal outlet and buy Bismarck donuts (rectangular pieces of dough, deep-fried and lathered with vanilla icing)and apple fritters from the only bakery in town; spend the afternoon on Granny's wide veranda with its two-person swing and wicker chairs, eating our purchases with iced tea; and at end of day, sip a small glass of sherry on the same veranda before a supper of Zurich sausages, home-fries and Granny's sauerkraut.
During those long summer days, we got to ask Granny all kinds of questions about her youth growing up on a farm down the road from Zurich and while we sat on her porch, we also were entertained by her running commentary about the various residents who happened to walk by her house - "There goes Mrs. Klopper, I wonder where she's going?" Her neck stretches to see and then, "Oh she's going into Mrs. Schmidt's house. I wonder why." You get the picture. But those anecdotes and stories stayed with me long after Granny, her house and the people she gossiped about were long gone.
While our family's connection to Zurich has vanished with time, we still get to enjoy the benefits of a small community on Garden Island where we spend our summers. The annual Thanksgiving potluck supper, the pumpkin carving contest, apple-picking and cider-making traditions have given my children, and hopefully will give my grandchildren, the chance to interact with a group of various kinds of individuals in a common location, and to reap all the spiritual and emotional benefits in doing so.
And all of the above is why communities matter.
What is your special community and what do you like best about it?
Thanks for joining our Heartwarming community today!
Janice Carter
I've always been drawn to the idea of community and this interest led me to explore (in my 2019 Heartwarming release) how lives can change from the sense of belonging that a community offers. Years ago, when I was a stay-at-home mother, I was lucky to live in an area of a big city with other parents who gathered together in a loose-knit community of like-minded interests to establish a babysitting co-op and a nursery school co-op, both designed to give us young parents a break but more importantly, to give our children opportunities to learn and socialize in their early years.
Later I was privileged to serve on a number of community Boards where I acquired some leadership skills that I was far too shy to learn in my high school and university years and I had a chance to get to know people from wide and diverse backgrounds. All of the above gave me a kind of satisfaction and fulfillment different from raising a family and teaching.
But I've also been lucky to see how smaller communities work, too. My husband's ancestors came from a hamlet in farm country in southern Ontario called Zurich, named no doubt by the immigrants from Europe who settled there in the mid 1800s. When we got married, Zurich (home of the annual Zurich Bean Festival!) had a population of 500 and it's not much bigger than that now.
When we visited his Granny there, our days went something like this: a post-breakfast stroll to the main intersection (four corners some 200 yards away) to collect mail from the small postal outlet and buy Bismarck donuts (rectangular pieces of dough, deep-fried and lathered with vanilla icing)and apple fritters from the only bakery in town; spend the afternoon on Granny's wide veranda with its two-person swing and wicker chairs, eating our purchases with iced tea; and at end of day, sip a small glass of sherry on the same veranda before a supper of Zurich sausages, home-fries and Granny's sauerkraut.
During those long summer days, we got to ask Granny all kinds of questions about her youth growing up on a farm down the road from Zurich and while we sat on her porch, we also were entertained by her running commentary about the various residents who happened to walk by her house - "There goes Mrs. Klopper, I wonder where she's going?" Her neck stretches to see and then, "Oh she's going into Mrs. Schmidt's house. I wonder why." You get the picture. But those anecdotes and stories stayed with me long after Granny, her house and the people she gossiped about were long gone.
While our family's connection to Zurich has vanished with time, we still get to enjoy the benefits of a small community on Garden Island where we spend our summers. The annual Thanksgiving potluck supper, the pumpkin carving contest, apple-picking and cider-making traditions have given my children, and hopefully will give my grandchildren, the chance to interact with a group of various kinds of individuals in a common location, and to reap all the spiritual and emotional benefits in doing so.
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| The sail loft and the potluck supper |
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| The owl, third from far right, was the winner |
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| Picking |
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| Pressing |
And all of the above is why communities matter.
What is your special community and what do you like best about it?
Thanks for joining our Heartwarming community today!
Janice Carter
Janice, your photos look like so many of mine. We still go out to the orchard on the west side of our small town and pick apples, if it's not too cold. We can watch the pressing from inside the "grocery" area where they also make the BEST donuts around...except for the Amish donuts but that's an hour away. My mother and I used to make our own applesauce with the wooden masher against a tin "strainer" and then can the applesauce. We ate that marvelous sauce all winter long and believe me, it went in everything! Oatmeal, cream of wheat. What a great post. And I LOVE your cover! I can't wait to read.
ReplyDeleteCatherine I’m in awe of all you do plus write a lot of wonderful books!! I like to make apple sauce and freeze it and yes, great on oatmeal. As for Amish donuts....mmm. :)
DeleteWhile different, something about your blog reminded me of my childhood in Connecticut. I loved falls in New England. Thanks for my lovely stroll down memory lane :)
ReplyDeleteI think all country/rural communities have similar customs, don’t you? It’s all about the getting together and fall or summer are wonderful for that.
DeleteWe've shared some of the same kinds experiences, Janice. Cities and co-ops and boards and small towns and communal dinners. When I lived in Asheville, NC, I attended a Quaker meeting , and during those years it organized a Thanksgiving potluck. My best holiday dinners ever. No one got stuck with too much of the work and some who had extended family visitors noticed tensions eased within the big group. That sail loft reminded me of the fun of meals like that. Gorgeous cover, by the way.
ReplyDeleteI also have great memories of potluck suppers, Virginia, either at church or family reunions. All that homemade food laid out on long tables...so wonderful when I was a child. Those were good years, weren’t they, working in a community?
DeleteLovely photos. People working together for harvest or just for fun. It reminds me of childhood days with the whole family shucking corn and snapping beans so my mother could can and freeze them. You've made me smile.
ReplyDeleteIt’s rare that we get opportunities like the communal apple picking living in a big city, Beth, which makes the island opportunities more precious. Good memories, as you say!
DeleteI miss a lot of the community activities that I enjoyed growing up in a small Oregon town. I suppose I could look for some of those activities here, though. Probably my fault for not doing the outreach.
ReplyDeleteI’ve retired from most of those community activities now, Roz, spending more time with family and relaxing! I’m quite sure you and I can honourably pass the torch!
DeleteI love hearing experiences and seeing the pictures. It makes the world so much smaller. Thank you, Janice.
ReplyDeleteIt’s very healthy in every way, Liz, to have these experiences as we cope with the big world around us, isn’t it?
DeleteA real small town experience. :) Community can be wonderful--but I don't like being in the middle of one all the time. There are pros and cons. But being able to dip in and out of one works nicely for me.
ReplyDeleteSuch great pictures! Your family time looks like a lot of fun!
Being in a smaller community for a mere 6 months or so is wonderful but I also like the contrast when I’m back in the big city. You’re right Patricia, both have much to offer.
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