" Olddoc, have you read "Bowling Alone"? It is about the decline of service organizations and other such affiliations. I recall once coming across a member directory of one of Plainfield's clubs in the newsroom library and it was like a "who's who" of the community. Of course now people connect electronically and a lot of community service comes through government agencies.For better or worse, times change"
There are several true statements above. The international service clubs Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis charters limited club affiliation to one representative per occupation. Additional members in that classification had to be approved by the existing member, IE: if there was one general dentist no other dentist could become a member without active member's approval. Therefore there was an economic perk in being a club member. This distinction was not only afforded to the professions but to merchants and tradesmen. There could be only one owner of a shoe store, or one manager for a ten cent chain store or one electrician. Thus a broad but restricted microcosm of the community was created.
Each club was dedicated to certain needed community activities. After WWII and with the development of Johnson's "great society" , governmental agencies gradually began to provide services that were voluntarily done by the services clubs. In the urban milieu the clubs were becoming superfluous and degenerated into social organizations without realistic civic missions.. The clubs memberships also changed from strictly men only to mixed gender.
Service clubs still function as intended in the smaller communities especially in the rural areas.
TODAY'S PHOTO: Brill's Island, Schroon Lake, NY.
COMMENT.
All "bloggers" will receive comments from readers on various postings. Although we are flattered by those that are complimentary we also expect to receive some that take issue with our positions. Each blogger has the option of publishing those comments and, although not obligated to do so, will include the negative ones along with the ego satisfiers. However, I along with others will reject those comments submitted that reek from bigotry.
Since the senders of these usually hide in the vacuum of anonymity they would not be worth any contemplation except that by their nature they represent a single or group of individuals who are a danger to our society. A danger that in Europe led to the acquiescence to a genocidal government dedicated to "ethnic cleansing".
Too many forget that 99.999% of us or our ancestors arrived in this country, whether legally or illegally, as fugitives from religious or political persecution in the "old world". Indeed those of the great ethnic immigrations particularly the Irish , Italians in the century pre WW II were for many years victims of discrimination in this country. That does not give them the moral justification for themselves to practice such activities.
The United States is a very heterogeneous society that has been the basis of its success and continued its cohesiveness is necessary for this nation's future.
ANGIOPLASTY CERTIFICATION.
I can not be disturbed by the SHPB's approval of the request from JFK for the right to do elective angioplasty. That was a given the moment the Commissioner gave her tacit approval to close MRMC. This represents no change in the overall picture except a gain for JFK that would not have happened if MRMC was in operation.
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