Musings on Community Spirit, Old Hometown Days, Memorial Day and the importance of museums!

A few members of the group!

This has been a busy week for our little group of workers.  Trying to put on a community event takes time, effort and of course, money. 

It is interesting to think back to Roman times and realize that to be a citizen of Rome you had to earn it.  “Citizenship” was something to be prized.  Today we here in America seem to take that privilege for granted.  As a matter of fact we think that the community owes us… rather than we owe the community our help and our neighbors our support.

I had a visitor this past week who I discussed this very issue with… he called it “taking pride in your community”.   I call it “Community Spirit”… that something that bonds us together. 

In rural areas we have lost much of our community to the centralized school systems that have taken children out of their small town areas and melded them as one with surrounding areas.  Syracuse has tried to change that by putting up signs denoting the different sections by there historic names…Tip’ Hill. The Valley, Onondaga Hollow..etc, something to bring little area’s together as “communities” of people.

Another thing that has deprived us of community pride is the removal of names because of post office closings in areas.  Today places that once had pride in their accomplishments are actually listed as being in another town because of Post Office delivery.  For instance Heritage Farms, something a community could be proud of, is listed in Bouckville because of its post office… when it is actually in Eaton and the people of Eaton give it the tax break.

Community spirit or pride in one’s community are things that we need to work on in these troubled times.  That is actually a good reason to support our historical societies and museum groups; I call these groups the “Keepers of the Fire” for our communities.  They are places where we still feel connected to those who lived where we do in the past.  That piece of Americana we try to capture in a movie or a TV show like “Little House on the Prairie”.

We don’t have to look for it…  we are lucky enough to have it right now in our small rural area.  To insure keeping it alive our little group has been working to put on Eaton Day!  It is a community event that hopes to bring all of the Town of Eaton residents and former town residents back to their fabulously historic roots.  Some places call them Old Hometown Days… we just call it Eaton Day!

So come together on Memorial Day Monday and enjoy the parade and hang around, visit the museum, see the crafts, bake goods and savor our piece of Americana with this community event.

The Town of Eaton does not in anyway financially support this day… it is put on by your neighbors and the museum.  If you can make a small donation to help defray costs… visit the website www.historystarproductions.com, click on Donate to Eaton Day at the top… or better yet come out and participate with members of your “community”!!