Sunshine Skyways

Is a community simply a synonym for village, town, city, or other area in geographic space, such as Lanesville, where I grew up? Or is a community a group of people with something in common, such as the place where they live, religious beliefs or sexual orientation.

Does a community emerge whenever a group of people have something in common? For example, is a group of people who go to the same New Year's Eve party or concert a community? What distinquishes a community from a mob or ad hoc gathering? When does a group of people with something in common become a community?

As a child, through the choices and ethnic backgrounds of my parents, I became a member of the Lanesville community, the local Lutheran Church community, and the Finnish-American community, which, for me, were communities bounded in physical, personal, and social space, with their own different and shared histories. My home was in Lanesville; I went to school in Lanesville; I went to church in Lanesville; I visited relatives in Lanesville and adjoining Pigeon Cove; I played with friends in Lanesville; I bought things at stores in Lanesville; and I fished, swam, skated, and more in Lanesville. Lanesville was a very important place for my first-generation American father and mother because it rooted them in multiple overlapping and supporting communities. That reminds me of a poem that I read years ago, which was written by a Swedish or Finnish immigrant, and when translated into English is, "A Tree That Only Leafs." The poem describes a tree that produces leaves; however, it lacks roots, which is probably how many immigrants, like my Finnish grandparents, felt. They survived and seemed to thrive in their new place; however, they never felt rooted, rooted in community(ies).