Back to Mayberry

There was a time, not so long ago, when neighbors helped each other out. They loaned tools, kept an eye on each other’s property and kids, and came over for neighborhood barbecues. The Andy Griffith Show depicted everyday small town life, a good-old-boy sheriff, the talkative barber, and community members who baked, supported and helped whenever they knew there was a need. I got reminded of that recently and think we could all get back to Mayberry.

My family has new neighbors beside us and as we had a conversation over the chain-link fence it became apparent that neighbors need each other — to watch our property when we are gone and to just be alert to the needs of each other. The important part of this is the feeling of belonging to the community. So many of the people in our area don’t get that feeling.

I have heard from many people over the years who confided in me that they never felt welcomed or never felt like they fit in our little community. There are even lifelong locals who grew up in Grand Coulee that have felt that Coulee Dam and Electric City residents look at them differently. (You could switch any local towns order in that last sentence and it would be the same.) Don’t get me wrong. I have seen us all come together over the years, but there has always been that line drawn in the sand or clay or dust that would always eventually pop its head up and remind us all that we are divided by imaginary lines drawn on a map, segregating four counties and four towns.

OK, now that that is said, let’s get back to loving on our neighbors. There is a street in Coulee Dam. That street seems to have four or five block parties a year. The kids flock to this event and those neighbors who attend are always raving about the good time and food provided. Why are we all not doing this? I am guilty too. Heck, I was even invited to the aforementioned block party and, for some reason, did not attend. All I am saying is this: if we made a concentrated effort to include our fellow street mates to a BBQ, with some good music, some games for kids and great conversation, things would start to change. We would start converting back to Mayberry.

I know we have thieves still among us. I know we still have addicted and lost souls terrorizing some residents. But suppose we make some serious effort to come together and have some fun, get to know each other a bit more, invite not only our neighbors but local police officers and firefighters, invite mayor and council members. Put on a celebration of your local area. Maybe those we don’t know and those who are not from here would feel included and look after our yard just as much as they do their own.

Rumor has it that in the next few years the USBR will be adding around 200 more jobs on a new project. We need those people living here. We need them to shop locally, go to school locally and dwell locally. We all must do our part to make them feel welcome and at home. But if we cannot even love on the ones that are here already, then how will we welcome the outsider trying to fit in?

Aunt Bea, Sheriff Andy, Goober, and the rest of Mayberry would not hesitate to invite them to dinner, go fishing or a block party back in the good old days of America. So why are we not doing it now? I challenge you all: invite someone new over for dinner. Get to know them. Take someone fishing or organize a neighborhood block party. Love on people. Have a conversation over the fence, in the store or at the post office. We need to be tight as a community again regardless of zip code, job description or tax bracket. Start making new connections and love on everyone.