Thursday, April 24, 2008

Neighbours Night Out, April 24, 2008









Lakeshore neighbours enjoying friendship at the Blue Goose.
















Good Neighbors

Willard Wattles
Many a man hath gold to guard
And house to keep him warm,
And ale to drink and bread to eat
And strong and ready arm;
But many a man when time is come
To rest him from his labors
Hath not so rich a store as I
Who boast me of good neighbors.

There's many a lad would scale the hills
And sail the fickle ocean,
And touching keels at every quay
Live ever in commotion.
But what a man may buy with sweat
Or carve with hearty saber
He may not own so sure as I
Who have a jovial neighbor.

Oh, some would cram a granary
With oats and corn and barley,
And some would dance a round or two
With every fiddling Charlie.
I like the time when malt is ripe
And Jenny brings the tabors,
But mostly I like every day
Because I have good neighbors.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Welcome to THE SPIRIT OF LAKESHORE

Building Community Spirit (Excerpt)
Posted at January 17, 2006 05:10 PM in Public Life by Richard C. Harwood

Community Spirit is not something to be relegated to the margins of our civic lives. Nor is it some theory to be expounded upon in academic papers, or an outcome to be delivered by public relations experts. Instead, community spirit must be both real and authentic. Authentic community spirit is vital because it reflects the true sense of connection people have to one another. It is the belief that there are issues, challenges, and opportunities that can only be met when we act together. It is a desire to know what exists beyond oneself – how others think, what they do, what they need – how we can live and act together.

Bricks and mortar can give us places to eat, meet and play – all vital to a community; but alone they cannot create the spirit that must fill those places in order for there actually to be a functioning community. For that we need citizens and leaders alike to find what gives them the will not just to survive, but to thrive and to take steps together to forge an authentic community spirit.