Our oldest daughter once asked me if we lived in a neighborhood. Many kids at her school live in town and are closely knit into subdivisions where they reside. I’m sure “where you live” and “who you play with” is a hot topic at elementary school.
I explained to her that yes, indeed, we do live in a neighborhood. Then I had to explain to her how country neighborhoods work.
I had to think for a moment. What are the dynamics of a country neighborhood? We certainly aren’t governed by subdivision covenants. Yet, somehow there are several unwritten rules for maintaining a sense of community in the country. At least by our family’s standards, there are.
First, when someone moves in, my husband likes to be the first one to roll up their driveway in his RTV to make an introduction. We can’t see any of our neighbors’ homes from our house, so visiting requires a drive or a long hike up or down the hill. Since moving to the country, I have dubbed my husband the “Mayor” of our road.
When we moved out here, the private county road was a narrow path of dirt leading to our house. Any time it rained, you were out of luck if you didn’t have a 4-wheel-drive vehicle to get out of our driveway. He has coordinated with all of our neighbors to add gravel, grade the road and even scrapes off snow and ice. Everyone pitches in to take care of the common road, no questions asked.
Garbage service is another complication living in the country. After trying to maintain a country trash service that limited every bag we needed picked up, we sought another solution. We formed a “trash coop” among several neighbors a couple of years ago. Everybody pays for their share and we have a community dumpster. Problem solved.
There’s an informal phone tree that goes off and rings neighbor-to-neighbor when livestock (or turkeys) are loose on one of our adjoining county roads. We’ve been on the receiving end of a phone call from the county sheriff’s office for having cattle out on the road. Somehow there is always a neighbor close by when you need help gathering cattle, moving a piece of equipment or even to give a second opinion on a mechanical problem.
We have happily fed dogs, cats and chickens for neighbors that head out of town on vacation and the favor is always returned. We’ve shared vegetables, pickles and jelly at Christmas time. Our neighbors always buy a box (or 10) of Girl Scout cookies from our daughters. When someone can’t get home to meet their kids at the school bus on time, there is always a neighbor you can call to meet them. It takes a village, right?
A few times over the years we’ve had neighbors experience long-term illnesses. In those days we’ve made it a point to stop and visit and offer encouragement and help where we can. When someone passes, everyone gathers for the funeral and bereavement casserole dishes are dropped off in abundance. A loss is a loss to our entire community.
I’m not saying there are never disputes in a country neighborhood, there are. They are easily resolved by working together toward a common goal – making it on the farm. Some say good fences make good neighbors. We like what the Bible teaches, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It works for us in our neighborhood, no governance required.
