The Wisdom of Salamon

One incredible book that sits on my desk at Village Hall to be read and reread is Professor Sonya Salamon's "Newcomers to Old Towns." Dr. Salamon is an anthropologist at the University of Illinois in Champaign. What Sonya has done is study six rural Illinois communities to evaluate what happens to them when they are impacted by growth.

She also looks to explain how these affected communities adapt and change under growth pressure. What works, and what doesn't? What's good about growth, and what's bad?

In each community, Professor Salamon analyzes four critical dimensions of growth. First, how is the community transformed in its creation and use of "public places and spaces?" Second, are there "interconnections" across the community that link residents together? Third, is there "equal access" to the community's social resources? And, finally, how does the community display "cross-aged relations" and value it's youth?

I believe these are extremely important observations that can and should be applied to Elburn. In fact, I believe that 20 years from now this is how we will be judged in relation to our handling of the growth headed Elburn's way.

Did we build public places? Did we promote interconnections? Did we provide equal access? What did we do for the kids?

Wow! That's a lot to take in. But, isn't it interesting that the possibility of building a family aquatic center in Elburn is a positive match with each of these critical questions? Now, that's the "Wisdom of Salamon!"