The Loss of Community

Since arriving on Prince Edward Island a little over a month ago, I must say that I see so much change that has occurred over the last decade. Right now, there is a ton of building happening as the population has increased by close to 30% in a few short years. Alongside of all that building, there is also the loss of some of the more traditional PEI architecture as some of the smaller, older houses are removed to make way for the new and larger structures. So, it is the mark of progress. Like the rest of Canada, the real estate market has exploded and there has been a terrific influx of people of all nationalities. However, these are not the things that I want to discuss for this particular blog. While I suspect that these are forces that may factor into what I am going to discuss, the trends of my discussion were already underway before the real estate and immigration explosion of the last 5 or 6 years.

Along with the loss of many of the older houses, PEI has also been losing many of the country churches - both large and small. Growing up, there were numerous churches and graveyards that dotted the countryside. Now, as I drive through many of those same communities, those churches have closed their doors as the final hymns have been sung, and have now been demolished, moved, or converted to housing or other uses. Someone may argue that it means that Christianity and religion have little place in the current society. I am not one to debate matters of religion. To me, the loss of the churches is a symbol of the loss of community.

Even for the “non-religious”, our lives are set up to be in line with the religious celebrations, such as Christmas and Easter. After all, those are both statutory holidays here in Canada. Churches usually see an increase in attendance for those celebrations, plus an increase on Thanksgiving weekend. These are the days when people gather with their families and go out to social functions as a family unit.

In the days before radio and television, and long before the internet and Facebook, people gathered together with their families and other people in the local community on a regular basis. Outside of the church service, there were other social activities that arose through the association of church members - groups and activities for youth, for women, and for music, such as choir. There were ice cream socials, Easter breakfasts, camping events for church members, and other fellowship opportunities. People came together at the church to celebrate births through baptism, weddings, and the inevitable deaths through funerals. These were the times when the community came together to provide and support and to just be a part of each others’ lives.

In addition to the churches, there were smaller one room schools, and small community halls. Plays, parties of various descriptions (thinking of the card parties and crokinole parties), and other non-church community groups used these venues as a way to gather, to connect and come together.

The small schools on PEI have long since closed. The 1970s saw the amalgamation into larger central schools. The school that my father and his siblings attended, and the one that I would have attended if the amalgamation had happened several years later, Spring Valley School, was sold and converted into a house. Other schools suffered similar fates and much like the churches, some were demolished, fell down from neglect, or hauled away for other uses, in addition to being converted into a house or a cottage.

So, the small community schools are gone. The halls have been disappearing. And, so are the churches.

This comes to the crux of this post. In addition to the loss of the gathering places and the activities that sprang out of the community associations, PEI also lost their newspapers. The Guardian in Charlottetown and the Journal-Pioneer in Summerside were bought by the company that owns the Chronicle Herald in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and are now published with a much reduced frequency. The company has been experiencing financial difficulties for the last five years and is now in danger of closing, which will also impact the remnants of The Guardian and The Journal-Pioneer.

Over time, the threads that tie everyone together into a community have slowly been cut. As humans, we are not meant to be solo creatures. “Social relationships, including friendships, can impact individuals’ well-being by boosting happiness and self-esteem, and by providing support and companionship across the lifespan.” (Sherman, et al., 2000) Therefore, it is critical to our health and well being for us to spend time with each other and to connect. The loss of the local churches, schools, halls, and newspapers are a significant blow to community connection on Prince Edward Island.

I ran into two ladies last week that I went to both regular school and Sunday school/church growing up. We were talking about dwindling church attendance and the loss of community. I asked the question, “Is there another way that picnics, and other gatherings have been happening?” They both said that those have now disappeared.

So, how has this loss of community happened? Can it be reversed? Should it be reversed?

The rise of technology has been significant. It has meant that people can communicate without leaving the comfort of their bedroom. No longer does the loneliness alarm that goes off in a person’s head, drive the person to physically leave the house to seek other people. Connecting through technology is a “false” connection in that you are communicating, and even seeing a person, but it does not allow you to feel the energy of another person’s physical presence. Each person has an energy field that can only be felt when you are in the same physical location. It is one of the reasons why a Zoom or a Teams call can feel so frustrating and less than satisfying. We need to feel other people’s energies to feel connected.

On PEI, I would also say that the nature of work has changed, which has inadvertently impacted some of the community social activities. When I was growing up, most of my classmates’ parents had small family farms, fishing boats, or some other smaller self-employed enterprise. A lot of my friends’ mothers stayed home and were more likely to work part time or work in support of the family enterprise. Now, most of those family farms have disappeared. Agriculture is largely done by larger enterprises, including large corporations such as Cavendish Farms. People are more likely to be employed outside of the home. This makes it more difficult to participate in, or to volunteer to support community driven events, such as a community picnic.

With such a shortage of “free” time outside of work, people are looking to spend that limited time with activities that feel meaningful to them, along with spending time with their family who they may not have had time to connect with during the work week, and catching up with the chores of life, such as laundry. Community engagement activities, and involvement with the community groups needs to feel worthwhile for those individuals to place a priority on participation in such events and organisations.

Additionally, more attention should be drawn to the declining community vibe. There needs to be an educational dialogue on the benefits of community connection on health for all members of an individual’s family. People should be encouraged to participate in community events and volunteer to make such events happen as well as be encouraged to help each other out. As humans, we not only need the support of others, but we also need to feel connected by reciprocating.

Times are changing. And much has changed on Prince Edward Island, but the loss of community and the loss of interpersonal connection is alarming. For everyone’s sake, this needs to be reversed. However, for it to be reversed, everyone will need to come together to make that happen.

References:

Attree, P., French, B., Milton, B., Povall, S., Whitehead, M., & Popay, J. (2010). The experience of community engagement for individuals: a rapid review of evidence. Health &Amp; Social Care in the Community, 19(3), 250-260. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2524.2010.00976.x

Achat, H., Kawachi, I., Levine, S., Berkey, C., Coakley, E., & Colditz, G. (1998). Social networks, stress and health-related quality of life. Quality of Life Research, 7(8), 735-750. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1008837002431

Schaefer, C., Coyne, J. C., & Lazarus, R. S. (1981). The health-related functions of social support. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4(4), 381-406. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00846149

Sherman AM, de Vries B, Lansford JE. (2000). Friendship in Childhood and Adulthood: Lessons across the Life Span. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development. 51(1):31-51. doi:10.2190/4QFV-D52D-TPYP-RLM6