Whitcomb Garden is the type of neighborhood in which you can call ANY neighbor in a time of need and they'll come running.
Before I even moved in, I was invited to someone's courtyard party with all the neighbors on the street. It was at that gathering that the concept of a truly unique neighborhood was launched. The hosts accumulated all our names, street numbers, phone numbers, and, most importantly, our email addresses. Then, they developed a contact list and distributed it to every condo owner on the street. Eventually, they added an emergency contact for each resident too. We each created two comprehensive lists in our email accounts. One was a group of every resident on the street and the other was a listing of just the women on the street. The listing was continually updated meticulously by a woman who moved away a few years ago, but another computer whiz offered to carry on the tradition. In the 13 years that I've been living on Whitcomb Garden, exactly half of the 26 units have changed hands, but our directories are always current.
When I finally moved in, I sent an email to all the women on the street inviting them to a meeting at my house to strategize activities that we'd like to create for just the women. We decided upon a monthly book club and a monthly "Ladies' Night Out" to a restaurant on the South Shore or the Cape. In the past 13 years, three different women have organized "Ladies' Nights Out," each voluntarily serving in the role for a number of years.
Sometimes, a group of men gather at a different restaurant the same night that the women go out. Another woman volunteered to keep track of our book club gatherings. She has established an ongoing listing of every book club host, the title/author of the book each host chose, as well as the month and year of her book club.
The listing has been updated and distributed by the same organized neighbor for the past 13 years, so each of us can tell you each book we've read as well as the month and year that we read it! A thoughtful woman offered to create a "Sunshine Fund" to which we voluntarily donate money that's used for gifts and gift certificates to acknowledge condolences, health problems, and recoveries. The same woman has handled soliciting funds and choosing appropriate gifts since the "Sunshine Fund" was originated.
Over the years, the women have also contributed time and money to The Pajama Program and purchased backpacks for needy Plymouth students.
We also have a patriotic fairy godmother whom no one has ever seen. Unannounced, on each Memorial Day and Fourth of July, she secretly plants countless little flags in front of each condominium as well as at the street entrance. They proudly infuse the neighborhood with patriotism. Come visit—it's a heartwarming sight to see!
During the early years, we frequently had courtyard parties. They were easy to organize because all you had to do was send out an email announcement to all the neighbors. In more recent years, there are fewer courtyard parties, but generally there are three to four gatherings hosted by one of the residents, often for special occasions like the Kentucky Derby or a holiday. On a nice weekend this summer, someone spontaneously invited everyone on the street to a courtyard party the following evening, and there were more than 20 attendees!
The women go on a field trip each fall as well. A woman on the street is a member of The Hyannis Yacht Club, and every September she invites the women to go out to lunch at the scenic restaurant on the Hyannis Harbor. The lunches are superb, as are the views.
The pandemic triggered ideas for safely getting together. Almost every night, we each brought our own lawn chair and met in someone's driveway for "6 at 5." That means six feet apart at 5 p.m.! There was no loneliness during the pandemic on Whitcomb Garden; however, there was much sadness because five people on the street passed away during the first year of the pandemic, although none of them died due to COVID. Following three of those deaths, we held celebrations of the deceased's life outdoors. At the end of that year of loss, several people worked together to plant a memorial garden of daffodils that sprout up each spring.
What's most remarkable is that every task has been voluntarily taken on by a neighbor. There's never pressure to take on a task or participate in any activities. Furthermore, each new neighbor is quickly welcomed into our community as soon as he/she/they move in. One new couple moved in a few weeks ago, and the first weekend they were here, before the neighborhood directory was updated, the woman who'd spontaneously decided to have a party knocked on their door and invited them, and they came!
Another convenience of having an email list is that you can solicit recommendations from your neighbors for everything from plumbers to cardiologists. Sometimes, a neighbor sends an email to everyone to alert them to a problem such as nails in their driveways after the roofers leave. Now and then, someone sends an email asking if anyone wants to join them for a social activity.
So, that's what it takes to mold a street of 26 condos into a community and not just a bunch of dwellings. The reputation of Whitcomb Garden's residents embracing neighbors has spread. One woman even chose to buy a condo on Whitcomb Garden because she read an article I wrote about it. It's the type of neighborhood in which you can call ANY neighbor in a time of need and they'll come running. Our sense of unity and our traditions have endured because we treasure the community we created, we lead by example, and we immediately welcome each new condo owner into the fold. If you attended one of our activities and observed the group's interactions, you'd be hard pressed to figure out which residents have lived here all 13 years and which ones are newcomers. There are no cliques. Once someone moves to Whitcomb Garden, they're automatically a member of a thriving community. – Nancy M. Sheehan, Whitcomb Garden
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