posted by Mike Madison at 10:58 AM /
From the editor's letter in the September Mt. Lebanon magazine, reflecting on a feature about current residents who are descendants of the families that helped to found the town:
I paused when I read that sentence. Does Mt. Lebanon today really have a "common culture"? If it does, does that culture have a foundation in the founding families of a century ago?
Here's my Labor Day provocation: I think that -- to a growing extent -- the answers are no, and no.
The editor's letter doesn't really characterize the "common culture," but there are hints. Read the letter for yourself (hard-working, friendly, neighborly, community-oriented, involved, etc., etc., are the descriptors). I don't think that there is much there (or here) that you can't find in thousands of towns across the United States, particularly those with the high education and income levels that we have here. There's not much here that you can't find elsewhere.
A hundred years ago, this area was still largely agricultural -- except for the nearby mining communities. But little of the true agricultural ethos (stubborn, even obsessive, self-reliance, and an impressive -- but surface -- neighborliness) remains. I suspect that Mt. Lebanon's true modern roots are younger: Fifty years ago, even twenty years ago, Mt. Lebanon may have been so characterized by an elite, white, management-oriented social structure that its "common culture" was easily identified. Today, I think -- I hope -- that the range of colors, ethnicities, ages, professions, religions (or absence of religions), and family structures represented in Mt. Lebanon has grown by leaps and bounds, even if not all of that range is as visible in the community as it might be elsewhere. But that's changing, and in a good way. True, neighbors are genuinely friendly to one another (most of the time), and we all take a special interest in the safety and well-being of local kids. And those are great things. Beyond that, though, I like the subtle but growing cultural "diversity" that we find here. Mt. Lebanon ain't as quaint, you might say, as it used to be.
Have a great Labor Day.
How interesting it must be to think that the values, habits and traditions of their families and a handful of other early settlers formed the foundation of the common culture that characterizes Mt. Lebanon.
I paused when I read that sentence. Does Mt. Lebanon today really have a "common culture"? If it does, does that culture have a foundation in the founding families of a century ago?
Here's my Labor Day provocation: I think that -- to a growing extent -- the answers are no, and no.
The editor's letter doesn't really characterize the "common culture," but there are hints. Read the letter for yourself (hard-working, friendly, neighborly, community-oriented, involved, etc., etc., are the descriptors). I don't think that there is much there (or here) that you can't find in thousands of towns across the United States, particularly those with the high education and income levels that we have here. There's not much here that you can't find elsewhere.
A hundred years ago, this area was still largely agricultural -- except for the nearby mining communities. But little of the true agricultural ethos (stubborn, even obsessive, self-reliance, and an impressive -- but surface -- neighborliness) remains. I suspect that Mt. Lebanon's true modern roots are younger: Fifty years ago, even twenty years ago, Mt. Lebanon may have been so characterized by an elite, white, management-oriented social structure that its "common culture" was easily identified. Today, I think -- I hope -- that the range of colors, ethnicities, ages, professions, religions (or absence of religions), and family structures represented in Mt. Lebanon has grown by leaps and bounds, even if not all of that range is as visible in the community as it might be elsewhere. But that's changing, and in a good way. True, neighbors are genuinely friendly to one another (most of the time), and we all take a special interest in the safety and well-being of local kids. And those are great things. Beyond that, though, I like the subtle but growing cultural "diversity" that we find here. Mt. Lebanon ain't as quaint, you might say, as it used to be.
Have a great Labor Day.
3 Comments:
Mike,
I think you are being a little too tough on Susan Fleming Morgans. As the editor of the municipality funded MtL Magazine she isn't in a position to be a tough critic of the cultural landscape of Mt. Lebanon. It's simply not her job.
You have a point about how the community spirit probably doesn't come directly from the agricultural past, but more likely from what's happened in the last 60 years. But considering that the cover story was about the Smiths, one of the founding families, I'm willing to cut Susan some slack for trying to tie together some themes that she sees as common between the past and the present.
Your right, Mt. Lebanon isn't unique. As you say, similar communities can be found in a thousand other places in America. But that doesn't mean that it's common. Very few places I've lived come close to being as hospitable, educated, friendly and community minded as Mt. Lebanon is.
I enjoy Mt. Lebanon magazine, and this last issue is better than most. But I don't think you can expect too much criticism of the municipality from the magazine. It is what it is, and when constructive criticism is needed, let's look to the transcripts of board meetings, the newspaper and hopefully, to Blog-Lebo.
I, too, thought that this issue of the magazine was pretty good. But I'm not looking for tough criticism; I think that the magazine can be in the business of boosting the town while more faithfully describing it. "Look how far we've come from our modest roots" is just as interesting an angle on the Smiths as "Look how little has changed," and in my judgment, it's more accurate, and makes Mt. Lebanon more atttractive to newcomers.
Is Mt. Lebanon uncommon? That's a different question. I've lived in a number of places that have similar -- not identical -- combinations of neighborliness and education. What's unusual here is the comparatively low cost of living in Mt. Lebanon.
Mt. Lebanon is bourgeois and pretentious, if that's what you mean by "common culture".
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