It's a Wonderful Town!
No, it wasn't George Bailey being helped out by his neighbors Thursday night at the Gardner Lake Firehouse---but it was like a scene from that famous movie 'It's a Wonderful Life' (starring Jimmy Stewart). In Salem, Connecticut, it's a wonderful town!
The temperature dropped, the line got longer and still they came!
The parking lot filled in, the line got longer and still they came! It was standing room only in the dining hall, and still they came! The line overflowed out into the parking lot, and still they came!
Who were 'they'? They were neighbors helping neighbors in need. They were the family of Salem helping out their brothers and sisters in need. They were the old and young, from grandparents to infants. They were people rushing home from work to make sure they didn't miss the opportunity to help out. They were classmates and next-door neighbors. They were Selectmen and former Selectmen and even a State Representative. They were school bus drivers and school teachers. They were firefighters and fire police. They were neighbors helping neighbors in need. They were the family of Salem.
What was 'it'? It was a Pasta dinner, silent auction and raffle put on by numerous community members to raise funds for our neighbors who recently loss their home to a fire. The family suffered a house fire just weeks before Christmas. There were Christmas presents for the children among other items that went up in flames.
It was Salem school students serving and waiting on tables. It was volunteer firefighters cooking and cleaning and setting up the hall and directing traffic in the bitter cold! It was townspeople showing what makes our town so special.
When was it? On a very cold night in December 2009. The temperature had dropped into the single digits. . .and it was on a school night too! Most people wouldn't have bothered coming out. The people of Salem aren't like most people.
Why bother? Well, because that's what it is all about in this small tight-knit community. In Salem, neighbors really do care. Salem is a very special place. People know one another, they care about each other. It's small towns like Salem that are the backbone of America. Yes, it really is like that here. How fortunate we are!
It's a Wonderful Town!
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