Life in Victor

Welcome to my column.  I am one of your neighbors in Victor and I live with my husband Steve, my kids Anders and Margo, and my collection of pets.

I moved from the City of Rochester to the Village of Victor 13 years ago.  Villages are like small cities.  The houses are closer together, so neighbors get closer.  People walk by my house and exchange greetings.  There is always someone around when you need them.

I loved our house when we drove in the driveway- even before we toured the house- and I fell in love with the Village of Victor.

After college, I have volunteered in my community and I’ve never stopped- even back when I had a baby on my hip.  I have learned so much and met so many Victor residents over the years by just getting out there and pitching in.  Volunteers are my favorite people- they are always kind and can always find the time to help in their busy schedules.  A community cannot sustain itself with out volunteers.

What is a community?  In the dictionary, it states that it is “a group of interdependent people inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other”.

Somehow that definition seems to undervalue our lives together. The Sociologist M. Scott Peck has a description of what a community is that appeals to me and seems to explain a more in-depth theory.  “Community is … composed of individuals, families and institutions that are originators and encouragers of systems, agencies and organizations working together with a common purpose for the welfare of people.” 

So, I decided to go out into the community to ask residents what community means to them.

Who would have more experience about community than Jack Marren, our Town Supervisor? He told me “My athletic background and volunteer experience” shaped my view of what is Community.  “People are so busy in their lives. My wife Linda and I get a great satisfaction giving back to the community.  Linda is a caregiver at Serenity House and I volunteer my time to help out with the community sports groups and booster clubs.”

M. Scott Peck continues on to say “It is a composition of diverse interacting participants that are achieving unity in an unremitting quest for spiritual and social progress.” 

Helen Balicki is a Resident Manager for the Ontario ARC house on High Street. “I feel that we are part of the community.  Despite differences in all of us, volunteering and showing respect to others enriches the community.” 

So basically, M. Scott Peck is saying that a community is a group of individuals- neighbors- who have learned how to communicate honestly with each other. These relationships go deeper than their masks of composure. They have developed some significant commitment to celebrate and mourn together, and to enjoy each other’s company.  They also help to make sure their neighbor’s life is equal to their own.

And why is this important? It is so that every human being can flourish in an Egalitarian or equal environment and become a thriving, vibrant, sustainable community that will improve everyone's quality of life.  What a wonderful description of our lives together.

I asked Dominic Calabrese, who owns The Taste of Italy what he thought about Community.  “The more you give, the more you get.  My mother was rushed to the emergency room just this weekend, so I couldn’t be here to open the Deli the next morning.  One of my regular customers opened the shop for me, picked up the bread and ran it until my staff was able to get there- for two mornings.”  His story speaks for itself.

What makes our towns special?  Every week I will explore what community is in our towns of Victor, Farmington and the hamlet of Fishers.  We will go to places and meet people that have used their strength, compassion, and love to make up who we are- a community.