A Sign of the Times... I Guess

A few weeks ago, those of us who border on the Rolling Green Golf Club awoke to signs at the entrances to the club that announced, “Private Property” and “Members and Guests Only”. This surprised us, as the golf club has been a good neighbor to those of us who surround its property, and we’ve always enjoyed a friendly relationship with the club’s members and staff. For the many years that my wife and I have lived next to the club we, along with our neighbors, have appreciated what appeared to be an informal good-neighbor policy that permitted us to walk up their entrance driveway and cut through a part of their parking lot - in order to connect our small cluster of homes off of North State Road to an adjoining neighborhood. Because of how our tiny section was developed, we are cut off from other neighborhoods and this kindness from the club allowed us to take our dogs or children on longer walks, or to simply extend the distance we could walk for exercise. While it is an inconvenience to have suddenly lost this kindness, it also feels like something more has been lost, as well.

I wasn’t born in Delaware County, and I didn’t grow up here. I lived much of my life in a different county that also surrounds the city of Philadelphia. I moved here at the urging of my second wife who is a native of Delaware County, and in the time that I have been here I have come to love living in Delco. There is a wide range of nationalities and incomes represented within the county, and yet, there seems to be an across-the-board friendliness and sense of unity among those who live here. While there are significant differences here that could and does divide other places, there is a county-wide pride in being from Delco. We all get our coffee from Wawa, order pizza from lots of good pizzerias, look forward to the holidays at Longwood Gardens, and generations of friends and families all across this county are equally passionate about our Phils, Birds, Sixers, Flyers and Union. When you walk into a Delco bar on game day (or even Delco bars in other parts of the country), you are immediately among friends. In my personal and professional life, I’ve had the privilege of travelling quite a bit, and the camaraderie of Delco is quite unique. In my mind, it sets Delco apart from most other places in the best of ways.

Because of this, the openness of the club to permit a few neighbors to use a portion of their property to get from one small cluster of homes over to a larger neighborhood and back again seemed a natural part of the county that I now call home. For us in return, when walking our dog, we always made it a point to step off of the driveway when we saw members cars and to pause if we were near a tee to wait for golfers to take their shots. We waved to members as they drove by and they consistently waved and smiled back, often stopping to ask about our dog and how she was doing. In truth, many members knew our dog’s name, but few actually knew our own. It put a smile on my face that the club seemed very aware of the community in which it existed and was so reflective of the Delco spirit. During our time living next to the club, we have only had one negative encounter with a member who reacted poorly to my wife gesturing to him to slow down when he was driving a bit too fast down the driveway. In confronting us, this member foreshadowed the new restrictive signs by telling us that “things will change” a few months back. That encounter surprised us, as we’ve had such a good rapport with members in the past, and we brushed it off as it seemed out of step with so many other past experiences with other members and staff that we’ve had the pleasure to have met. I guess we were wrong.

I want it to be very clear that Rolling Green are well within their legal rights to discourage or prevent people from entering their property. It is a private club, and their members pay handsomely to be a part of it. While I’ve experienced my share of golf clubs in which wealthy members only want to live and socialize in their own elite little bubble, Rolling Green felt like the exception. Being a part of the community and not apart from the community. However, membership changes over time and the current members may well want to enforce a new exclusiveness and a new approach to their neighbors. Importantly, I fully understand that what I am highlighting is merely a small personal disappointment that is dwarfed by the tensions and much larger issues facing the country these days. However, it concerns me when the little things that set Delco apart from anywhere else that I’ve ever lived or worked, are slowly chipped away. Because then, Delco starts to feel more and more like much of the rest of the country instead of the special place that I believe it is.

But I guess that is just a sign of the times.