ORGANIZING THE COMMUNITY 179 



business interests, where the buying and selling of 

 products could be carried on, and which would also 

 contain a meeting place for the farmers to discuss 

 their business problems. Where the Grange exercises 

 a real leadership in the community, it is quite possible 

 the Grange hall could be used for this purpose; al- 

 though as a rule the farmers' exchange must be at some 

 center where the farmers' business is actually carried on. 



2. The Schoolhouse. The schoolhouse surely 

 ought to be the center, at least, of all the educational 

 and cultural interests of the community. The consoli- 

 dated school lends itself to this work most admirably 

 and this is one of the main reasons why consolidated 

 schools ought to be advocated. Such a school may 

 house the community library, which unfortunately is 

 poorly developed in most farming communities. The 

 schoolhouse is the natural meeting place for study 

 clubs, for lecture courses, and for the community for- 

 ums; for extension schools and continuation schools; 

 for museums and educational exhibits. The commun- 

 ity should keep itself at school and the school should 

 serve always the educational interests of old as well 

 as young. 



3. The Community House. The community also 

 needs a sociable center, that is, a place where there will 

 be no cliques, but where all the people of the community 

 can meet for common recreation and sociable inter- 

 course. The community house is most helpful in de- 

 veloping this side of community life. It is virtually 

 a farmers' clubhouse. If the school does not furnish 

 a playground for youngsters, perhaps such a field could 

 be connected with the community house. At any rate, 

 there should be games, a motion picture equipment, 

 a stage for theatricals and musicals, a piano frankly, 



