ORGANIZING THE COMMUNITY 183 



THE COMMUNITY IDEA IN PRACTICE 



The idea of local community organization is not 

 merely a theory. There are many instances running 

 all through our agricultural history of entire communi- 

 ties developing all their work and life as units. In 

 more recent years almost spontaneously there have 

 sprung up community breeding plans, enterprises, co- 

 operative agencies on a community basis, and very re- 

 cently hundreds of community groups have been or- 

 ganized in many parts of the country. Just at present, 

 the farm bureau movement is urged as a fundamental 

 part of its program. 



THE COMMUNITY METHOD OF ORGANIZATION AND WORK 



The organization of an old, established community 

 presents much greater difficulties than does a new com- 

 munity where the plan can be formed and the com- 

 munity adapted to it. The possibilities of both these 

 methods may be seen by a comparison of two rather 

 well known examples Hardwick, Mass., and Dur- 

 ham, Cal. 



Hardwick was one of the very early towns to give 

 attention to organization and deserves notice because 

 it has developed the plan further than many. It is an 

 admirable instance of a rural community which has or- 

 ganized on the lines laid down in this book, and an ex- 

 perience of nearly six years has justified the plan; it is 

 worthy of a much longer description than can be 

 spared for its effort in these pages. It is a distinctively 

 rural agricultural town with something over 100 farm- 

 ers. It has, of course, the advantage of good local 

 leaders. 



The local organizations came together for mutual 



