We Celebrate 20 Years!
/While planning for our cohousing community started in the late nineties, folks moved into the finished homes in 2001, so we chose to celebrate 20 years this fall. It was a sweet afternoon affair, a more subdued event than we might have had were we not still in a pandemic, but a momentous marker all the same.
The festivities kicked off the night before with an online trivia game. Fun competition ensued as we tested our historical and modern day knowledge of this place we’ve built and call home: How many households have lived at Cobb Hill over the years? (45-55); What was the name of the first barn cat? (Tinkerbell); Other proposed names for our community (Earth Rise). Several past community members joined us the next afternoon to share stories, poems, reflections, and celebratory toasts to 20 years.
We gathered to plant a Linden tree (Dana Meadows’ favorite), extending roots to the past and branches to the future! As we each shoveled some dirt to tuck in the new tree, we named hopes and wishes for the next 20 years, like laughter, community meals, more solar power & storage, and more.
Next, we headed up the hill, each person stopping to grab a piece or two of wood, which we ceremoniously carried to the Garn (our shared heating system). Wood is an important part of life and shared work here, providing warmth several times over in both the summer and winter (stacking, moving, stacking, feeding the Garn)!
The outdoor wood-fired oven was our next stop, with homemade breadsticks and marinara to nibble on while we shared remembrances, funny work day anecdotes, and poems.
Many former Cobb Hill children (now young adults living near and far) contributed to a VIDEO (view on YouTube) marking the occasion. They spoke about what spending part of their childhood in the community meant to them and shared some memorable moments.
Under a beautiful banner we ended with cake, bubbly, toasts, a group photo, and games on the common house porch -- we felt celebratory, indeed.
