THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503170759
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: In the Cities
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Never underestimate the power of pasta.
In Norfolk's Bromley neighborhood, the civic league offers this recipe for community involvement: spaghetti dinners.
That, plus potluck suppers, picnics, barbecues, a Halloween party and even a Hawaiian-style luau.
The league must have whetted quite a few appetites. Only a year old on Friday, the Bromley group - with 94 paid members - already is one of the city's most active and effective neighborhood groups.
Many civic leagues have Christmas fests or annual outings. Some serve refreshments at regular meetings. But Bromley has a social - some doubling as fund-raisers - almost every month.
What? You think they must not have any real problems in Bromley; they have all this time to party.
No, the Bromley Civic League has plenty of issues - from potholes to concerns about noise, safety and traffic from nearby Norfolk International Airport.
The league has organized a crime-prevention block watch, collected petitions to get better street lights installed later this year, worked with City Hall to improve the airport buffer zone and persuaded a commercial nursery to donate more than 1,000 begonias to landscape two median strips and distribute flowers to homeowners.
But Bromley also is promoting the value of being neighborly. And that may be as important, if not more so, than civic activism.
``The bottom line in our mission is to bring this neighborhood together as a community,'' said Terry Smith, a league co-founder.
``We're trying to promote neighbors looking out for neighbors. It's important to get out to meet each other, to have a rapport.''
The civic league meets every month. Members try to have equal time for social gatherings. Rather than siphon energy from neighborhood issues, the social events seem to invigorate the community.
Smith said she and her husband, Nelson, devised the idea for social activities when the Bromley Civic League was formed. It grew from Smith's involvement with an institute whose motto was ``knowledge, leadership and fraternity.''
``Why is fraternity important to civic leagues? Folks who meet their neighbors and other members of their community start to feel they are part of the community and start to develop a sense of ownership about it.''
Many who don't get involved with civic leagues fear confrontations with other neighbors or city officials.
``People are afraid to make a commitment. They're too busy. Or, it's the fear of the unknown,'' Smith said.
``But a lot of these same people we know say they wouldn't mind doing something else to help out. So, a lot of times, if you can get them into a social organization, then once you get them out there and meet and talk with them, they understand better what the commitment involves.''
Is Bromley satisfied with its eat-and-meet activism? ``We're still going through a learning curve about what the people want,'' Smith said.
The league is becoming the envy of other neighborhood activists.
``We used to have all kinds of socials in Estabrook,'' Eloise LaBeau, president of the Norfolk Federation of Civic Leagues, said of her own neighborhood.
``Then we tried to organize a caroling party last Christmas. We had cookies and cider all ready. But four of us sat up there waiting, and no one showed up.
``Bromley will have to give me their formula because I need it.''
KEYWORDS: CIVIC LEAGUE by CNB