Plenty, if Saluda’s Intergenerational Dialogue held May 6 at Saluda Baptist Church is any indication. Conducted by author Dr. James V. Gambone of Minnesota, the dialogue brought together five generations of Saluda citizens. Representatives from all five generations took part in panel discussions, the group was broken into teams composed of representatives from each generation and race.

During a working lunch, the teams were asked to develop ways in which trust, between diverse people in Saluda, could be increased; develop recommendations for how to teach respect for differences in the community; develop recommendations for how to involve the senior citizens from all races and cultures in the Saluda School system; and develop activities that would increase communication and connection between people in the five living generations in Saluda.

Here are some of the suggestions:

How could trust between diverse people in Saluda be increased?
• Have more intergenerational dialogues.
• Use the computer as a tool to bridge the gap between the young and old.
• Book clubs—having different generations and different races read the same book and share their interpretations.
• Establish foreign language and culture training.
• Have a Prom/Dance to include all generations (while at the dance each generations is challenged throughout the event to dance with someone from each of the other generations).
• Have a cross cultural exchange of pulpits within the churches.
• Create monthly articles and interviews for the newspaper about the various generations and cultures in our community.

How can we teach respect for differences in our community?
• Expand the concept of Farm-City Week to show the various cultures in our community.
• Provide workshops for resolution and commitment.
• Schedule a time for teens to talk and their elders to listen; schedule another time for elders to talk and the teens to listen.
• Provide a curriculum of character education for each church in the community and have each pastor, on the same Sunday throughout the community, share this character information.
• Establish a cultural relations committee for the community.
• Re-establish people meeting together in homes of different races just to talk.

How can we involve more senior citizens from all ages and cultures in our school system?
• Establish Senior Citizens Day at the schools.
• Establish a mentoring program to include seniors.
• Create a Speakers Bureau/Community Wisdom Bank of the careers, talents and hobbies of seniors in the community.
• Have Lunch Buddies who are seniors at school.
• Establish a youth suggestion box at the schools and/or in the churches asking youth what they need, to have better relations with seniors.
• Establish a public relations committee to get the various generations together through churches, civic organizations and school.
• Have a Learning Day at school where students teach seniors about topics such as basic computer skills/basic internet use.
• Honor seniors at special sports events.
• Have students to serve lunch at the Council on Aging site.

What specific activities would increase communications and connections between people from all living generations in Saluda?
• Have a community cook out.
• Have an intergenerational talent show.
• Establish an event of story telling time from all generations.
• Have people of different backgrounds to serve in the pulpit of churches on special days.
• Have a Fiesta, where all share various foods, talents and cultural information.
• Organize a church revival that involves all denominations and churches.
• Organize an Intergenerational Cultural Festival with a family focus.
• Encourage government leaders to participate in Intergenerational Dialogues.

After studying his notes from the meeting, Gambone observed, “All of the small groups wanted to continue the intergenerational dialogue in some form over the coming months. It was the consensus that smaller circles or workshops with outside facilitators is a good strategy to work with diverse groups. It was also an overall consensus that the churches in the community needed to take a more active role in promoting intentional intergenerational relations and better racial and cultural understanding.”

While some of the suggestions at the meeting will take planning and resources, one suggestion, to help make Saluda a better place to live, is very simple: “Say hello and smile at people on the street and make a point to talk to people from different generations.”