There is an interesting corollary to news that one more glimpse of Chester's past is disappearing.
They gathered last week for the final meeting of Lodge No. 236 Free and Accepted Masons.
The lodge soon will merge with a group in Concord. The Masonic Temple, which has stood at the corner of Ninth and Welsh streets in Chester for more than a century, will be shuttered and eventually sold.
The reasons are familiar. People simply aren't joining these kinds of groups any more.
It's the second story this week in which we have noted a crumbling sense of community.
The state recently issued a report warning of a looming "crisis" in emergency services due to the drastic decline in volunteer firefighters. A few years back, there were 300,000 volunteer firefighters in Pennsylvania. Today that number has dwindled to about 38,000.
The same thing is happening with fraternal organizations.
It's not just the Masons. Other groups such as Rotary, Lions and Optimists also are reporting declining memberships.
I was struck by the comments of Charles S. Monteith Sr. He's the Most Excellent High Priest of Chester Chapter Royal Arch No. 258.
He focused on something I've been wondering about now for years.
"This generation doesn't want to come out," he said. "If they don't start coming together they're going to lose not just us but the fire houses as well."
He pointed out the finger at technology and smartphones - things that were supposed to help us communicate and bring us together - which are actually making us more isolated.
He won me over when he mentioned the rapid spread of air-conditioned houses.
"Everybody stopped sitting out front - you lost a little bit of the neighborliness," Monteith said.
We talk about it on today's editorial page.
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