The Demise of American Social Organizations and the Dynamics Therein

The Demise of American Social Organizations and their Dynamics

Once upon a time in the early 1980's I was working for the Yamaha Electronics Rep and was asked to speak at the BMW Club of Maryland in Columbia.  The topic was their new Car Stereo line, and I was excited by the prospect of meeting cool car / bike enthusiasts of that venerable vehicle.

Shocked I was that - upon surveying the parking lot - not a single member of this established club still owned a BMW!  Apparently the membership had retained a love for each other that outlasted the affair with BMWs.

Years later I had a flirtation with a social and benevolent club in Tawneytown, MD.  They had a longstanding membership, with many senior members, located in a cornfield on a hill.  They had a dance hall, presentation facility, bar, pool tables, restaurant, etc.... And they clearly had seen better days. 

In the small cities of Maryland, many have a large choice of social clubs to pick from.  Owl's, Amvets, Redman's, and about 6 more....but in cities, they were even further behind the curve.  Potential members stay away in droves, playing on the laptop instead of socializing, or simply not wanting to go out.

So, most membership in cities has been decimated by a combination of overpopulation by many choices in clubs, and by the ever changing socializing patterns of the younger generations...

The clubs that are still open are highly challenged to boost their memberships.  What do they offer?  Drinks?  Every street corner seems to offer that already.... pool?  Elks, Amvets, Moose, and others already dilute that... and the existing memberships have been there awhile.  They have already picked their friends, and outreach is something that just doesn't work.  Older members clique with older members.  Newbies pick right up on that...... and try but once...

So, when a membership drops from the many thousands to the few hundreds, what happens?  Money runs out, so the frills run out, so the attract-ability runs down. The last ones using the clubs are typically ones with no other place to go, no recourse, or they have just given up on attracting new members.  Downward spiral goes out of control, and soon bills don't get paid.

So when - even out of a sense of nostalgia - kids visit a social club and find that they are already DOA and crusty beyond salvage.  The end of an era in Maryland.

Time marches on.....

          --Steven R. Berryman.