Recently, I attended the annual meeting and dinner of the Shepherdstown Community Club. It was the perfect antidote to the divisiveness of the last election. The event’s mood was one of gratitude and optimism for our town’s future.

Throughout the evening, I heard about all of the events the club had held over the past year, with the help of many volunteers.

The War Memorial Building, which had recently been a haunted house and, before that, a giant book store, was that night turned into a meeting room downstairs and a welcoming dinning room upstairs. All thanks to those same volunteers.

The dinner was delicious, and the conversation at my table, with old and new friends, was lively and enjoyable. There was not a sour note in the entire evening.

I came away with a sense of gratitude for the club’s board and members and all the volunteers, not only in the Shepherdstown Community Club, but in all of the service clubs in town.

On a broader note, I’m thankful for our town’s government, police department, fire department, churches and library, along with Shepherd University’s inclusiveness.

As often takes place in my meanderings, there is a song running through my head about, “The dear hearts and gentle people who live in my home town.”

Betty Snyder, of Shepherdstown