Village

[William Salmon]

> <<My wife's hometown of Oak Park, IL, (old stomping grounds of Ernest
> Hemingway and Frank Lloyd Wright) pointedly refers to itself as a =
> "village."
> An upscale suburb of Chicago, it is a separate, incorporated =
> municipality.
> Is "village" perhaps a legal designation for certain kinds of towns in
> Illinois?-- Charles Doyle >>

Hillary Clinton, who is originally from Park Ridge, Illinois, defines
"village" in her book, IT TAKES A VILLAGE. As testimony to the ongoing
discussion, she too is a bit vague as to when and where the term is
best used:

In earlier times and places -- and until recently in our own culture --
the "village" meant an actual geographic place where individuals and
families lived and worked together. To many people the word still
conjures up a road sign that reads, "Hometown U.S.A., pop. 5,340,"
followed by emblems of the local churches and civic clubs.

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