Cultural Cohesiveness

From the industrial revolution through the mid-1960s, the unity and perpetuation of culture was the task of a community, composed of families, churches and schools. Children grew up in a community and, more often than not, remained in that community as adults. Communities were formed along ethnic and religious lines, and the South Side Chicago community of Eddie Ryan's time was no different. Primarily Catholic, children attended their local parish grade schools, attended mass with their families every week, and, when the time came, entered one of several Catholic high schools. In this way, the children remained among their "own" kind, socialized with their own kind, married their own kind, and raised their own children as they were raised. This was Eddie Ryan's world, as he grew into adulthood, and, while it engendered criticism and some amount of cynicism, he nevertheless conformed. Eddie was part of...