All Things Considered by Michele Norris

Date:   9/3/2007 2:48:14 PM ( 17 y ago)

"That porch is the nosy house," she says. She points out the loud porch, the chill porch.

She says a house without a porch is boring.

"They're missing the fun that we're having out here," Powell says, before debating a friend about the merits of a porch versus a big yard -- a discussion that goes on some time.

Porches, debate and democracy go together. And it's no surprise the tradition of gracing an American home with a front porch goes back to the early days of the country's history.

This summer, All Things Considered is examining the front porch: its history, its role in American life and literature and its rich symbolism.

Porches were a necessity before air conditioning, whether it was the screened sleeping porch or the broad, columned veranda where iced tea -- and gossip -- were plentiful.

In the mid-1800s, a well-known landscape gardener named Andrew Jackson Downing began writing about his vision of the American home -- and how it could stand apart from English architecture. The porch was key.

It functions as an important "transitional space between the private world of the family and the public realm of the street," notes David Schuyler, author of a biography of Dowling.

But today, many homes don't have that transitional space, and air-conditioning, television, computers and other enticements draw people inside the home. American porch culture isn't what it used to be. Claude Stephens is trying to change that.

By day, he's education director at an arboretum in Louisville, Ky. By evening, he's known as Crow Hollister, his "porch-sitting alias." Stephens is founder of the Professional Porch Sitters Union Local 1339. The group doesn't have a motto, just a suggestion: "Sit down a spell. That can wait."

"The Professional Porch Sitters Union is about not planning anything. Anybody can call a meeting at any time, and attendance is optional," Stephens says.

Share Your Porch Story

Tell us about a treasured porch memory or what's happening on your porch this summer. We may use these stories on air or on NPR.org.

• Click Here to Send Us Your Porch Story

Professional Porch Sitters (PPS)

is an informal organization with a large and growing grassroots membership. To become a member you simply need to say you are a member and agree to sit around with friends and neighbors shooting the breeze as often as possible or practical. Preferably on a porch but that's not critical. There are no dues, no membership requirements, no mailings, no agenda, no committees, no worries. PPS believes that the radical act of sitting around sharing stories with no specific agenda is critical to building sustainable communities.

Television and air-conditioning have moved far too many people off their porches and into their homes where they quickly become isolated from their communities. We believe that sometimes the most effective course of action is to sit down and relax while sipping lemonade and sharing stories.

PPS only has one rule but it's more like a suggestion. "Sit down a spell. That can wait."

Starting your own chapter of PPS is simple. You simply declare yourself a local chapter, pick a number to represent your Local Chapter identity and then sit back with friends and neighbors to celebrate with an interesting story or two. Meetings can be called at any time by any member and attendance is optional. You are invited to communicate with PPS Headquarters but that is voluntary since no records are kept. PPS was founded on a porch in Louisville, Kentucky in 1999 but many additional chapters have been founded since then. Perhaps your chapter will be next.

We would love to hear from you if you start up a chapter, but don't sweat it if you don't. Inquiries can be addressed to:

Professional Porch Sitters Union
c/o PPS Local 1339
1339 Hull Street
Louisville, KY 40204
United States
crowblackcrow@yahoo.com

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