Whatever happened to the front porch? Why are nearly all post World War II homes built without one? Most of the older homes that have front porches were most likely built before the Great Depression. During the 30s, few new homes were built, and World War II saw virtually no homes being built at all.

I don’t know about you, but if you have ever experienced living in a home that had a front porch, you just might share my sad feelings about its demise. Front porches made us neighborly. It seems that front porches of that bygone era sat much closer to the sidewalk and street, so it was an easy thing to speak to passersby. And, of course, they weren’t busily using their latest electronic devices. We could also talk across to our next door neighbor and learn all the latest gossip. Houses were built closer together back then.

In the early spring many of the home owners would put up beautiful striped canvas awnings ours were orange and green which added a festive touch to the neighborhood. The gray-painted wood porch floors were scrubbed clean of the winter’s soot and dirt. Potted plants would be put out on the railings, and cushions would come out of storage to place on the gliders, rocking chairs, and swings.

How nice it was to sit out there on a swing or a rocking chair and look up and down the street and see what somebody is doing pretty far away from your vantage point. Darning socks, crocheting, sewing a new quilt, reading the newspaper and just watching the goings-on of the neighborhood were great pastimes for the adults. They were sort of baby sitters for the neighborhood. Who was it that said, “It takes a village?” You know.

It was so nice to lie down on the cushioned glider for a nap. Bees and flies and other bugs would buzz about, checking the potted plants and you. The sounds of kids playing in the street would lull you to sleep. Add a soft summer rain and it became absolutely mesmerizing.

Inevitably, kids’ wagons, tricycles, bicycles and toys would occupy the far end of the porch. That is, if the kids remembered to bring their stuff in instead of leaving them out in the yard. And the front porch offered shelter for the kids who were playing. They could continue their play without interruption by moving their games to the front porch when it rained.

I took some courses in sociology in college, but I never learned from those experiences what this front porch deletion means in social terms. One time, when I was working at Packard Electric, I had to host an Irish engineer who was here to share his engineering knowledge. He had been in Warren long enough to witness our change of seasons, which was similar to his. He was appalled at what happens here when the cold weather sets in. People would simply disappear. They went indoors for the duration of the cold weather, sticking their noses out only when necessary.

Years ago people used to be outdoors year round, talking, intermingling, sharing chores and gossip mostly from their front porches. Kids seemed oblivious to the cold and they had fun without direct adult supervision. I believe this engendered a hardiness in them that fomented our Greatest Generation.

This trend toward indoorsmanship could very well be caused by the deletion of the socially important front porch. We’re much more comfortable now. We have air conditioning and gas heat. We don’t have to go down into the cellar to stoke the coal in the furnace or get another shovelful or two from the coal bin. We have time-eating computers and electronics. Television keeps us staring at it even if the program is banal and, most likely, a repeat of something we had seen before. Why go outdoors?

Taking a look at my home almost inspires me to build a front porch now. But, it would be expensive. And I wouldn’t be able to share talk with others nearby, because they would have no front porches. Besides, everybody disappears when it gets cold.

Mumford, of Warren, is a community columnist. Email him at columns@tribtoday.com.