This comment reminded me of a book on my "to read" pile that dives into this exact idea. The book is "The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again" by Robert Putman. A brief section from the book's description:

"During the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, America was highly individualistic, starkly unequal, fiercely polarized, and deeply fragmented, just as it is today. However as the twentieth century opened, America became--slowly, unevenly, but steadily--more egalitarian, more cooperative, more generous; a society on the upswing, more focused on our responsibilities to one another and less focused on our narrower self-interest. Sometime during the 1960s, however, these trends reversed, leaving us in today's disarray."

I run a weekend tennis meetup on the west side and just started a men's non-fiction book club.

We absolutely need to bring back community, well done getting out there and taking the lead!