Just how does a community keep its balance?

The answer can be given to you by a fiddler on a roof: “Tradition!”

In our page 1 story on the new mural of Lucy Slagham Gerand unveiled at Chautauqua Elementary School, readers learn about a historian of the s ̌xwəbabs people, who resided on Vashon for millennia long before successive groups came to inhabit this place.

Gerand documented the history of the Swift Water People and their forced removal from the island. Recognizing her is a act against oppression and the pernicious evils of white colonialist supremacy. It teaches our children the value of standing tall, speaking truth to power and holding onto the stories of our ancestors.

Now that’s a good tradition.

This week’s paper also celebrates more recent traditions, including the centennial celebration of scouting on Vashon. To shepherd an organization through 100 years of change is no small feat. And the values instilled in scouts — including honesty, kindness, respect for the outdoors and hard work — align perfectly with the values that islanders try to live up to every day.

Islanders last week commemorated a more solemn tradition on Sept. 11, when Vashon Island Fire & Rescue marked another year since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The value of such commemorations is not in the rote recitation of platitudes about how awful that day was. It’s in remembering the very real people who lost their lives to save others, and in pondering how we build a better world where such attacks never happen again. Those are lessons that carry over to our little island in the sea.

In other words, once again, we say: “Tradition!”

Though they often seem to have already existed forever, we can always create new traditions, too. Take the Passport2Pain ride, which completed its 14th year last weekend.

This ride raises money for island efforts, primarily the Vashon Island Rowing Club, and brings together a community of hard-working athletes who want to test their physical and mental fortitude.

For us cheeky bicycle riders, there’s also a devious satisfaction in forcing the motorists of the world to slow down, share the road and focus on driving safely.

We give two thumbs down, however, to the miscreant or miscreants who painted erroneous and misleading directions on the highway ahead of last weekend’s ride, which organizer Pat Call informed The Beachcomber about this week.

That kind of action is no prank. P2P brings hundreds of bicyclists to the narrow, winding roads of Vashon, which are obscured by foliage and bereft of bike lanes. Confusing riders raises the risk of a collision, which could result in injury or even death — not to mention the risk of dissuading interest in a long-running community event and fundraiser.

Luckily, those incorrect directions did little to disrupt this now beloved annual event on Vashon.

Not all traditions are worth keeping — as our progressive, forward-looking community no doubt knows.

Let’s toss out the traditions that reinforce rigid gender roles, bigoted stereotypes and disastrous environmental or societal policies. And let’s reinforce the traditions that promote fellow-feeling, silly fun and sober reflections on how to be a better society.

That’s tradition that works for the papas, the mamas, the sons, the daughters, and everyone else.