Some Pop Warner and high-school programs, particularly in wealthier communities, have diminished or shut down.
But while the size of the Polish community has diminished, the pride of those who remain has not.
In his memory, Spring Valley Memorial Park was vibrant and diverse, crowded with "super-duper-sweaty bodies under floodlights" and filled with "the sound of sneakers shrieking on the concrete". Now, he says, fewer people play there, and its central role in the community has diminished.
Ms. Ferree added that while she supported the quilt, she believed its place in the AIDS community had diminished in part because it was so large that it was rarely seen in its entirety.
Explaining why he left the Court of Claims, Mr. Mega said, "I think I can do more in the State Senate than by remaining a judge". He said that he believed service to the community had diminished since the seat fell into Democratic hands.
People's social skills and sense of community have diminished rapidly".
Over the summer when I launched one campaign a month, I could tell the Kickstarter community had diminished as pledges towards my campaigns seemed distant compared to the excitement around pledging for a campaign just two years ago.
The extent to which the community's standing has diminished is indicated by the fatalistic perception that this is some divine curse and the significance is marked by the conflation of two core tenets of Afar life, God and pastoral culture, symbolically represented by milk, to make some sense of this unfurling tragedy.
But residents also say the sense of community present 40 years ago has diminished.
Many of Chicago's black political figures, despite seeing one of their own become the nation's first black president, say the community's local clout has diminished considerably in the generation since Harold Washington was the first black mayor.
