Thousand Oaks Residents Taking Six Degrees Of Separation Hobby To The Maps

Don Cameron can remember studying atlas’ when he was a child living in Montana. He’s always had a fascination with geography and the six degrees of separation concept. Now that he’s retired, he’s sharing his unique hobby with 500 of his University Village Thousand Oaks neighbors in what’s being called, “The Mapping Project.”

After moving to the senior living community four years ago, he found the backgrounds of his neighbors diverse, with many of them coming from around the world. He was interested in seeing where all his neighbors were originally from and formed the Mapping Committee. The group of residents spent weeks tracking where each of the 500 residents were born. 

The group takes that information and pins the exact locations on five different maps – LA County, World, U.S., New York and Chicago. The eye-catching maps are now displayed in wood cabinets that a resident built by hand, and they’ll be updated twice a year.

Because of the maps, many residents have connected with old neighbors and even high school classmates. Don says he was surprised with how many of the residents were from the Northern States and even from overseas, with seven residents from Sweden and six of them from Germany. The Mapping Project has proven to be an eye-opening project for Don and his fellow neighbors.

The mapping project was just completed this summer. Would you be interested in seeing the display, talking with Don about his hobby and how it’s brought people together? If so, contact me, Dave Dunn at [email protected]

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