It's one of the city's oldest civic groups, closing in on its 140th birthday. Members meet once a month to talk about the good old days in Brooklyn, which many of them see as better than today. Brooklyn Reporter Jeanine Ramirez has the story:

Nostalgia brings together these men and women once a month.

They call themselves the SOBs - affectionately of course. It's shorthand for the name of their group, the Society of Old Brooklynites.

"The SOBs, the Society of Old Brooklynites, it's a love of the place that we live and work, Brooklyn, and the wonderful rich history that this borough has," says member Ron Schweiger. 

Formed in 1880, when Brooklyn was its own city, the Society of Old Brooklynites is one of the oldest civic groups around. To join, prospective members must prove they have lived in the borough for 25 years. 

Each month, the society meets to talk about a pre-selected topic - Brooklyn-centric, naturally.

At its April meeting, the group quickly took care of some formal business ...

"Are there mominations for reelection to the board of directors?"

...before they reached the main agenda item for the night: A discussion of the trolleys that once criss-crossed the borough. 

"You're hitching on the back of a trolley and you think it's going to go past your stop, you put your arm up and pull the cord and it disconnects from the wire overhead," says George Broadhead, the society's president. 

"You have experience with that?" he is asked. 

"Yes, that's what we did as young boys."

Naturally, the talk eventually moved to their beloved Brooklyn Dodgers -- the team was named after Brooklynites who dodged trolleys. 

"And they called them 'Dem Bums.' D-E-M Bums," one member said.

Members point with pride to notables like poet Walt Whitman and former mayor Seth Lowe, who were past presidents of the society. 

They say the organization rose to prominence fighting Brooklyn's consolidation with New York City, known as the Great Mistake of 1898, especially among this group. 

"Practically everybody I know believes that," says Treasurer Sherman Silverman.

But what about Brooklyn's resurgence as the capital of cool, and not one but two professional sports teams?

"You really want the truth?" says member Constance Lesold. "The old Brooklyn was better." 

Adds member Bob Diamond, "Yeah, we want the developers' money - but on our terms." Meaning that long-time residents not be displaced.

The Society of Old Brooklynites charges dues. Fifty dollars for a lifetime membership, and a chance, one a month, to look back on a lifetime of Brooklyn memories.