A Town in Mourning: Loss of a Local Icon

I live in a small town on the outskirts of a major city. This small town like many small towns was at one time proudly independent. It was suburban in the way it was run by local officials. The local officials were involved in every aspect of the town making sure everything ran smoothly. They cared about their citizens and always tried to meet their needs. They stood up when evil forces tried to ruin the town. They had a good strong police force and reliable fire departments to help citizens and the surrounding communities.

The mayor of these small towns is considered the "backbone" of the town providing support and encouraging growth. Mayor Frank Kelly definitely filed the role. He provided support and encouraged growth. He also was a champion of historical preservation until fairly recently. He saved the former Collingdale High School building from demolition in 1986. He encouraged the establishment of the Collingdale High School Alumni Association by providing them with a room to store all the treasures of Collingdale in what is now known as the Alumni room.

The very recent loss of Mayor Kelly will leave a gap in the administration that will be hard to replace. There will be some radical changes, some will be very hard to take even though the town has been fading away for a little while. Some will blame this fading away on "white flight".  Collingdale was at one time in the 1960s about 80 percent white with about 20 percent black. Today the percentage is almost, but not quite the reverse. I would say around 70 percent black and 30 percent white. Some will blame the fading away on the economy. Yes, the economy does play a big factor in this. Yet I do see the biggest change in the administrating being the fact that globalization has effectively wiped out the pride of small towns and made them ineffective.