Two old-school pols, one old-school editor
They came from different ends of the county.
But they were cut from the same cloth.
Both men’s names became synonymous with the towns they loved – and served for decades.
Oh, and they shared another trait.
When something in the paper painted their town in less than a positive light, they were not afraid to weigh in on the topic.
Frank Kelly and Rocco Gaspari were old school. They didn’t do social media. You wouldn’t find them on Twitter. They did not post on Facebook.
They took the old-fashioned route. When they had something to say, they picked up the phone.
Or, in Gaspari’s case, paid a visit to the office.
Frank Kelly was known as “Mr. Collingdale.” That’s what happens when you serve as mayor for nearly five decades.
Kelly wore his pride in his home town on his sleeve. And he took it personally when someone took a shot at it, or if he thought Collingdale was being short-changed. If we left the town out of our annual Memorial Day or July 4 listings, I could always count on Kelly to call and ask why.
The same goes for Gaspari, who served Lower Chichester for decades, as both the president of the board of commissioners and magisterial district judge.
Gaspari took an immense amount of pride in Lower Chi, and he would always let me know it when he thought the town was getting a raw deal.
Such as when he tired of waiting for action from the state after a spate of accidents on a township road. Lower Chi decided to take action and lower the speed limit on their own. When the newspaper took issue, and pointed out that this did not fall within their purview but rather was the role of the state, Gaspari called to defend his action and debate the newspaper.
A few years later, when my lead columnist Gil Spencer took aim at some issues in Lower Chi, Rocco Sr. let me know he didn’t appreciate it.
Spencer had criticized a proposal by the Lower Chi commissioners to enact an ordinance that would require residents to divulge the firearms in their homes.
Gil did not think much of the ordinance, much as he was not an especially big fan of two previous issues that had popped up in Lower Chi, that idea of who had the power to set the speed limit on some roads, and whether the township could make using a hand-held cell phone while driving illegal.
Again, just as in the editorial, Gil noted these problems did not lie within the township’s power.
Rocco Sr. disagreed. He saw an inherent danger to township residents, and he was tired of waiting for the state to take action. So the township decided to take action on its own.
Of course, Gil added his usual spice in his column, in particular noting the family’s strong presence in the township, where Rocco Sr.’s sons, Rocco Jr. and Tom, serve as president of the commissioners and police chief, respectively.
Gil used the family name and made up a new moniker for the town.
Rocco Sr. was not amused. He told me he saw an anti-Italian sentiment in Gil’s writing. I assured him that was not the case. I also offered him something else. I told him if he wanted, he could drop by the office and we could discuss it. A few days later, he did just that. We sat in my office and had a great conversation.
It turns out we had a lot in common. Rocco was extremely proud of his Italian roots, much as I am of the genes I inherited from my Irish mother and father.
He talked about how important family was to him, and that is really the reason why he objected to Gil’s mocking reference.
We both were products of the same kind of parents, both were products of a parochial school education. We joked about our dealings with the nuns.
I can tell you that family was everything to Gaspari.
And by that I don’t just mean his sons. I mean Lower Chichester. To Gaspari, that was home. That was family.
It’s a trait he shared with Kelly, who wore his love for Collingdale on his sleeve.
They were both relics from another era, when politics was done face-to-face, and with a handshake.
They both were devoted readers of the newspaper. The print edition. Yeah, they both liked the feel of holding the newspaper in their hands, and getting a little ink on their hands in the process. They respected what we did, and knew how important a vibrant press was and the important role it has in the community.
Gaspari and Kelly did not always agree with the newspaper.
But both were gentlemen. Neither ever raised their voice in the many conversations we had, let alone resort to the calling card of so much of today’s course, bitter, partisan atmosphere. Neither would ever consider name-calling or belittling the newspaper. That wasn’t their style.
They were old school.
I can assure it’s a trait not shared by all public officials. Especially today. It’s the biggest change I see in those taking up public service today.
These days I spend an inordinate amount of time swimming in social media. I am online much more than I would like. It goes with the job.
Some people believe the printed edition of the newspaper is a dinosaur.
I beg to differ.
And I think Frank Kelly and Rocco Gaspari Sr. would agree with me.
I will miss them both.