‘Town Talk’ issues call to action
Residents urged to get involved with community events
POTTSTOWN >> Nearly 100 people packed into Connections on High Monday night to talk about what’s wrong and what’s right with Pottstown.
Organized by Pottstown School Board member Emanuel Wilkerson, the meeting set an ambitious agenda of talking about social diversity, the future of Pottstown and getting youth more involved in town.
However, the discussion was a little more free-ranging than that, with audience members alternately highlighting what Pottstown needs more of and others saying there is already so much here that people don’t take advantage of.
Perhaps Diamond Street resident Ralph Bainbridge could be said to have set the tone of the exchange when he urged Pottstown to “get up off your butts and do something.”
Although there was the usual recognition of the bustling town Pottstown once was and how it has fallen on harder times — what former schools superintendent Reed Lindley once called “worshipping the problem” — there was also a genuine desire evident to move forward with something — anything — that can make things better.
Bainbridge, who organizes the annual “Iron Horse” motorcycle show downtown, suggested Pottstown emulate efforts in other towns like Phoenixville and host monthly “First Friday” events, with music and food.
Others, including Borough Council Vice President Sheryl Miller, said there are plenty of fun and interesting things to do in Pottstown — singling out the new farmer’s market that is held downtown every Thursday — but they are not supported by local residents.
“There are not as many people at the FARM market as there are here at this meeting tonight,” she said.
Pottstown High School alum Olivia Coleman said to get youth involved, you need to talk with them — not at them.
Coleman, who won the Montgomery County Civil Rights Award in 2010, said at a recent graduation party she advised a college-bound graduate to “put yourself in situations that are unfamiliar to you, be with people you don’t know, who eat foods you don’t eat and talk about and do things you don’t do.”
That broadening of experience nurtures understanding and an open mind and needs to be brought to youth in Pottstown, Coleman said, and done in a way that enriches their lives.
“As adults, we do a lot of talking at our children, at our youth, we don’t do a lot of conversations with them, asking them ‘what makes you happy? What do you want?’” she said.
“A lot of the kids are upset because Gruber Pool is gone, they don’t have anywhere to go, we don’t have anything to do,” said Coleman. “If you sit and talk with the kids about what they want, they will give you the ideas that we need.”
Similarly, adults should try to understand the troubles, and cultures of others, to understand their view point, Coleman said. “If you just stay locked in your house watching TV, you’re never going to see the positive that could be going on in Pottstown.”
“We are different ethnicities, but we are just one race, the human race,” said another speaker who did not identify herself. “We all share more than we have differences, but everyone always seems to focus on the differences.”
John Johnson said respect for others and for other cultures is taught in the home, as are manners. “We can’t be friends with our kids, we have to be their parents.”
School Board member Katina Bearden agreed, saying one of her favorite things about her hometown is its diversity.
Celebrating the culture of others “is the basis for understanding and compassion,” she said.
Pottstown’s true problem, she said, is a “broken tax base. We need to come up with solutions. Money problems cause problems at home, it causes divorce. Well its no different in a town, it causes problems there too,” Bearden said.
That broken tax base exacerbates what Mayor Sharon Thomas said is an injustice in education funding created by the practice of “hold harmless,” which guarantees a school district will not get less money than the previous year, even if its population continues to drop.
She urged those at the meeting to become familiar with “Equity First,” a non-profit advocacy group pushing for a vote to ensure that two-thirds of the money added to Pennsylvania’s education funding this year, go to chronically under-funded districts like Pottstown and Reading.
“What could it do for Pottstown? What could it do for our property values? It could do a lot,” said Thomas.
Kelli Wolfel, a Pottstown native and Barth Elementary School teacher, spoke passionately about the quality of Pottstown’s schools and urged people to visit and get involved.
“We work hard, every single day, for your kids, your neighborhood children, your grandchildren, your brothers and sisters,” said Wolfel, whose children are products of the same school system in which she teaches.
She pointed to “Trojan Heroes,” a new program in which high school students visit the lower grades to talk to children — “kids talking to kids” — "and I will tell you I cried watching some of my former students speak to my third grade class this year. I couldn’t believe I was listening to 17-, 16-, 18-yearold children — they’re still my children — the wisdom and the maturity and the message they sent to those young kids; that’s some of the communication we need to open to.”
Nevertheless, said Wilkerson — who graduated high school just this year — it pains him to hear his peers say “they can’t wait to get out of this town.”
If Pottstown is going to build its next generation of leaders, this generation of leaders needs to find ways to make those young people want to stay, he said.
Another Pottstown native, High School Principal Danielle McCoy, said while Pottstown may have problems, it is her observation that race relations is not one of them — and that is due to the diverse community in which those students are raised.
“They may fight about ‘you looked at my girlfriend’ but they don’t fight about that,” she said.
Nevertheless, echoing Wolfel’s call for adults to get involved in the schools, McCoy said many African-American students, particularly males, are affected by a lack of male role models in their homes.
“Our young black boys need role models, and not just once, but regularly, mentors they can count on,” she said.
And it was another former schools superintendent — Jeff Sparagana, who retired at the end of June — who reflected that after 23 years in the district he had learned that “a lot of people like to sit home and complain about how it used to be. But its not going to happen. We need to reinvent Pottstown and you lead by action.”
Which was a call Wilkerson said the entire town should heel.
“My call to action for you is, start doing it,” said Wilkerson. “There are multiple things that happen in this community, but it’s time to get involved. Enjoy yourself, because if you don’t enjoy your community, it’s not a community.”