Community
As mentioned on other pages, this home where I’ve resided for 40+ years is the same one I spent the first three years of my life in. Maybe not publicized in a small town, but divorce did happen. My father stayed in Bel Air, eventually becoming editor-in-chief of the county paper, The Aegis. He was also one of the most influential behind-the-scenes movers and shakers the town has ever seen. Mom took all four of her children and we grew up just fine.
I grew up just south of town. Occasionally, my mother would drive me to Bel Air to do a bit of shopping. There was a time she took me to The Hub and I saw a pair of white shoes that made me laugh out loud. A bit disappointed in my behavior, my mother bought me those shoes and made me wear them for a while. I scuffed them up as quick as I could.
Being part of something is in our genes. There is an innate need for a sense of belonging residing with each of us. When we are growing up, our family can fill that need. Other institutions, such as school and church offer opportunities to further develop a healthy sense of belonging.
Belonging to a healthy community helps us feel connected with others, neighborly. We depend on each other and enjoy each other’s company. An added benefit is that we can feel as though we are part of something larger than ourselves. We can listen, learn, and contribute, all gold-star qualities of any community.
Town living is a commitment, an obligation to look out for your neighbor. More than that, devoid of any pretensions, there is a physical obligation to maintain your home in a presentable fashion. Live as yourself, but respect also that you are, in a certain regard, representing the town you are living in.
Ace photographer Todd Holden was 15-years old when he schemed to let loose a skunk in the Bel Air Theater. My father, Robbie Wallis, managed the theater at the time and had young Holden arrested. Some years later, my father was editor-in-chief at the local paper, The Aegis, where Mr. Holden got a job as a photographer. The two became close working friends.
Happenings
Bel Air has a rich history in the story of its early days, enriching the story as it grew through the years. Like other small towns, Bel Air is known for the generations of families instrumental in building and shaping the town and remaining a vital part of its continued growth. The town has slowly grown while maintaining a low profile. For the most part, Bel Air has tried to remain small town despite being the county seat, despite the economic possibilities, despite the growing need to change.
Historically, Bel Air thrived in the 50’s and 60’s. Typical of any small town across America, Bel Air was a healthy environment for an adolescent to grow up in. Skunks were put in theaters and farm animals were released in the halls of the high school, but these were pranks and the kids of the day knew how to behave and what rules and mores to follow.
Soda fountains, such as Richardson’s and Boyd and Fulford’s were the popular hangout destinations, with Reuben’s Drive-In the premier spot at nights and weekends. Ask anyone who grew up in this town and you’ll hear of memories of these places.
Yes, Reuben’s was the hangout for the teenagers. As kids, we stopped there for an ice cream once in a while. For the adolescents growing up in Bel Air, Reuben’s was a rite of passage, especially if you wanted to show off your car or perhaps eye up a few of the girls. Where I grew up, there was no Reuben’s to usher me through the teenage years.
People say in a small town, everyone is known. Though that is hardly possible, in Bel Air there were plenty of social circles and inner circles. It was more of a cliquish town than the more transient neighborhood I had grown up in. In the early 1980s, I became a full-fledged member of the town. Though my background may have been different, living in Bel Air was a positive thing.
A young family in town was a good thing. We could walk to the library, post office, grocery store and enjoy a peaceful town life. The William Humbert Amphitheater was a block or two from the house. On Sunday evenings, we enjoyed concerts in the park from local choral or high school groups. The missus enjoyed taking the kids to the parades in town and the schools were perfect for the children. Yet, while personal memories were being made, so too, significant changes for the town itself were happening.
Changes
There were plenty of movers and shakers across the years who helped to make the face of the town. The folks with money know the folks running for office and deals are made. In a small town, that is nothing but folks being neighborly. Should someone decide to turn greedy, there’s too many honest folk around. The greedy one gets rode out of town.
Trouble is, nowadays, it just isn’t a small town. Greed and avarice and the extended family has moved downtown and forced change is more frequent. They’re getting ready to pave paradise and put up a parking lot. Things happen, towns both live and die.
The wheels of justice turn on a dime, later thrown into the fountain. Was hoping to put some community spirit into the mix, maybe get folks involved, the smart ones to turn their heads, re-think a few things. The activism was good and many have gotten involved. For me, the politics is simply too trivial to waste my remaining time. Haven’t given up on small town living. Still, one day we’ll wake up and that small town will have packed up and moved away in the night.
Carrying that sense of community, I had periodically attended town meetings and kept abreast of changes over the years. Didn’t feel like I was part of anything bigger, so much as staying aware. There came a time I attended a contentious town meeting where the development proposal far exceeded that small-town flavor. It was then I decided to become part of the discussion. I endeavored to put a polish on that healthy community concept and see what I could do.
I had written letters to the papers in the past. It was important to encourage readers to understand the potential damage our movers and shakers were doing with the town. Development happens, yet, it’s imperative we work together with community spirit, not the muscle you get when you’ve got position and money. The Small Town Papers are a series of letters marking the very real and eventful dismantling of a small town. No way could I fully tell the story or name the players, but small town Bel Air appears to be marking the end of a chapter. Seems pretty significant, so I’ll share.
Perhaps you live in a city pining for the country. Maybe you live in a small town and like it there without any strangers moving in. Then again, maybe you’ve lived a meaningful existence in a small town and have watched as it changes and grows. Until there’s just no hat size.
The Small Town Papers
Part One-Small Town Sendoff
This first post is Small Town Sendoff and is actually a letter written to the Bel Air Town Commissioners. I showed up at a Town Hall meeting and the business proceedings had me increasingly feeling ill throughout the evening. It was all but certain whatever the developer wanted to do, the commissioners were happy to oblige. This, then, is a wake-up letter to the commissioners.
Part Two-Small Town Charm Rejected
Next up, things get a little heated as I got more involved. After being denied a voice, residents joined to sign a petition for referendum. The aim was to stop development approval by ensuring convenient zoning changes did not occur. My writing is bit over the top, long winded and more of a bull-headed editorial than anything else. No matter, the gloves came off and we were determined to change things.
Part Three-Road Ahead for Bel Air
With the battle lines drawn, I attempted to enlist the town residents into action by educating them on what was happening. Politically, I was in way over my head, but the moral compass never wavered.
“I allow myself to hope that the world will emerge from its present troubles, that it will one day learn to give the direction of its affairs, not to cruel swindlers and scoundrels, but to men possessed of wisdom and courage. I see before me a shining vision: a world where none are hungry, where few are ill, where work is pleasant and not excessive, where kindly feeling is common, and where minds released from fear create delight for eye, ear and heart. Do not say this is impossible. It is not impossible. I do not say it can be done tomorrow, but I do say that it could be done within a thousand years, if only men would bend their minds to the achievement of the kind of happiness that should be distinctive of man.”
~Bertrand Russell, Human Society in Ethics and Politics (1954)
stay the course, young man…others feel the same as you, some are too lazy to scribble their feelings…you’ll have to shoulder that burden for them I reckon…so keep on, keepin’ on.