The Death of Small Town USA

remove the school and kill the town
i love small towns and i sure do miss them

in 1963 we had the worst coach
in the history of basketball coaches

but outside school my brother brad and i
were blessed with the best coaches

in the history of coaches yes
i’m talking about daddy and his brother uncle roy

so on the court brad and i coached ourselves
we grew up playing old school ball

run run run pick and roll pass shoot
follow your shot rebound and when

they have the ball get down low stay on
your feet don’t go for the fake and

play hardnosed blue collar no blood no foul
working man in your face full court basketball

i brought the ball to the top of the key
brad cut down the side then ran his man

into a baseline pick then i wrist flicked a fast
no look pass to him and brad drilled it from the corner

the hometown standing room only crowd went wild
i was in the 8th grade brad was in the 6th

we were guards for the centertown demons
at every home and away game we played

every small town gym was packed
rockport mchenry beaver dam cromwell horse branch

hartford dundee fordsville pleasant ridge centertown
local schools were the heart and soul of small town usa

centertown school had 300 students grades 1 through 12
after my 9th grade year all the local high schools

consolidated into ohio county high between
hartford and beaver dam over 1,200 students

there were more in my 1968 graduating class than
all students grades 1 through 12 at centertown

remove the school and kill the town
i love small towns and i sure do miss them

some folks say president clinton ended the working class
by signing nafta the north american free trade agreement

some folks say president reagan ended the working class
by firing the air traffic controllers and refusing to hire them back

some folks say sam walton’s wal-mart ended the working class
by running all the ma and pa stores out of business

and well i agree with all 3 but i look back and vividly recall
how the consolidation of high schools was the beginning of

the death of small town usa
remove the school and kill the town

i love small towns and i sure do miss them

—Ron Whitehead