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
