By Donald Wittkowski
A recent business trip took Ocean City Councilman Keith Hartzell through Frackville, Pa., a small town in the heart of northeastern Pennsylvania’s historic coal mining region.
Hartzell was so moved by something he saw lining Frackville’s streets that he stopped and got out for a closer look.
“A tear came to my eye,” he said.
Attached to the telephone poles were banners that included the names and pictures of members of the Frackville community who served in the military during different wars and different generations and are now hailed as “Hometown Heroes.”
Inspired by this small-town tribute, Hartzell, the son of a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, wants to start a similar program in Ocean City to honor members of the military who have ties to the community.
“There’s a sense of patriotism and history to it,” he said.
Hartzell would like to roll out the program in time for Veterans Day in November, but he stressed there are a series of logistical issues to work out before the banners would start appearing in Ocean City, perhaps on the Boardwalk or on telephone poles, or both.
Among the questions: Where should the banners go, who would be eligible to be honored, and should the program be limited to Ocean City’s veterans or include members of the military who have had some connection to the community over the years?
“We need to decide where and how to do it,” Hartzell said.
Hartzell has turned to members of Ocean City’s VFW and American Legion posts for their guidance. During a community meeting Saturday sponsored by Councilman Bob Barr, Hartzell and Barr discussed the program with local military representatives.
“I want the veterans groups to decide,” Hartzell said. “I want them to guide us on how it should be done and the eligibility requirements.”
Hartzell has also been in contact with officials in Frackville, a town of about 4,000 people located 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia in Schuylkill County.
Since it started its Hometown Heroes program, Frackville has erected more than 200 banners in just three months, Councilman Bob Martin Sr. said.
“It’s great. It’s overwhelming,” Martin said. “It’s going good.”
Martin, a leader of the program, said it was important for the town to officially honor its military veterans because “they’re the ones winning the wars.”
The banners have become a source of community pride in Frackville, a town that has been struggling economically amid the downturn in northeastern Pennsylvania’s coal mining industry, according to local news reports.
“Most of the coal mines shut down,” Martin lamented.
Still, despite its economic challenges, the town is “doing well and is above water,” he said reassuringly.
Frackville charges $200 for the banners and the brackets that are used to attach them to telephone poles. The town does not make a profit from the program. Revenue is donated to local recreation or sports teams, such as the Little League, Martin explained.
The banners include the veteran’s name, their picture, their branch of the military and when they served. Each banner measures 48 inches high and 24 inches wide.
Frackville is not the only town in northeastern Pennsylvania to have a Hometown Heroes program. Mike Bellizia, of Dawn’s Vinyl Designs, a business in Tamaqua, Pa., that prints the banners, said about a half-dozen surrounding towns have similar programs and four or five more have expressed interest.
“It’s kind of spreading like wildfire,” Bellizia said. “A lot of people are getting excited about it.”
The banners are made of weather-resistant vinyl and are given a matte finish, Bellizia explained. Some towns have banners that measure 60 inches high and 30 inches wide.
Photos of the veterans are scanned onto the banners. In one case, Bellizia used a photo of a Civil War veteran’s tombstone because no picture was available of the soldier.
Bellizia noted that some Pennsylvania towns have included first responders, such as police officers, firefighters and EMTs, in their Hometown Heroes program. Some of the towns display the banners year-round, while others limit them to between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Hartzell, meanwhile, said he was overwhelmed by the sight of so many banners as he drove through Frackville a few weeks ago. He stopped and took a photo of one banner that was dedicated to Frackville veteran Delmar Charles Phillips Sr., who served in the Army during the Cold War.
“This is something that grabs you,” Hartzell said. “When people see it, it grabs them and gives them a sense of history. I think this will cause people to discuss wars and conflicts more and the people who served in them.”
Hartzell’s father, Paul Hartzell, who died in 2010, served in the Army Air Corps in World War II and in the Air Force during the Korean War. Hartzell would like to honor his father with a Hometown Heroes banner in Ocean City.
“I don’t know if my dad would want me to do this,” he said. “I understand the sensitivities of veterans who may not want to be honored.”
Hartzell said the cost for banners and brackets in Ocean City would be about $250, but the final price has not been set. Family members, friends and organizations would be able to sponsor a banner.
Ocean City already allows families to memorialize their loved ones by having their names inscribed on benches and decorative bricks in town. Hartzell believes the Hometown Heroes banners would be another way to pay tribute to people who are deserving of recognition.
“It’s just a feel-good thing,” he said.
