New Silverhill Mayor Frankie Kucera joined Zion's "Men's
710," a men's breakfast and speaker fellowship, for eggs and
accouterments before speaking. Brother George Kucera, Mayor Kucera,
unidentified friend, long-time friend Mickey Wiley, and Gus Utter
rounded out his table.
What an appropriate announcement at a breakfast where he laid out some
of the history of the office of mayor in Silverhill, beginning with the
service of his father Ben and with Emory Johnson! Kucera's recent
efforts in Silverhill have involved a town landmark. He has put many
hours in support of the Oscar Johnson Memorial Library in Silverhill,
and he explained how the annual Silverhill Antique Auto Show got
connected with the library. He reviewed how donations begin with
supporters of recognition memorabilia for participants and end with
registration fees that build library funding.
Mrs. Chandler's name comes up again and again when it comes to the
library. She used to have a coffee group come together and she would
stick around afterward to keep the library open. What began with less
than 300 books has grown to a library of over 7700 books and computer
terminals with access to the internet. Dollars come from that car show
and from donations, of course. But there are old books there and
historical books, a true community resource. Kucera emphasized that at
the core of Mrs. Chandler's involvement is a volunteer spirit that
permeates Silverhill.
Touching on a number of things and volunteerism in Silverhill, he talked
about the women volunteers of Silverhill who set up an observation post
to report fly-overs to Brookley Field during the years of World War II. He reminded his
audience of the rich history of Silverhill in volunteerism and in
developments of years past. "Those Swedes and Norwegians had a vision
and dream and always maintained that Silverhill was the best spot in
Alabama." Kucera reminded the audience of the role of churches in
early Silverhill and reviewed a roster of old and long forgotten
buildings tied to Silverhill history, just like the library. Buildings
and organizations have connected Silverhill with its rich history of
volunteers functioning behind the scenes, giving of their time.
"Volunteers need to be recognized so that people can see what they are
doing for the community," Kucera opined.
Silverhill has a long history of support for education. Mayor Kucera
reviewed a number of points of history relating to schools. The
"first" school bus was built to get the Czech children to school from
the countryside. Silverhill School was a focus for the community and
was supported from the earliest days of the town. When the Silverhill
School burned down in the 1950s, the town came up with a school
education plan so that children were in school the next day in various
church facilities! This illustrates how the town has a rich history of
mutual support.
As he concluded his presentation with his audience, Kucera looked to
the future of Silverhill. It will be one of slow progression. He
looks to have clean, new businesses move in to help the tax base.
Annexation, a heated term these days, will be slow and deliberate, "a
little at a time." Because community revenues are limited, any
annexation must be carefully thought out to ascertain its costs. "We
already have services to many of those people," he said, alluding to
water and police and fire services to non-Silverhill residents of
Baldwin County. "Why would they want to come into the community?" The
point was obvious. Silverhill has much to offer potential surrounding
areas, but besides the cultural benefits of the town, there will come
concrete reasons for joining the town.
