As part of the city’s 75th anniversary celebration back in 2022, it was decided to update the plaque in the Board Chambers at City Hall to include every current and former elected official who served the City of Crestwood.
As you may know, back in the 1940’s, a group of citizens, with guidance from attorney C. Wheeler Detjen, petitioned the court and on November 12, 1947, the Village of Crestwood was officially incorporated. Charles Pell was appointed by that court as the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees who served with William Crews Jr, Roland Falkenhainer, and Dr. Frank Davis Jr. And those are the first four names listed on this plaque.
If you look closely, there are two-years of Trustees listed. And that is because at the April election of 1949, residents approved the upgrade of Crestwood to a City and also elected the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. The election for Mayor resulted in a tie, so one of the duties of the brand-new Board of Aldermen was to break that tie. As such, Ivan Thompson became Crestwood’s first Mayor who served with four Aldermen, representing two wards at the time.
Two years ago, we celebrated Crestwood’s 75th anniversary of being formed as a village, but at the April 23, 2024 Board of Aldermen meeting we paused to celebrate Crestwood’s 75th anniversary of becoming a city. As such, we officially dedicated this set of plaques that celebrate the many years of service provided by all the Elected Officials whose names are listed upon it.
To help with that dedication, we were honored by the presence of some of those elected officials who served Crestwood for many years. This included former Mayors and former Aldermen representing all four wards.
When I think of the number of years of service represented by these men and women, I am truly humbled and awed. Those of us currently serving know that this is not a job, it is not a career, it is a vocation of service to our community and to our residents.
There are a few trivia facts that are worth pointing out:
- Crestwood has had 16 Mayors, 6 were present at that meeting
- In all there are 124 names listed – that is 124 men and women who served Crestwood
- There are 21 of those people that served for 10 or more years
- 8 who served for 15 or more years
- 3 who served for 20 or more years – Dr. Richard LaBore served 23 years as Alderman of Ward 1. Patricia Killoren served a total of 24 years (6 as Alderman and 18 as Mayor). Dr. Jim Brasfield also served a total of 24 years (18 as Alderman and 6 as Mayor). Wow!
To all elected officials whose names are included on this plaque, in addition to their families who also served Crestwood through their own efforts and support, we say thank you for making Crestwood a place that we are still proud to serve.
Six attending mayors - Brasfield, Robinson, Schlink, Roby, Mabie, Shipley
Current Board of Aldermen and Guest Former Elected Officials