Silverdale Community Day celebrates small town

Dozens of Silverdale residents turned out to Al Reese Park Saturday, Sept. 21, for the borough’s 4th annual Community Day, featuring live music, food, beer, local vendors and a host of children’s activities.

“It’s a free event,” said Lisa Herrmann, borough secretary administatror and treasurer. “This is not a money-maker for the borough; it’s for the community to come enjoy, meet each other, mingle.”

“It’s intimate,” said Stephen Barth, president of Barth Consulting Group, a municipal downtown revitalization business that consults with the borough. “It feels more like a family reunion than a giant kind of event.”

    Families enjoy children’s activities at the “Kids Corner.” (John Worthington – MediaNews Group)
  

    Kids paint pumpkins. (John Worthington – MediaNews Group)
  

The event was dedicated to the late Silverdale Mayor Steven Cordell, who passed away unexpectedly in June at the age of 62. A businessman with Cordell D R & Associates Inc., an international contracted equipment sales business, Cordell served on the Silverdale Borough Council for 18 years before being elected mayor in 2018.

Some of Cordell’s most notable achievements include the borough’s partnership with the Hilltown Township police, the formation of the Community and Economic Development Committee and the establishment of Community Day.

    Steven Cordell served as Silverdale’s mayor from 2018 until his passing in 2024. Credit: Digital First Media.
  

“Community Day was a result of his vision,” said Barth. “We both went to George School, a Quaker school in Newtown, where they instilled the values of service to community and others. That was an ideal that he led his community with for more than 20 years.”

The event was attended by state Rep. Shelby Labs and a representative of state Sen. Jarrett Coleman, who presented resolutions on behalf of the Pennsylvania State Senate and House of Representatives in honor of Cordell’s memory.

“I really want to emphasize how much he loved this community,” said Labs. “He took so much pride in being the steward of this community, and I know that his legacy will continue to live on.”

Silverdale’s Community Day began four years ago as part of the borough’s economic development plan. Aimed at ensuring the borough’s financial solvency, the plan engaged community members through a series of surveys and town halls. Through the process, residents overwhelmingly backed a Community Day, while supporting a balance of new development and gradual tax increases, said Barth.

    State Rep. Shelby Labs reads a resolution on behalf of the Pennsylvania House of Representations in honor of Mayor Cordell’s memory. (John Worthington – MediaNews Group)
  

    Stephen Barth, Silverdale’s economic revitalization consultant, speaks about Mayor Cordell’s legacy during Silverdale Community Day. (John Worthington – MediaNews Group)
  

The plan has already produced results. A new townhome development in the western side of town off Route 113 was recently approved, while a new park is slated for Silver Street, with plans to build a gazebo memorial for Cordell. The borough has also received a sidewalk grant for Beringer Avenue, which will create a fully walkable town.

“What is special about Silverdale is that we’re at the crossroads between all these communities,” said Barth. “We have 113 and 152 that run right through the center of town. It’s more of a pass-through community, and we want to be a destination.”

Moving forward, the borough hopes to continue Cordell’s legacy of community stewardship to ensure the town’s prosperity for future generations.

“His life was meaningful, purposeful, and he left the community better than when he found it,” said Barth. “It’s like planting a tree. You may never see the tree grow, but somebody else will enjoy the shade.”