As I write this, the song by The Doors come to my mind. Is this the end for Wilmington? Recently, a seismic wave was sent through the community, and the SW Ohio region in general, with the announcement that DHL would move from the Wilmington Air Park and let UPS do the work that ABX Air and A-Star have done for the past few years, namely, their United States operations.
Now, since I have been a child, I’ve learned a fundamental truth about Wilmington: Airborne. Without Airborne, there would be no town. Roughly 7,500 people are employed at the airpark by ABX Air, serving as a basis for the local economy and for the economies of several counties in the area. It also serves as the reason for my being in Wilmington, and for thousands of other families who have mothers or fathers or other loved ones who sort freight, drive support vehicles, fix airplanes, fix equipment, type on computers, answer phone calls or who patrol the parking lot or do anything else.
My father is an aircraft inspector, with over two decades experience as an aircraft mechanic. When we moved from Belleville, Michigan when I was four years old, I couldn’t fathom the idea that one day my father’s job would be threatened, and our livelihood in jeopardy. I do not intend to sound melodramatic or selfish, for many other people will be affected. But, does this not place a human face on the events that are transpiring? There is so much more that I could espouse upon, but if I were to cover all of the angles, time would sell me short.
But, suffice it to say, I fear for the future of the town that has been my home for the past seventeen years. I fear for Wilmington.
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