Edgewood has always been out of site, and often out of mind. After all, there was never any reason to go to Edgewood. And yet, this town has flirted with greatness.

In the Seventies, it had a bowling alley owned by a large regional chain, which used to bring in the locals from elsewhere. But the company had to leave. For a while there was Merry-Go-Round, the high profile national retail clothing chain. But it went bankrupt.

And of course there was always Edgewood Arsenal, but it was not a place you visited, and it has been dead for a long time time now. Then along came crime and drugs, and a lot of people who could afford it went someplace else. Maybe that's the problem. This town wants our attention. And crime and drugs certainly get it for them. But no one wants to live there now, and businesses only come there if they can't go anyplace else.

Funny thing, though. If you drive far enough into this town, you will discover more waterfront property than they have in Havre de Grace. That fact is not even in the conscience of the rest of the county. And Edgewood has no waterfront image at all. That needs to change.

But it looks like things could get worse before they get better. I'm referring to the Edgewood Arsenal housing that the Army is considering offering to local business people. I may have it wrong, but didn't they do that in Aberdeen many years ago, and didn't it quickly become low-income housing? The new owners back then took the easy money and let the houses deteriorate. That's what will happen in Edgewood too.

What is needed is an Ed Abel for Edgewood, someone with money and vision and taste and perseverance to build upscale housing and the amenities that go with it. It's going to take federal, state, local and private dollars in the tens of millions to give this town a chance. And Edgewood, it should turn its back on Route 40 and set its face firmly toward the water. That's where the money is.

DM