Swoyersville mayor mourned

April 25--SWOYERSVILLE -- About 12 years ago, Cindy Kuhns and her husband visited the Swoyersville American Legion for the first time and this guy everybody was calling "Mayor" approached to introduce himself.

They didn't know the man actually was longtime borough Mayor Vincent Dennis, who died Thursday night at age 84.

"We thought 'Mayor' was a nickname for a while," Kuhns said.

Like a good politician, Dennis "kinda talked us into staying and joining," Kuhns, of Lehman Township, recalled about her first introduction to the man who was in office since 1986.

They were just a few of many people to become fast friends with Dennis over the years.

Aside from being the head of borough government for 29 years, Dennis is being remembered as a well-known and liked community leader.

A Korean War veteran, he was past commander of the Catholic War Veterans Post 1601 and the Swoyersville American Legion Post 644. Dennis, who retired in 1993 from the Asphlund Tree Expert Co., was an usher at church and decorated veterans graves with U.S. flags. He was involved in Swoyersville Little League all his life, from player to coach to umpire. Dennis enjoyed cooking for Legion events and church bazaars -- and that meant pinching pierogi for weeks ahead of time and working hard to perfect his trademark clam chowder.

"The mayor was a mentor to just about everybody," said Kuhns, an Army veteran who was elected the first female commander of the Swoyersville American Legion after Dennis' tenure ended in 2010.

Gene Breznay became borough coordinator in 1987, a year into Dennis' first term.

"He's been the only mayor since I've been here," Breznay said. "It's sad. He's been a fixture. It's going to be tough to get along without him."

Flags at the Swoyersville Municipal Building were lowered to half-staff on Friday and a black ribbon was hung above the entrance doors.

Swoyersville Councilman Christopher Concert, who ran as an independent, said Dennis was the first person in borough government to speak to him after his successful campaign in 2011. He welcomed him and offered advice, unlike others on council, Concert said.

Some thought their cordial relationship was strained when Concert decided to run for mayor against Dennis in 2013. To the surprise of many, Concert, running as an independent, made it a competitive race against the veteran Democrat. He tallied 342 votes compared to Dennis' 415.

"A lot of people think I had a problem with the mayor because I ran against him, but nothing could be farther from the truth," Concert said. "We got along well."

Concert said all of Swoyersville is in mourning.

"It's really sad. He was a fixture in this community. No matter where you went he was there," Concert said. "Just a couple weeks ago, we were sitting having a beer at the American Legion."

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2055, @cvbobkal

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