Name Change, No, Consolidate, Yes

To the Editor: 
The headline “A breakup in store at the shore,” along with a photo of the large Wildwoods sign on the Boardwalk, was included on a feature page of a recent Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer.
The three communities specifically mentioned; North Wildwood, Wildwood, and Wildwood Crest have been in existence for over 100 years with their present identity. Now two, the Crest and North Wildwood, want to rebrand themselves. They want to show they are distinctive from Wildwood, who put the other two on the map.
Beginning in the 50s, Wildwood was known as the entertainment capital of the entire East Coast, maybe the country, as Las Vegas and Disney World did not exist. Most every entertainer appeared there at that time. Even today, the Wildwoods provide great entertainment, exciting Boardwalk, and beautiful beaches, voted #1 in New Jersey on many occasions.
When vacationers from Philly, the suburbs, and throughout the area and beyond talk about their vacation destination they say “Wildwood.” If asked where they stay, they may identify the Crest, North Wildwood, and yes, even Wildwood proper. Even our other shore town neighbors are ubering over to the Wildwoods for their entertainment.
As a 50’s guy, I and my friends had the time of our lives in Wildwood. Those memories have lasted a lifetime. When I married and raised our large family, we settled in Sea Isle City. At the time, Wildwood’s reputation as a fun, family town was receiving unfavorable publicity that pushed many of their alumni to other shore locations.
Fast forward, the Wildwoods are back and thriving again. And even the college crowd is among us.
To conclude, the Crest and North Wildwood are short-sighted to push individualism, rather than the long sight after consolidation which would do much more to eliminate duplicative costs. Reducing ridiculous high taxes, providing more money to promote and improve the current communities.
People already know the Wildwoods, after 100 years, and they have found their niche. The bottom line is stay with the guy who brought you to the dance, and that guy is Wildwood.