As you know, I am a big fan of town signs. So much so that I’ve even created a project dedicated to my love for town signs. Part of this love comes from a sign I remember as a kid. It was up on Marion Street as you were entering Boone from the west from the Logansport area. I believe the sign was a guy fishing and the sign said something like “Try Boone. You’ll Stay”.
This could 100% be a false memory. I have never been able to find a picture of the sign. I don’t know that anybody else even remembers it.
What is beyond contestation, however is that Boone’s town signs have been less than stellar for years. Currently there are some boring brick sings on US30 that just declare “Welcome to Boone”. They aren’t well lit and sometimes the letters fall off. It is very disappointing.
Then the Boone Rotary Club stepped in and stepped up Boone’s town sign game. They raised funds to move a train from the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad out to the intersection of US30 and Story Street.
It ended up being more work than they thought. They had to split up the move into two days. On the first day they moved the coal tender and a passenger car. On the second day they moved the engine.
Here are some pictures from the first day:
The last two pictures are really connected to the movement of the train, they were just taken on the same day and I like them.
I actually remember that sign – we used to take that route to come to Boone when we lived in Pilot Mound when I was in fourth and fifth grades. I always thought it was fun, like the “exit” signs in Pilot.
I’m a big fan of fun town signs. Unfortunately many towns are going for nice looking signs. It makes the discovery of a fun sign all the sweeter.