Welcome Sign Vandalized

0
1951
Sign caretakers Ruby and Austin Critzer and Pat and Deirdre Predington at the Route 810 sign
Sign caretakers Ruby and Austin Critzer and Pat and Deirdre Predington at the Route 810 sign

The “Welcome to Crozet” sign that stood on Rt. 240 near Crozet’s water treatment plant was ripped away from its posts August 9 and disappeared. The vandal(s) also bent over street signs along Rt. 240 as far as downtown Crozet.

The three-year-old signs were a project of the Crozet Community Association, which raised money for them. Local sign maker Peter Welch, owner of Legacy Signs in Yancey Mills, made and installed four of them at the main approaches to town. The signs cost $410 each. CCA president Tim Tolson said the association will try to replace the sign and it will be a topic of the CCA’s evening meeting Sept. 11 at the Field School.

Crozetians generally said they felt insulted by the vandalism.

The Crozet Lions Club volunteered to maintain landscaping at the signs and Karl Pomeroy and Becca White planted bulbs at them in their first year.

New Crozet residents Pat and Deirdre Predington took on the task this year, planting more annuals and watering and weeding as needed. The Predingtons added Asian Lily bulbs at the sign on Rt. 810 at what is sometimes called Critzer’s Corner, the home of Austin and Ruby Critzer on the north side of town.

The vandelized sign on Rt. 240.
The vandelized sign on Rt. 240.

Petunias were planted at the Rt. 240 sign, the one now missing, but they did not survive well. Purple fountain grass and Senorita Rosalita, a pink flowering annual, were planted at the east-facing sign on Rt. 250 near Clover Lawn, and Black-Eyed Susans were planted on the west-facing sign on Rt. 250 near the Interstate 64 interchange. Local nurseries and vendors at the Crozet Farmers Market donated some of the plants.

“It’s been fun,” said Deirdre Predington, who also tends a small plot in the Old Trail community garden. “We check them every week.  This year we’re experimenting at the different sites. We’ll adjust the plan next year. We’re trying to combine perennials and annuals. We’ll propose an ongoing plan to the Lions that’s sustainable and affordable. Ivy Corner nursery has been nice about giving us discounts.”

Warning to knuckleheads: we care about these signs.

 

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here