Hernando Billboard
I’m sure you guys know this by now, since you read in Saturday’s descriptions how I’ve just finished my freshman year of college… but boy, does it feel good to be back in Hernando for the summer! :D (This despite my coming home every weekend during the entire school year, lol!)
To mark the occasion, here’s a photo of a Hernando landmark. Hernando’s old water tower near the town square is very well-known and lauded – in fact, it's on the National Register of Historic Places, is the namesake of the annual Water Tower Festival (with clever shirts abbreviated WTF), and may be known nationally from the cover of this album – but this old Chamber of Commerce billboard is no less cool or historic, in my eyes, even though it’s much harder to find laden about the internet. It faces southbound travelers on I-55, but it’s off to the left side of the interstate (meaning the northbound bridge above Mount Pleasant/Byhalia Road is the one it is closest to, and in fact that very bridge is just out of view to the right in this image). As a result of its placement, as well as all of those trees and kudzu surrounding it and slowly overtaking the hill it stands on, it faces a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scenario for those travelers these days. Plus, it’s not looking all that hot itself, what with the rusting letters, dilapidating overhead lights (which surely no longer work), and missing panels both below and on the sign. Nevertheless, Hernando has allowed this billboard to stay standing for a long time now, and I personally think it contributes a lot to the heritage of this town. As a matter of fact, outgoing mayor Chip Johnson did a lot to preserve “old” Hernando while inviting new things in; this New York Times article about the aforementioned water tower helps to expand on that slightly. (Those of you not from the area may know Chip just as well as the water tower thanks to his unfortunate sexting scandal that likely, at least in part, cost him reelection for a fourth term this time around.) Hopefully, our new mayor will continue that initiative of maintaining Hernando’s legacy.
The billboard itself prominently advertises HERNANDO in big block letters, with a silhouette of Hernando DeSoto (for whom the city and county are named, respectively) beside that and its sponsor’s name (Hernando Area Chamber of Commerce) underneath. The panels missing on the left once belonged to a logo for, as best as I can guess, the nearby Arkabutla Lake. I’m not sure what restaurants in particular the sign is aiming to promote, but there have definitely been plenty in town over the years. The motel it refers to is probably this now-closed, matching orange (!) one south of this location, along Commerce Street, while the campgrounds, as l_dawg2000 pointed out to me once, are buried in the woods immediately east of this structure! The only thing I’m unsure about regarding this billboard is its age; if you happen to know anything about that, or have any other information or stories to share, please leave them in the comments below! :)
I had a little bit of trouble choosing just which photo I’ve taken of this billboard to post today; I had always wanted to take pictures of it, so on a lazy afternoon in February my mom and I stood out on the sidewalk and did a photo blitz of this thing :P I wound up choosing this one (obviously!) after cropping and editing its color slightly on my laptop. And, lest you think otherwise, this billboard still functions as my teaser for Saturday’s photoset! If you were brave enough to read to the end of this description, I’m not sure you still have it in you at this point to guess where we might be headed this weekend in the comments, but please feel free to prove me wrong…
(c) 2017 Retail Retell
These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)
Hernando Billboard
I’m sure you guys know this by now, since you read in Saturday’s descriptions how I’ve just finished my freshman year of college… but boy, does it feel good to be back in Hernando for the summer! :D (This despite my coming home every weekend during the entire school year, lol!)
To mark the occasion, here’s a photo of a Hernando landmark. Hernando’s old water tower near the town square is very well-known and lauded – in fact, it's on the National Register of Historic Places, is the namesake of the annual Water Tower Festival (with clever shirts abbreviated WTF), and may be known nationally from the cover of this album – but this old Chamber of Commerce billboard is no less cool or historic, in my eyes, even though it’s much harder to find laden about the internet. It faces southbound travelers on I-55, but it’s off to the left side of the interstate (meaning the northbound bridge above Mount Pleasant/Byhalia Road is the one it is closest to, and in fact that very bridge is just out of view to the right in this image). As a result of its placement, as well as all of those trees and kudzu surrounding it and slowly overtaking the hill it stands on, it faces a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scenario for those travelers these days. Plus, it’s not looking all that hot itself, what with the rusting letters, dilapidating overhead lights (which surely no longer work), and missing panels both below and on the sign. Nevertheless, Hernando has allowed this billboard to stay standing for a long time now, and I personally think it contributes a lot to the heritage of this town. As a matter of fact, outgoing mayor Chip Johnson did a lot to preserve “old” Hernando while inviting new things in; this New York Times article about the aforementioned water tower helps to expand on that slightly. (Those of you not from the area may know Chip just as well as the water tower thanks to his unfortunate sexting scandal that likely, at least in part, cost him reelection for a fourth term this time around.) Hopefully, our new mayor will continue that initiative of maintaining Hernando’s legacy.
The billboard itself prominently advertises HERNANDO in big block letters, with a silhouette of Hernando DeSoto (for whom the city and county are named, respectively) beside that and its sponsor’s name (Hernando Area Chamber of Commerce) underneath. The panels missing on the left once belonged to a logo for, as best as I can guess, the nearby Arkabutla Lake. I’m not sure what restaurants in particular the sign is aiming to promote, but there have definitely been plenty in town over the years. The motel it refers to is probably this now-closed, matching orange (!) one south of this location, along Commerce Street, while the campgrounds, as l_dawg2000 pointed out to me once, are buried in the woods immediately east of this structure! The only thing I’m unsure about regarding this billboard is its age; if you happen to know anything about that, or have any other information or stories to share, please leave them in the comments below! :)
I had a little bit of trouble choosing just which photo I’ve taken of this billboard to post today; I had always wanted to take pictures of it, so on a lazy afternoon in February my mom and I stood out on the sidewalk and did a photo blitz of this thing :P I wound up choosing this one (obviously!) after cropping and editing its color slightly on my laptop. And, lest you think otherwise, this billboard still functions as my teaser for Saturday’s photoset! If you were brave enough to read to the end of this description, I’m not sure you still have it in you at this point to guess where we might be headed this weekend in the comments, but please feel free to prove me wrong…
(c) 2017 Retail Retell
These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)