New Springfield signs erected by Rotary Club

New signs welcoming people to Springfield have been erected by the Springfield Rotary Club.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150825/NEWS02/708259927

New signs welcome visitors to Springfield. Photo: PHOTO BY LEN EMERYPublished August 25, 2015 in the Rutland Herald New Springfield signs erected by Rotary Club By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — No one can remember when the weather-worn signs were first erected. But thanks to an effort by the Springfield Rotary Club, the three Springfield signs that welcome people to town along the main routes into town have been replaced. Peter MacGillivray said the signs replaced old wooden signs near Eureka Schoolhouse on Route 11, a sign on Hospital Hill, near the intersection of Route 11 and Park Street, and a sign in North Springfield near Black River Produce. In their places are metal signs made of special aluminum honeycomb material, MacGillivray said. He said he hopes the metal signs will remain bright and visible for a long time to come. “We’re very proud of them,” MacGillivray said. Of the three old signs, he said, the one in North Springfield had been very exposed to the weather and was virtually blank when it was recently taken down. He said the sign near Eureka Schoolhouse was more sheltered from winter winds, and was in the best condition. The Hospital Hill sign had some issues, he said. “The color was good, but the wood was split in the middle,” he said. All three signs were hand-carved by noted Springfield sign maker Dick Hitchcock. He said the old signs will likely be offered to the Springfield Art and Historical Society, but he said with its recent move to smaller quarters, he didn’t know how much storage space the society has. The new signs, which were made by Unique Signs of Charlestown, N.H., cost about $800 each. MacGillivray said he was appointed by former Rotary Club President Carol Cole to head up the effort, which ended up taking close to a year. He said it was Cole’s idea to replace the signs. Ethan McNaughton said another Rotary Club member who worked on the project, money for the signs came from the joint raffle the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce and Springfield On The Move held this spring. “These signs should last much longer,” McNaughton said. “You couldn’t read them really.” MacGillivray said the committee talked to three different sign companies and settled on Unique Signs, which MacGillivray said he knew personally from playing hockey. Unique Signs had done signs for MacGillivray’s former businesses as well, he said. “I knew the quality of his work,” he said. He said the new signs were placed on the old posts, which have been painted. “The poles are not exactly straight after 25 years,” MacGillivray said.