Signs of the Times
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During the spring and summer seasons, it is not uncommon to see transformations as people make efforts to "spruce things up." Such has been the case with various signs around the area. Several business are displaying new or upgraded signage. The most recent facelift was observed on a sign West of Chinook, advertising the upcoming Blaine County Fair, which will be held August 10-14.
With work performed on July 18 by Blaine County Fair employees Natasha Skoyen and Mya Berreth, the fair sign received fresh coats of red, white, and yellow paint to make the big top stand out. The sheep, pig, cow, and horse signifying the livestock common at the fair were also painted yellow to draw attention to them, and the words Blaine County Fair now pop with their large white letters against gray wood.
A business in town with a new sign is Top Dog Performance and B & L Cars owned by Scott and Courtney Skoyen. Top Dog Performance is an automotive and diesel repair shop that also carries a full line of automotive accessories and wheels. Furthermore, they sell additives for diesel and gas engines and have the distinction of being the area's only authorized Vogue Performance custom exhaust shop. In mid-May, the store front received a fresh coat of red paint along with updated signage.
Another business that has displayed a new sign for about a month now is Sweet Memorial Nursing Home (SMNH). According to SMNH Administrator Rebecca Shackelford, Daniel Kleinjan of Highline Custom Metal made the sign.
Created using a plasma cutter, the sign features the Home's new tree logo, which was hand-painted with acrylics by Sara Knorr.
Shackelford explained: "Heather Nesslar and I came up with the tree logo and drew up what we were thinking we wanted the sign to look like. We updated our logo to the tree about a year ago; that was something we hired Dillon Davies to do. The 'autumn of one's' life is [the symbolism] he was going for when he submitted the tree logo as one of our options to choose from. Personally, I like to think of the tree-and our facility-as protection, a place you go for safety. Tree of life also comes to mind when a person really sits and thinks on it."
The Highline Custom Metal sign sits at the east entrance to the rest home, but additional signs will get installed soon, according to Shackelford. "We are just in the process of getting the posts figured out and such," she reported.
Designed by Hannah Weber of Montana Grafix, those signs will also feature the Sweet Home's large orange tree logo. One will be situated in front of the facility by the approach from US Highway 2. Another will be erected on Airport Road so that motorists know where to turn off to reach the nursing home, and a third will be installed near the SMNH's shop. "That location is now kind of the new entrance to our property– since the turn off the highway directly into our parking lot was removed," Shackelford stated.
Finally, anyone driving through Great Falls should be sure to check out the North 40 and Weaver Livestock billboard near the Walmart store on Smelter Avenue NE. There, motorists will see Chinook resident Wylee Simenson gripping the halter of his heifer Gigi. The sign's inspirational message reads: "You never lose; you win or learn."
