Finding Joy on Hwy 24

Behold, an attempt to match the outstandingly cheesy mottos of small Illinois and Indiana towns with an equally cheesy blog post title.

Noel and I spent Christmas with his family in the northern reaches of the country, Cedarville, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. Instead of sticking to interstates on our drive up, we temporarily ventured onto a string a state highways, rolling through a sweep of modest hamlets with ambitious shibboleths emblazoned on their welcome signs.

In Piper City, Illinois, red cartoon letters above a cheerful drawing of a farmhouse announced, “Piper City. A great place to raise a family.” We’re in. Our other choice is currently the most dangerous city in America anyway. When we entered Iroquois County, Illinois, we were welcomed to the “Buckle of the Corn Belt.” Hitherto being unaware that there was a “corn belt,” we wondered if this was a new, religion-neutral fight for supremacy in mid-America. Kentland, Indiana proudly declared themselves to be “Where agriculture and industry meet.” Morocco, Indiana (town symbol, a cowboy boot) refused to capitalize on the exoticism of their borrowed name and instead billed themselves as “the home of Hoosier Hospitality.”

And then, we entered Michigan. “Great Lakes, Great Times.” Ohhhh, yeah. And fun times, indeed, were promised by the subsequent towns. St. Joseph, Michigan, “the most romantic city in Michigan.” Downtown Holland, Michigan, “where trend meets tradition.” And, finally, Munson in Traverse City, “your home, your Munson.” (Don’t ask, we have no idea.)

I wonder if Stamats moonlights as a town slogan creator.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 4th, 2007 at 11:26 am and is filed under Americana, Carefully Dramatized Life Accounts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.