Column: Shelbyville, home of the giant stainless-steel thingamajig

column-shelbyville-home-of-the-giant-stainless-steel-thingamajig

Dear readers,

Shelbyville Common Council member Linda Sanders said out loud what everyone must have already been thinking. Shelbyville needs a new motto.

I wrote about it last week and Team Schwinn offered up a few suggestions. Sifting through this week’s mail, one thing is clear. No one wants to keep our old motto, “Pride in Progress.”

The most popular Team Schwinn suggestion was “Shelbyville, Home of the Giant Stainless-Steel Thingamajig!”

Coming in a close second was “Shelbyville, Gateway to Boggstown.”

I did notice that most of the readers who preferred it were from Boggstown. 

Kathy Bastin Kelley suggested “Shelbyville, Gateway to the Metal Thingamajig.”

Jeff Bate suggested “Home of the Eclipse” or “Eye of the Eclipse.”

One of my Rushville readers suggested, “Shelbyville, where Rushville Shops at Walmart.” 

I figured that most people voting for the “Giant Stainless-Steel Thingamajig” were probably joking. Then again, Greensburg is pulling tourists off the interstate with its tree growing out of the courthouse clock. Perhaps a series of billboards putting the idea in drivers’ minds could cause an irresistible urge to stop in Shelbyville to see “The Helbing.”

It seems to work for Buc-ee’s and it’s just a big gas station. 

Every town or city must have something going for it. Pittsfield, Maine, is home to the largest non-stick frying pan. Cawker City, Kansas, is home to the largest ball of yarn. Why not a giant stainless-steel thingamajig?

Some cities have a famous citizen to celebrate.

Greenfield has the poet, James Whitcomb Riley. Rushville has the 1940 presidential candidate Wendell Willkie. Fairmount, Indiana, has James Dean.

 Linton, Indiana, always had a very large sign proclaiming, “Linton, home of Phil Harris.” I haven’t driven through Linton lately, but if the sign is still there, I’m sure many people who see it have the same thought, “Who is Phil Harris?”

It didn’t get the most votes, but one reader thought our new motto should be “Shelbyville, Home of the Indiana Derby.”

Shelbyville is very fortunate to be the home of the only thoroughbred horse track in Indiana. The Indiana Derby is a major sporting event. It occurs annually making it an obvious choice to include a festival and parade to promote the event and the city. Indianapolis uses the Indy 500 and Louisville uses the Kentucky Derby to promote their cities.

Shelbyville should consider rebranding the city as “Home of the Indiana Derby.” The total eclipse of the sun also is a big event, but it only happens every 400 years and that’s a long time between parades.  

See you all next week, same Schwinn time, same Schwinn channel.

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