A SIGN FOR OUR TIMES

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What they had to say

from the Auburn Journal Thursday, September 25,1997

A sign of the times

Meadow Vista residents erect landmark

By Gus Thomson
Journal Staff

Meadow Vista has a new sign to welcome visitors.
The wooden sign, resplendent with a purple mountain, trees and birds, was unveiled Wednesday before about 50 people at the unofficial northern entrance to the rural comrnunity's business district.
It will eventually have a matching sign placed at the south entrance along Placer Hills Road, once road construction is completed.
Meadow Vista Merchants Association President Marv Capen said that the business community buried differences and joined together on the sign project.
"We cannot stop progress but we can see that the changes brought about by progress fit, like these signs, the character of the community," Capen said.

 Two years ago, Meadow Vista Supervisor Rex Bloomfield was able to have funds allocated for the construction of the signs. The Meadow Vista Merchants Association were responsible for the design and construction— with input from the community.
Last year, a contest was held to design a community logo. The winning logo — by Auburn's Eileen Costa-Comstock—was subsequently incorporated in the sign.
Costa-Comstock, who works for Northstar Graphics in Auburn, said she liked the finished product.
"It came out really nice," Costa Comstock said.
A model of the sign made its public debut in June at Meadow Vista's annual Pioneer Day celebration. Public comment was solicited there and at five different locations 		in Meadow Vista over the next five weeks. Over 125 written comments were received as well as many more oral suggestions.
Barbara Giles, of Meadow Vista Autocraft, said that the sign is a symbol of change.
"We're growing but it shows that we feel that we still want that feeling of being a small mountain community," Giles said.
Meadow Vista's Bill Lapham was singled out by Capen for his efforts on the sign project. Lapham made a scale model of the sign displayed throughout Meadow Vista. With help from members of the Merchants Association and his family, he produced and installed the sign.
"It's a group effort with a lot of input and something that the community can work with," Lapham said. "I was a Peace Corps volunteer in India
 in the 1960s and learned you have to give back to the community."
The last Meadow Vista signs were designed and installed by Ted Rybicki as an Eagle Scout project in 1978. Rybicki and his family attended the new sign dedication. His original sign will be displayed at the planned Meadow Vista Community Center.
The new sign is intended to also serve as a message board for upcoming events. Its design allows for temporary banners at the top and it already sports one for the community's fourth annual Octoberfest on Oct. 4. School contests will be put on for decorating the signs for major holidays throughout the year.







Bill Lapham                                     Rex Bloomfield                                     Ted Rybicki
Eileen Costa-Comstock                                     George Lay      
Original Photo by Dave Thomas, Village Photo, Meadow Vista, CA.


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