Potsdam sign lacks pizzazz

A dream I’ve had for a long time is to publish a coffee-table book full of photos of signs that welcome you into cities, towns and villages across the nation. I’ve always found entertaining these greetings you get when you enter a municipality.

Reno, Nev., boasts in a grand arch of neon that it is the Biggest Little City In The World. That’s one of my favorites.

Jackson, Mich., was content with a more modest greeting when I lived there: We Like It Here. I am guessing the prisoners at the federal prison in that city didn’t come up with that one.

Norfolk is Tops in Towns. Simple, to the point. Effective use of alliteration.

Canton welcomes you to The County Seat. There’s one you can’t argue with.

Potsdam – my home now – used to crow on its sign that it is the Cultural and Educational Center of Northern New York. I am thinking Canton might have tapped Potsdam on the shoulder and said, “Um...who says?” Now the sign just reads Potsdam – Established 1806.

I wonder what were the suggestions considered and dropped before the latest sign was put up. Maybe ...

Potsdam – Where The Village And Town Don’t Get Along

Potsdam - We Charge You Twice For Collecting Your Garbage

Potsdam – Leading The North Country In Property Taxes Since Forever

Potsdam – We Meter The Handicapped Parking Spots

Potsdam – Pizzeria, Drug Store And Tattoo Parlor Center Of Northern New York

Potsdam – Cultural And Educational Center Of Potsdam

All of these are as accurate as Potsdam – Established 1806. And lots more catchy. Potsdam is going to need catchy if it wants to make it into my coffee-table book.