Signs along the way

I certainly don’t remember the first roadside advertisement I ever saw, but I suspect it was a barn rooftop proclaiming “See Rock City” or one of the Burma Shave sets that were along roadside across America in my youth. I specifically remember seeing:

Ma Loved Pa

Pa loved Women

Ma Caught Pa

In with 2 a swimmin’

Here lies Pa!

Burma Shave!

I’d always thought that roadside advertisements were born when the automobile came along, but they say that it goes back to Egyptian times. You probably could have convinced me that advertising flyers date back to Gutenberg’s original printing press, but there were no cars, or windshield wipers to put them under back then.


With the invention of portable signs and other, more permanent signage with changeable letters, we have moved into ever changing advertising and clever messages, especially at churches:

“Get off facebook and take out faith book”

“Go to church; don't wait for the hearse to take you”

“A bad day at work is better than a good day in hell”

“Down in the mouth? It’s time for a faith lift”

Over the years, I guess my favorite roadside advertisement has been hand printed signs and more recently, local signs on mobile lighted signs and professionally printed (but not well thought out) signs. Years ago on a road trip, my wife and I caught a couple signs of note on US 441 between Milledgeville and Eatonton GA.

Deborah took this picture, which is the one that really renewed my interest in the world of roadside signage. We didn’t buy any produce, but I would have paid a good price for the sign, if I thought I could have bought it without insulting the owner.

Deborah also took this priceless gem:







I especially like signs that need translation skills to interpret. It says, “Sweeting Quick Stop and Cafe and Short Order” At least that is what I think it says.


And then there are those that send a message that is probably not exactly what they intended. This one was in front of a business that was closed and for sale. They changed the sign a couple of weeks before the Mayoral election in Cochran, GA to indicate the owner's preference.






And then there is this one. They must have put up 100 within 25 miles of my hometown.






I am not quite sure why one would actually pay for leaks, but if you need a deal on some, I KNOW who to call.

There are countless others. I just felt the need to share these few.