Marion contemplating signs of change

This sign featuring the ?Legend? of Marion may be replaced by new signs featuring a simpler message. Patty Decker / Free PressThe city of Marion is looking at a new outdoor marketing campaign by replacing old signage with a more consistent, simpler message.

According to Terry Jones, economic development director, the council agreed its outdoor advertising needs updated.

Eric Meyer of the Marion County Record donated artwork to the city depicting a row of travel icons and a simplified billboard with fewer elements.

The proposal identified six billboards that would need coverings; three of those are double-sided.

?This would mean that nine vinyl wraps will be needed in total,? Jones said.

If the council approves the proposal, signs would be replaced at these locations:

? U.S. Highway 50 and U.S. Highway 150 (one-sided);

? U.S. 50 and Sunflower Road (two-sided);

? U.S. Highway 56 and Old Mill Road (two-sided);

? U.S. 56 and Kansas Highway 256 (two-sided);

? U.S. Highway 77 and K-256 (one-sided); and

? U.S. 77 and K-256 (one-sided).

Through the years, the city has used various logos to portray either the ?Legend of Marion,? that the town is situated between two lakes, or as the ?Best Place I?ve Seen.?

One of the older signs, ?A Town With a Legend,? was recently exposed during the Labor Day weekend storm, said Roger Holter, city administrator. A panel blew off the billboard, revealing the ?Legend? sign.

Not wanting a sign with different messages, the old sign was temporarily resurrected.

The ?legend? has to do with the namesake of the city, Francis Marion, a military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and was known as the Swamp Fox for his irregular methods of warfare.

He is considered one of the fathers of modern guerrilla warfare, and is credited in the lineage of the U.S. Army Rangers.

Written By
More from Patty Decker
New market adds life to Florence Main Street
The Free Pressecho adrotate_group(14); After more than two years of research, followed...
Read More