Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Schecklman, Tuinstra
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 9/12/2018
City of Greenwood (Adds New Signposts - 2018)
City of Greenwood adds new “Greenwood” Signposts
The city of Greenwood recently installed these signs that show the 33 cities named “Greenwood” in the U. S.
(by Valerie Brecht/Clark County Press)
By Valerie Brecht
Visitors to Greenwood over the past few weeks have probably noticed a new addition to South Main Street.
Two new signposts have been installed that have signs for all the cities named “Greenwood” in the United States. Each sign points in the direction one must travel to get to that city and indicates how many miles away it is.
“I got the idea when we were out in New York City in 2014,” said Greenwood Mayor Jim Schecklman. “I saw something similar – it had signs for ‘Paradise City,’ ‘Paradise Falls,’ etc. So, I got to thinking, I knew there were other Greenwoods in the U. S.
“I brought it (the idea to create the signs) in to the city council and we got overwhelming support,” he said.
Schecklman said it took a while for the project to be completed because other tasks obviously took priority. It also took some time to iron out the details. Schecklman worked with the Parks and Recreation Department and Public Works Director Jamie Tuinstra to figure out where they would get the signs made and how much it would cost.
“I got a couple quotes; they were a little pricey,” said Schecklman. “Then we found BSI.”
Badger State Industries (BSI) produces furniture, textile products and signage and does duplicating, metal stamping, screen printing and more. BSI is the prison industries program for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Started in 1913, the program gives inmates a chance to learn work ethic and trade skills to help them reintegrate into society.
Tuinstra had used BSI for the city’s street sign replacement project about a year ago and suggested the company to Schecklman for the “Greenwood” signs project.
“It turned out to be very affordable, so we could do the whole project in one summer,” said Schecklman.
Schecklman also had to do research for the sign information. He was able to find websites that listed all the “Greenwoods” in the U.S., but he had to look up each one and eliminate those that were townships. He used Google Maps to figure out the distance to each city.
The city crew finished installing the signs near the Branstiter Museum on Aug. 15. There are 32 “Greenwood” signs besides Greenwood, WI. The Greenwood, WI sign is the only red and white sign.
“We chose those colors for it to stand out and be coordinated with the school,” said Schecklman.
Schecklman says he’s gotten a lot of positive comments about the signs from the community.
“We feel we have a pretty beautiful little city to live in here,” he said. “What we wanna do is create a number of unique things like this that people might wanna come to visit our city.”
Schecklman mentioned how Greenwood already has some cool things to see like the Gold Star Mothers statue in front of the city hall and the Branstiter Museum.
“We want to add more things to make the city stand out a little more,” he explained. “It’s for the residents too, to show off a little bit. If they have family in the area visiting, they can say ‘Hey, come and look at what we have in our town.;”
Schecklman mentioned that a great opportunity to visit Greenwood was Sept. 8, for the End of Summer Fest. There were many events happening that day, including the Stampede Walk/Run, a car show, craft and food vendors, tours of the Branstiter Museum, a parade and inflatables for kids.
