Castroville looks into preserving old artichoke sign
It’s been a couple weeks since Castroville’s iconic sign declaring it the artichoke center of the world came down.
The town’s community services district is now trying to figure out what to do with the old sign.
“you know what? My heart is the shape of an artichoke. That’s how much I love Castroville.”
Debbie Martin has lived in Castroville for six and half decades.
And through all those years, the iconic Castroville sign has hung above her and the some 7 thousand other folks who live here.
“The sign is not just a sign. The sign represent who was here before us. It's it's it's part of our legacy. It's the history, to us," she said.
The previous sign lasted since the 80’s and was replaced at the end of June.
“It is beautiful, but I’m old school, so I’m still attached to the old sign.
The origanal signs date back to the 1930’s, and people don't know what happened to them.
Martin and Castroville’s governing board agree they can’t let the last sign have the same fate.
“No you can’t hide it somewheres inside. You got to put it where it's shown, where it's seen, where people can still admire it. And when people see and they can talk about the history of it to their kids, to their grandkids,” Martin said.
The most popular suggestions are either in the community center in the Castroville Plaza or out on Hwy 183 as you enter town from Salinas.
It could cost a couple thousand dollars to put it up on somebody’s wall, or be more expensive if it were to stand on it's own somewhere.
“We would try to do a public private partnership. So if we put any public money which, we would provide and, find some partners in the private industry that would want to pitch in. We've got a lot of good big companies that work here," said Ron Stefani, Castroville Community Services District President.
Tuesday’s meeting was just about community feedback and brainstorming. Now, the district is tasked with figuring out what plan works best and nailing down funding.
“Well, this new sign took at least three, four years, so give us a little time, heheh. Hopefully we can make a decision within the next three months. Okay. And then, by the first of the year, we hopefully get something implemented. At least a fundraising effort, anyway," said Stefani.
Castroville is a small town; it’s not even an incorporated city. A lot of folks here take plenty of pride in not just being the artichoke capital - but showing off that title boldly.
Public turnout at today’s meeting was low - but according to social media posts and talking to people on the street - the whole town agrees the old sign ought to live on in public view somewhere.
