Well, folks... we're stumped. You see, there's this old highway traffic sign posted up along Route 19 in the town of Le Roy, just outside the village. On it, a flashing message board communicates the message: Shop Main St Leroy in glowing orange letters.
We thought, that's kind of curious. How could an old traffic sign be appropriated to advertise downtown businesses? Seems like a clever idea, and we wanted to find out more about it. Unfortunately, no one seems to know anything about it. We started with a call to the Le Roy village clerk. Sharon Jeary didn't know anything about it. She told us to call Gene Sinclair, the code enforcement officer. Sinclair couldn't tell us anything, either. He knew of the sign, but he hadn't the foggiest where it came from and who put it there. So we called the Le Roy town clerk. Nothing there either. We were told to contact Sinclair again.
Bizarre.
Anyhow, in addition to the message: Shop Main St Leroy, the sign also flashed the messages: Vintage and Vogue and Hobby Horse. Now, I don't know what "vintage and vogue" might mean, but I've been to the Hobby Horse, a neat little shop on Main Street in Le Roy that sells everything from alpaca wool socks to antique gewgaws. In fact, The Batavian interviewed the shop's owner, Anne Walters, last summer. You can watch the video of that interview and learn more about the Hobby Horse by checking out that post.
We'll see what we can find out in the meantime.
(Updated 1:00pm): It seems we've solved the mystery of the sign. Anne Walters, over at the Hobby Horse, told us that the sign is owned by a fellow in Le Roy whose sister-in-law is an antiques dealer who rents space at the Hobby Horse and... you guessed it, Vintage and Vogue, also a shop on Main Street in Le Roy. He likely bought the sign at a state auction and thought it might be a good way to advertise downtown business.
I'll go out on a limb and say
I'll go out on a limb and say if it's advertising for "The Hobby Horse" and "Vintage and Vogue", both of which are stores located on Main Street in LeRoy(pretty close to one another actually), I'd say the proprietors of one or the other should know why it's there.
Hey. So Vintage and Vogue is
Hey. So Vintage and Vogue is also a store on Main Street. Yeah, Andrew, I think you've gone out on the right limb there.
I wonder if the "mall" or
I wonder if the "mall" or city centre or whatchamacallit thought of this idea. I am sure they saved thousands of dollars on the fantastic sign they have now.
Gabor, The county's not
Gabor,
The county's not perfect either. While the mapping seems consistently accurate, some of the assessment information is missing. For instance, if you try to look up how much tax is paid on some of the Main street properties around the City Centre, its not all there.
Wow I would have never
Wow I would have never figured out where to look or ask questions....lol. It gave you the answer when it flashed guys...Vintage and Vogue and Hobby Horse. Come on now, are you guys serious?
The reason the assesment
The reason the assesment information is missing is because it is constantly changing. Between the end of a tax season and many re-assesments etc. Public and private properties have no real er ah up to date "taxes Paid" unless, of course they are in default. I know there are many business type of properties around the city centre so you would think the city of batavia would recieve taxes/revenue/rent ? from them ? My whole point about the mall is that no matter how big or fancy sign you put anywhere for it things are not going to get better for that "situation".
Michael: I suppose that
Michael: I suppose that sarcasm is warranted. Andrew already employed some a little further up, so... But yes, I didn't think to call the Hobby Horse first. For some reason, I thought of the government. Knee-jerk reaction of a municipal reporter, I suppose. Plus, I wasn't yet aware that Vintage and Vogue was also a downtown business.
Once I had thought to call the Hobby Horse, however, I still thought it intriguing that nobody else knew where this thing had come from — a big flashing sign like that — so I left that part in.
I wasn't being sarcastic.
I wasn't being sarcastic. When I type something that is meant to be that way, I say so (sarcasm intended) because there is no tonal inflection on a computer screen.
I figured you genuinely didn't know, thus why you asked the question. I'll admit to being somewhat surprised since you just were wandering around LeRoy last week. Based on where you wrote you were, you probably walked past it at least twice.
How long will it take local
How long will it take local officials, that now know about the sign, to ask for its removal? Let's watch...