Marvin Rodriguez helps sons Jhosua and Jacob Rodriguez climb on the LOVE sign the day after it was unveiled in Salem Library Square on the lawn of the library. This week it moves to the Salem Civic Center.
People are sharing the LOVE as they stop, stare, climb on and hug the seven-foot-tall Salem LOVE sign showing up in public places in Salem.
The sign that ties in with the “Virginia is for Lovers” campaign in localities the state debuted when it was unveiled on the Salem Public Library lawn on Main Street on March 27. It is believed to be the second moveable LOVE sign in Virginia, after Pittsylvania County.
And mobile Salem’s sign is. Several thousand more people had their chance to take selfies and admire the LOVE letters on opening night at the Salem Red Sox on April 5.
On Thursday of this week, Salem Street Department employees will load the sign onto the department’s rollback truck and place it on the sidewalk in front of the Salem Civic Center to be seen by visitors at the Roanoke Symphony, Independent Living Expo and the Brantley Gilbert concert.
The sign’s next scheduled stops will be at Lake Spring Park – the Duck Pond – for the Pig Robertson Fishing Rodeo, then on to the Salem Farmers Market on April 27 for the first Salem After Five concert of the season.
Brothers Jhosua, four, and Jacob Rodriguez, three, of Salem, were some of the first to climb on the sign before the entire family asked a passerby to take a picture of them all hugging the letters.
“We saw it on TV and came,” said father Marvin Rodriguez, as he and mother Adalia Carolina Cruz watched the boys climb.
The base of the L and E are treated with a slip-resistant tape to make safer climbing for little and big admirers, explained Mike Tyler, director of Salem Streets and General Maintenance. It was his department that designed and fabricated the steel letters on an aluminum base.
“We knew people would climb on it, and we wanted to make it as safe as possible,” said Tyler, who explained he, City Manager Kevin Boggess, Assistant City Manager Jay Taliaferro, Public Affairs Director Mike Stevens and Streets Assistant Director Todd Sutphin first started talking about creating a LOVE sign in November.
Horticulture Director Laura Reilly and Salem Graphic Artist Clark Ruhland played key roles in getting the bright Salem blue and colors of the handprints on the Peace Sign O, he added.
Tyler drew the design, and much of the work was done in his department. The city spent $8,900 in city funds, “mostly for the steel and to have the cut the letters out.” Salem Street Department workers did the fabricating, welding, grinding and lettering; B&M Sheet Metal in Roanoke did the letter fabrication, Sun Solutions in Vinton produced the decals and R.C. Restoration in Salem donated labor for the painting.
The base of the sign explains the name Salem is from the Hebrew word Shalom for peace, and it is symbolic of wholeness, harmony and tranquility. Also, on the base is the slogan Virginia is for Mountain Lovers.
Salem residents Carrie Cox and sons Tristan and Shannon were on hand for the unveiling. “I think it will bring more people outside to explore the community,” Carrie said.
Salem City Councilman and R.M. Johnson & Sons Owner Jane Johnson believes the sign will help promote area businesses and attract people to Salem. “People are naturally curious when things are changing, and want to see those changes,” she said when interviewed on WSLS TV at the unveiling.
She and fellow Councilmen Bill Jones and James Martin were at the unveiling, along with a number of Salem city employees. Sheriff April Taylor and deputies climbed on the LOVE sign to have their pictures made.