The light posts of Merrill are getting a new look as brand new banners start appearing along the city’s thoroughfares. The three-by-six-foot banners were created from actual photographs depicting places, activities and events in Merrill. Each one is different.
The initial printing of 30 banners will be installed on light poles along the Hwy. 64 and Center Avenue corridors in town, with some also going up in the downtown along East Main Street. The first of the banners went up Monday along North Center Avenue.
The project was spearheaded by Merrill Alderperson Mary Ball, who had seen banners in other communities but wanted something unique for Merrill.
“I wanted to personalize them and make them representative of what happens in Merrill,” Ball said.
After presenting the project to various city committees and scraping together a modest budget, Ball worked with Linda Murray at Murray & Associates to design the banners. Ball took many of the photos herself, while others were supplied by the River Bend Trail, VFW Post 1638, Merrill Area Public Schools and the Foto News. Ball made a list of all the different scenes she wanted to see on the banners and found the best photos to fit.
The Merrill Street Department got involved providing the brackets and hanging the banners on the light poles.
Ball would like to add more banners in the future.
“I’d like to see it expand,” she said. “This is possibly the start of something that could involve the community.”
Ball sees the banners as a new way to showcase what Merrill has to offer.
“I hope they make people that come to town curious, and for people who live here to have a sense of pride,” she said. “This is a great community and a lot goes on here.”