Richard beat me to this one by posting about this already, just this morning; but I’ve got a little to say about this stuff.
I’m just back (as of an hour ago) from a morning drive over to McDowell. My objective was to capture images (for HMDB) of all of the different markers between Ft. Edward Johnson and McDowell (and I crept over to Monterey to capture images of two things over there as well). Well, the Ft. Edward Johnson walking tour went just fine, but when I touched down at the first set of markers at McDowell, there it was, sure as shootin’! Both the CWPT and VCWT markers were vandalized.
No, it’s not measurable with what took place at the Peace Monument in Gettysburg, but the vandalism still has a financial impact on all those who work hard in making sure that sites like this are properly interpreted. As one who has spent a good deal time raising money for about a dozen Civil War Trails markers (about $2,600 each) and written the text for quite a few more, this irks me to no end. Of course, I know I’m “preaching to the choir” here, but the clean-up on these signs may actually take a little more than some elbow grease. The damage to the face of the signs may be justification enough for a replacement panel… and that means more money.
caswain01
March 1, 2009
Robert,
Some of the new wayside type markers (like these) have a clear plastic outer layer to combat just such an issue. The maintainer simply reopens the case and inserts a new plastic sheet. Trouble is the plastic can fade or weather badly with time as moisture is trapped.
The best way to prevent the paint from setting in is a good set of handcuffs…. applied to the applicator prior to application.
Craig.
cenantua
March 1, 2009
Craig,
Unless they have changed the way they manufacture these (which is possible), the marker inserts are all one piece. Hard plexiglass-type (for lack of another way to put it) outer layer exposed to the elements and the degenerate vandals, while the imagery is placed like an underlay adhesive piece on the plexiglass-like part. The problem is that neither the plastic or the underlay image adhesive part have a long life-span. Exposure to the sun is especially hard on these. I think, on average, most of the signs that I have seen don’t tend to last too well beyond 5-7 years… that’s about the time that they show enough wear to justify replacement. Not very long for the price. Also, while the insert isn’t as expensive as the entire sign package, it is still rather pricy.
Actually, considering the hooligan antic was at McDowell, I’d have another way to deal with them. There is quite a bit of public service that I think could fit right in with the walking trail leading up to the top of Sitlington Hill.