Wahoo, Nebraska

Centered or Justified? Here's a composition that every English teacher could love: four full paragraphs, each one nicely indented and fully justified.  It's really the equivalent of four markers in one. That's the county court house in the background, of course.  [2009]

Middle Spring, Pennsylvania

Centered or Justified? Full justification has been chosen for this marker's text.  Over time, narratives have become longer and longer.  This one is short.  It connects the church to local history, but does little to illuminate links to migrations that were transforming the nation when this church was founded.  [1971]

Danville, Vermont

Centered or Justified?  Every line is centered, rather non-conventional for narrative text.  Do you like it?  Most markers offer block-form presentation.  Contents?  Excellent by my standards.  And now I understand why there's a Caledonia State Park in Pennsylvania.  [2009]

Windmill Point, Virginia

Maintenance Needed:  Here's the new marker for Windmill Point.  Lots more words.  What do you think?  It appeared in 1998.  [2011]

Windmill Point, Virginia

Maintenance Needed:  What's needed is replacement, not maintenance.  These words remind us of the vulnerability of the Chesapeake Bay; the next stop for the British troops was Washington, D.C.  What do you think of these 30 words?  If you wrote the text for a new marker, what would it say?  [1994]

New Orleans, Louisiana

Maintenance Needed:  Something momentous happened here on the edge of the French Quarter, but no one will ever know what it was.  The marker is gone, so history retreats to the dusty archives.  [2011]

Midway, Georgia

Maintenance Needed:  You've got to stand up to the enemy!  In this case, the enemy isn't the British or General Sherman.  It's a ravenous bush.  Please cut it down, soft-hearted sir.  Then, get thee to the rust frontier.  [2010]

Lone Tree, South Dakota

Maintenance Needed:    Here on the prairie, a single tree can make a difference, as it did to a teacher and her charges.  As memories fade, historical markers are supposed to keep them alive.  Without maintenance, though, historical markers fade, too.  [2007]

Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina

Maintenance Needed:  Geography is hard on history.  In other words:  nature takes its toll on historical markers.  That's especially true here on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  And, yet, it was geography that made this place right for the Wrights.  [2006]

Isle of Wight County, Virginia

It's All About Hue:  No hue here.  The world is presented in wight and black.  Think you are on an island?  Not even close.  That geographical contradiction is the untold story behind this marker.  Anyone else think they were going to read about the history of a radio station?  Z-243.  [2005]

Darien, Georgia

It's All About Hue:  No hue here.  The world is presented in black-and-white.  The only way to tell Darien's story is by recounting its economic geography, which is what this marker does so well.  [2010]

New Orleans, Louisiana

It's All About Hue:  The brown hue is really all about the bird.  Louisiana's official feathered friend is the brown pelican.  Could that be why they chose brown for their historical markers?  Could the brown pelican appear just a tad browner, though?  And, how did an O'Reilly become a Spanish governor?  [2009]

Sarasota, Florida

It's All About Hue:  Here, the hue is green. It seems to fit the wet subtropics.  "Promises broken" is a theme of American history boldly flaunted on this marker.  Compare the geography of Scotland to that of Florida.  In the pre-air-conditioned and pre air-flight past, wouldn't you have returned home?  [2009]

York, Pennsylvania

It's All About Hue:  The navy hue seems to match Pennsylvania's state flag.  The last line is a teaser.  What did Lafayette say about York?  Get rid of that meaningless first sentence in favor of a crumb more from the toast.  [2006]

Toronto, Ontario

It's All About Hue:  The blue hue is rich and royal: a cool color for a cool country.  Just think:  it was right here that the Industrial Revolution found a home in Canada (expansion diffusion) and it was right here that the Toronto Public Library got its start (stimulus diffusion).  [2010]