“Calling Us Names”
(Originally posted in the Stratford Star newspaper on December 16, 2010, in “Walsh’s Wonderings”)
One of the things I love about writing this column is reading the letters that readers are kind enough to send me about my pieces. Chris R. recently wrote to ask about an article of mine, “The Hair of the Dog That Licked Ya.” She noted that I referenced “The Town for All Seasons,” and wondered when and why Stratford changed this as our town slogan. Indeed, many were surprised back in 2007 when Mayor Miron announced our new slogan would be, “Offering More from Forest to Shore.” Was there really a need to change the slogan and the accompanying signage around town while mired in an economic downturn?
To answer, it’s important to understand the potential impact of effective town slogans. In 1993, the state of Wisconsin commissioned a study on town slogans and determined that slogans not only help in establishing a civic identity but also attract outsiders to the community and provide economic value. Historically, slogans were developed because of a significant event (“Birthplace of the Ice Cream Sundae”) or because of natural resources in the area (“Chocolate City USA”). Gradually, they became an important element of town identity. Locally, some became self-fulfilling (Hartford is the “Insurance Capital of the World”) while others have become a bit more ironic (Bridgeport remains “The Park City”).
Over time, slogans began to change. In some cases, it was because other communities had the same slogan: Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania have long claimed to be the “Groundhog Capital,” while Burlington, Wisconsin and Hershey, Pennsylvania have a running feud as to who is truly the “Chocolate Capital.” These seemingly silly disagreements matter: if a slogan gets used enough and is properly marketed, it gets known outside the community. When someone mentions The Big Apple, The Windy City, or Gateway to the West, people generally know what community they are talking about. Stratford itself had a lot of competition with it’s somewhat pedestrian slogan, with West Brookfield Massachusetts, Smith Center, Kansas, and Galeton, Pennsylvania just a few of those who referred to themselves as “A Town For All Seasons.”
The Wisconsin study shows that slogan-related festivals, especially those in small communities, unify residents to work together and support the effort. With this in mind, in 2007 Mayor Miron decided to leverage the potential power of our town slogan to highlight the strategic advantages of living, visiting and doing business in Stratford. The many festivals Stratford has hosted in the last few months, many of which I mentioned in previous articles, seem to embody the town’s attempt to offer “more from forest to shore.”
Reached for comment, Mr. Miron explained that he spearheaded the effort after studying other communities and realizing that “A Town for All Seasons,” while catchy, did not necessarily mean anything. He wanted to juxtapose the town’s physical assets with its human assets, celebrating the great diversity not only of our geography but our work force. It was meant to be a part of a branding effort to enhance the town’s image, which explains the new entrance signs, promotional brochures, and municipal letterhead.
Ultimately, decisions like these come down to a matter of opinion, but it’s clear that town slogans have the potential to have a great impact. However, whether you like the new slogan or not, just remember it could be worse! A few of the more interesting choices from our neighbors around the country: Gettysburg, South Dakota (“Where the battle wasn’t”), Superior, Wisconsin (“I’m a Superior lover”), Manhattan, Kansas (“The Little Apple”), San Andreas, California (“It’s not our fault”), Hereford, Texas (“Town without a toothache”), and Bushnell, South Dakota (“It’s not the end of the Earth, but you can see it from here”).
No slogan could ever truly capture the many advantages we enjoy living in Stratford, as we all know the sheer number of those advantages could never be summed up in only one sentence. Besides, the best slogan is already taken: Madisonville, Kentucky has the slogan, “The best town on Earth.”