Welcome to Huntington

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The Huntington City Beautification Committee was interested in having signs made to welcome people to Huntington. After some thought and discussion, it was decided that two boy scouts could oversee the construction of these signs as an eagle project. Skylar Carpenter and Caleb Jones accepted the challenge of overseeing the building of these signs.
The committee had approached Eldon Holmes earlier in the year and asked him to design the welcome signs. After a few sketches and models, a design was agreed upon. The project was ready to begin. Skylar and Caleb, along with help from Ron Carpenter, Bruce Myerhoff and Eldon and Kyle Holmes, put cement forms together to build a pre-cast arch and base for the signs. The volunteers made several trips to the desert to gather the sandstone that would be used for the signs. Eldon and his son Kyle took on the task of cutting, finishing and painting the steel silhouettes. The metal reinforcements and welding of the silhouettes in place would be the project and contribution of Randy Jones.
The cement forms were put on the south end of main street in anticipation of the first cement pour. Unfortunately, someone else decided they needed the lumber and the forms came up missing. This was a major setback for the progress of this project – not to mention the financial aspect of the project since more lumber had to be purchased to rebuild the forms. It was also discovered that some of the sandstone that had been hauled from the desert had also disappeared. Of course this meant another trip to the desert to gather the needed supplies.
It was finally time for the first cement pour. This took place on a weekday at 6:30 am. Skylar, Caleb, family, friends and Beautification Member Lorraine Dingman gathered to tackle the early morning project. This first pour was a little unnerving, but things went pretty well and the first sign was in concrete. Three additional signs were poured over a span of a few weeks and then they were allowed to cure for a time.

The time came for the signs to be lifted and set into the bases. Nielson Construction and Mac’s Mining Repair graciously allowed some of their equipment to be used for this part of the project. Three of the signs were put into place without too much hassle, but, unfortunately, there was an accident involving the fourth sign and it received some damage. It was a little frustrating to say the least, but not to worry! The cement forms were resurrected and the fourth sign was re-poured. After allowing it to cure for a couple of weeks, this last sign was set into its base last week.
With all four signs now in place and complete, it is hoped people truly feel welcome in Huntington. A special appreciation and recognition goes to the following people: Skylar Carpenter and Caleb Jones and their families; Hillary Gordon (City Council Person); Beautification Committee Members: Lorraine Dingman, Carolee Batt, Cathy Cowley, Judy Rowley, Madge Guymon, Eldon and Vicky Holmes; Nielson Construction, Mac’s Mining Repair and Randy’s Repair and Service for the use of their equipment; Mike Gordon and Vincent Grimmett for help with digging the sites and then backfill work; Huntington City Volunteer Fire Department for spraying the casting sand and debris from the signs; and all the scouts and other volunteers who put in hours to help Skylar and Caleb with their eagle project.
Huntington City hopes everyone enjoys these signs and asks for your help in preserving the beauty of them. Hopefully they will stand for many years to offer the message of “Welcome to Huntington.”