I HATE that huge billboard along I-5 in Chehalis--

[Mrs. Overall]

I picked up Mr. Overall this afternoon after he rode in the STP (Seattle to Portland Biking Event) and there is a HUGE Billboard with an Uncle Sam on it right along the freeway in Chehalis. One side of it (heading south) says "They are going to take our God and Guns from us" and the other side (heading north) says "Where is the birth certificate?"

I wonder what republican piece of shit owns it. I know it's a free speech issue, but I just hate driving by it.

[Matariki]

1. That's just the crazy guy who's been there for years

I sort of find that billboard entertaining in all its glorious insanity. Last month featured something crazy about libraries. I think he's more of a rightwing Libertarian - but I'm not sure. Most of the guy's messages are usually fairly anti-government.

[Mrs. Overall]

2. Yes, I remember that his rants were usually more anti-tax and such. Libertarian

makes sense, but it's too bad he's on the birth certificate bandwagon.

[SeattleGirl]

4. I think I read that his kids have taken over the billboard now. It used

to be on the opposite side of the freeway, but they moved it some years ago.

I usually laugh at the crap I see posted on that thing. Have for years.

[SeattleVet]

3. The original old guy that did those died a couple of years ago

but I believe that some family members have taken over putting up the rants ('in his memory'). There was an article in the Seattle papers when he died.

[SeattleGirl]

5. I should have read your post before I did mine.

I knew the kids had taken over, but didn't remember that the old man had died.

[Sebastian Doyle]

10. Ah, that would explain it.

The board always had a right wing libertarian bent to it, but the messages never used to be hateful back in the 90's. I even laughed at a few of them. But in recent years, it's just vile. Old man Hamilton passing away would explain it.

Kind of like how Wal Mart has always sucked, but they sucked considerably less when Sam Walton was alive.

[regnaD kciN]

17. Correct. The billboard used to be on the family's farmland right along I-5 in Centraila...

I guess, when he died, his heirs sold off the farm, because the billboard got moved down next to an RV dealership on the other side of the freeway in Napavine.

I think, as others have noted, that the son who's continuing the sign is more libertarian than his wingnut father (who once posted, in reference to Evergreen State College in Olympia, "Evergreen: A Haven for Commies and Queers"). For example, a couple of years ago, I noticed the sign even criticized Bush for his use of signing statements.

On recent trips, I've noticed that the sign, although still updated with conservative slogans, seems somewhat the worse for wear -- Uncle Sam is looking distinctly faded. I get the feeling that the son (along with any other family members that might be helping out) either doesn't have the money for upkeep, or has better things to do with their money. I wouldn't be surprised if the billboard comes down altogether one of these years.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Gotta disagree

The first time I drove past that was in 1993. The trip wouldn't be the same without it. It ought to be on the National Register of Historic Places.

Google "barn chehalis I-5 billboard"

[quiller4]

7. It belongs to an old Bircher and has been there for years.

[pscot]

8. Try to think of it as comic relief

It breaks up a long drive and reminds you that your almost in Olymp.

[LeFleur1]

9. Comic Relief

It would be funny if so many of those thinkers hadn't made it into government offices in DC.
The right wing of the Republican party appears to hold the same nonsensical beliefs of the old John Birch Society.

[Mojambo]

11. When we wee kids my brother and I used to really look forward to that sign

on the long drive down to the grandparents in Portland.

Of course neither of us ever really grasped the ugly political points it was making.

It was a familiar landmark.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

12. The good news is that guy suffered horribly before he died.

:thumbsup:

[Lagomorph]

13. Been there since the sixties

South of Olympia, Washington is the privately owned Uncle Sam billboard. It features conservative, sometimes inflammatory messages, changed on a regular basis. Chehalis farmer Al Hamilton first started the board during the Johnson era, when the government was trying to make him remove his billboards along interstate 5. He had erected the signs after he lost a legal battle to prevent the building of the freeway across his land. Numerous legal and illegal attempts to remove the Uncle Sam billboard have failed, and it is now in its third location. <11> One message, attacking a nearby liberal arts college, was photographed, made into a postcard and is sold in the College Bookstore.

http://wapedia.mobi/en/Billboard?t=4.

[sentelle]

14. After the son took it over

The messages got less amusing... at least the father was able to make people laugh.
Now we just scratch our heads.

[Hannah Bell]

15. That is a Washington state heritage site, been there since I was a kid.

I wouldn't remove it for the world; it's the kind of quirky shit being lost in the process of erecting McWorld.

The original owner died, i seem to recall.

[Turbineguy]

16. That shit has been there for years.

It changes because there are so many ways to say: "I'm a fucking idiot!"