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Bumper decals raise money for Weymouth seniors
July 20, 2002
By JOSH JOHNSON
The Patriot Ledger
They're more elegant than the old, rectangular
"HOW'S MY DRIVING? '' bumper stickers. They're
small, oval, white-and-black, and they're
increasingly visible on the rear ends of
American cars.
And now there's one for Weymouth.
The Friends of the Council on Aging, a nonprofit group, is selling
bumper stickers with a local twist on an old international driving
regulation. The stickers, which show the letters "WEY'' on a white background, are
being sold for $3 each to raise money for
the town Department of Elder Services.
The idea was hatched by town councilors Michael
Smart and Sue Kay, who decided on an initial
printing of 1,000 to gauge public interest
in the decals.
"We're hoping to take in $2,700 to $3,000,''
Kay said. "If that's successful we'll order
more.''
Though the stickers went on sale Wednesday,
the idea to use them to raise money for the
elderly predated recent budget talks during
which Mayor David Madden proposed steep cuts
in services to senior citizens.
In the end, just one position was eliminated
in a reorganization of the department, said
Jane Hackett, Madden's chief of staff, adding
that no programs for seniors had been cut.
"Regardless of the budget process, no department
ever has enough money to do the things they
want to do, and the stickers will go a long
way toward providing them with the things
they desire,'' said Smart, who represents
District 6.
He said any money raised would go to toward
paying for such things as luncheons, transportation
and recreational activities.
The stickers have their origin in the 1949
United Nations Convention on Road Traffic.
The convention states that all vehicles from
participating nations must display their
countries of origin when driving abroad.
This can be done with either special license
plates or the now-familiar decals.
The convention spells out various country
codes and is an interesting read for anyone
who has driven on the Massachusetts Turnpike
and wondered about the letters "NL'' emblazoned
on the car ahead.
The requirements are laid out in painstaking
detail:
"The distinguishing sign shall be composed
of one to three letters in capital Latin
characters. The letters shall have a minimum
height of 80 mm. (3.1 in.) and their strokes
a width of 10 mm. (0.4 in.). The letters
shall be painted in black on a white ground
of elliptical form with the major axis horizontal.''
The Weymouth stickers are slightly smaller
than stipulated by international law. The
regulations came as news to Kay, a councilor-at-large.
"Let's hope they do the trick anyway,''
Kay said.
The stickers were originally confined to
regions - such as Europe - where international
automobile travel is common. They eventually
grew as a phenomenon in the United States,
as drivers, perhaps looking for something
more sophisticated (and more honest) than
"MY OTHER CAR'S A PORSCHE,'' obtained the
stickers in displays of allegiance to various
countries.
Unofficial novelty decals became common.
Martha's Vineyard ("MV'') was home to an
early takeoff. Massachusetts ("MA'') has one; so does Little Cranberry Island ("LCI''),
Maine, and Jackson Hole ("JH''), Wyo.
The new sticker isn't even Weymouth's first - the town's Great Esker
Park ("GEP'') decal
was introduced to local bumpers a couple
years ago.
One of the oddest novelties comes from Nantucket, whose letters - "ACK'' - left even Kay baffled.
(They refer to the federal code for Nantucket
Memorial Airport.)
"There's no guessing with W-E-Y,'' she said.
The stickers can be purchased at town hall
or at the Whipple Senior Center, 182 Green
St.
Josh Johnson may be reached at JoshJohnson@ledger.com.
Copyright 2002 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Saturday, July 20, 2002 |
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