MADAWASKA, Maine — A group of Madawaska residents recently came together to create a new town sign after the old one fell down and broke two years ago.
Madawaska resident Jenney Dionne, before being elected as a member of the Select Board this summer, first brought the idea of replacing the sign to the board at the beginning of the year.
“The beginning of this year was filled with turmoil in this town,” she said. “People didn’t feel connected, and they were discouraged around town. One of the disappointments was the fact that the ‘Welcome to Madawaska’ sign in St. David was never replaced.”
St. David is an unincorporated village located in Madawaska.
Dionne said she asked Jason Boucher, who was co-chair of the Select Board at the time, about replacing the sign. But it was not in the municipal budget, and the town had numerous other priorities that were more urgent.
“So I asked if a sign could be donated,” Dionne said.
Now, nine months later, the town has a new sign.
Dionne said she worked with her friend Brian Bouley, also of Madawaska, to come up with the sign’s basic design. The finished sign is roughly 8 feet tall and 12 feet wide.
“I knew I wanted it to have an old-school hand painted feel, so I reached out to a few local talented artists and 16-year-old Leilani Pierre of Madawska said ‘yes,’” Dionne said.
The two exchanged ideas and eventually decided on a final theme and color scheme.
“After hours of priming and prepping the boards, she painted the beautiful, simple yet eye-catching scene of the valley,” Dionne said.
Town Manager David Daigle said he and the selectboard appreciate these volunteer efforts.
“It is a wonderful display of giving back to the community,” he said. “We appreciate the volunteerism, and civic mindedness demonstrated in this initiative. It is our hope that this effort by many fosters and promotes more volunteerism and civic involvement in our community.”
She said her father, Roger Dionne, and husband, Dennis Dionne, both helped put the plywood together and created the boards for the signs. They then worked with the town’s facilities department to get the sign up and attached to poles.
“I hope this sign gives the town a renewed sense of community, along with that fuzzy feeling of being home,” Dionne said.
