Visitors to the small town of Waterloo are now officially greeted with a welcome sign, which was erected earlier this month.
Waterloo used to have matching welcome signs on both ends of town, but several years ago the one at the southwest entrance was destroyed after Linn County widened the road, said Cathy Nelson, city recorder for the community of just over 200 residents.
When the council finally acquired all the materials needed to install a new sign, they were thinking of using wooden letters attached to a board, but resident Kevin Faulk had a better idea.
“I volunteered to do a slightly fancier one with a metal 3-D look,” said Faulk, who builds metal parts.
Unable to cut letters, he gave metal to Western Metal Fab in Lebanon, who cut the letters for free, he said, and Faulk cut the trees and fish himself.
“We’re famous for our fishing hole down here,” he said, noting he wanted to incorporate camping and fishing into the sign.
“It’s been a collaborative project,” Nelson said. “He did the majority of it, but the whole council came together for it.”
While Faulk was off hunting, the council assembled and erected the sign for “The city of recreation,” Waterloo’s motto.