New gateway sign on 31 in Albion celebrates Santa, local landmarks

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The Village of Albion unveiled a new sign today on the eastern side of the village on Route 31 that highlights the community’s ties to Santa. The sign also spells out “ALBION” and local landmarks are painted within the letters.

Albion eighth-grade chorus students sang “Jingle Bells” and joined in a group photo with Village Trustee Joyce Riley, third from right, Village Historian Susan Starkweather Miller, second from right, and Mary Jo Whitman, the artist who created the sign.

The students from left include Ryalee Moyer, Zyann Pore, Kinzie Rickner, Nadalee Ryan, Kyalee Moyer and Kennedy Roberts.

Joyce Riley spearheaded the project for the village, securing a $5,000 grant administered through the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.

The sign gives Santa Claus a prominent role. Albion was home of the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School form 1937 until Howard’s death in 1966. The school continues in his name in Midland, Mich.

Susan Starkweather Miller shares about Howard, who continues to shape the way thousands of people portray Santa.

She noted the Route 31 in Albion has signs declaring it as the Charles W. Howard Memorial Highway. There is a bronze statue in downtown Albion of Santa, two murals celebrating Howard and the Sana School, and other efforts to promote the community’s heritage with the school and Christmas Park, which Howard operated in Albion bringing 80,000 visitors at its peak.

Howard urged people to give of their time and talents, and not be so focused on possessions.

The “ALBION” sign features the a boat on the Erie Canal with the lift bridge in back, the Civil War memorial tower at Mount Albion and the Orleans County Courthouse.

This shows, from left, Joyce Riley, a village trustee; Susan Starkweather Miller, the village historian, and Mary Jo Whitman, an artist from Batavia.

Whitman said the Santa was intended to be set lower on the back of the sign. If it can’t be adjusted, she said she would make some modifications and touch-ups.

She also is planning a mural in Holley for next year, but is waiting to see if the project will be funded by GO Art!