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Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
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Morning Star, January 23, 2022, pg. 5 With the changing of the calendar year, the counters are set back to zero, and a new year of statistics begins. When Interstate I-94 opened north of Albion on July 1, 1960, a new era in Albion history began. No longer would hundreds of vehicles pass through our town on U.S-12 as had been the case previously. A prominent and colorful "Albion Next Exit" billboard was posted along the highway coming towards town from Jackson, in an attempted to woo visitors back into our community. There was another billboard however that was also erected along I-94, sponsored by the Calhoun County Safety Commission. Having the appearance of an athletic scoreboard, it was intended as a safety reminder for those entering Calhoun County. In those days wearing a seat belt (if they were included in an automobile) wasn t required, and understandably there were more traffic deaths on Michigan roads as a result. In order to induce drivers to drive safely, the billboard stated, "ENTERING CALHOUN COUNTY. XX KILLED, CALHOUN COUNTY SAFETY COMMISSION." The number in the center was constantly being updated as the latest traffic death occurred. Battle Creek historian Kurt Thornton wrote me, "One summer, my father made some extra money painting the signs." Why, even here in Albion, the Albion Chamber of Commerce got into the act, and erected its own "ALBION DEATHS" scoreboard right next to the Chamber office, which then was located in what today is the Molder Statue Park. That sign contained the added words, "ALBION DEATHS THIS YEAR," and "DRIVE SAFELY." I wonder what drivers must have thought about our County and City when they saw those ominous numbers while driving into our domains. Perhaps it might have made them want to speed up in order to get out of here before it was too late. From our Historical Notebook this week we present both signs, undated. The Albion one shows city employee Ralph Pollman positioning the sign into place. The Calhoun County one, courtesy of Kurt Thornton, shows Calhoun County s "score" all the way up to 18 at that point. How many of our readers remember these?  Ralph Pollman Positioning a Death Scoreboard Sign into Place
 The Calhoun County Death Scoreboard Sign
All text copyright, 2024 © all rights reserved Frank Passic
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