White Not Grey - It’s Not Just A Color

White Not Grey - It’s Not Just A Color

By Alex Saitta

January 15, 2020

Introduction:

I am sure you have heard about the debate on the color scheme for the restoration of Bruce Field on Jewel Street, across from the old Pickens High School. Pickens High School’s colors are blue and white with a bit of red and that has been the color of the stadium wall that is across from the school (picture 1).

The City of Pickens bought the field from the school district in 2012. At this point, the wall has been pressure washed, stripped and is awaiting fresh paint (picture 2). It got out that the city planned to paint the wall a dark grey. The city argued it would be cheaper to keep clean and it would match the base paint on the Doodle Trail station. You can see the painted sample in the visitors’ ticket booth (picture 3). There was a ton of push back from the public and it appears the city revised the plan to make the wall a light grey (picture 4 photoshop example).

It seems like a reasonable compromise between those wanting to adhere to tradition and those who are willing to make some changes. Myself, I’m in the strict tradition group and believe the wall should be Pickens’ white, not grey. More on tradition and protecting it later.

Praise First, An Idea Second:

First, give the city council and administration for restoring Bruce Field. It will be a great addition to the town and the city Rec leagues.

Second, the Pickens High School football team should play one regular season game or exhibition game a year at the restored Bruce Field. At half time, how about an old-timers game of former Pickens Blue Flame stars playing about 20 snaps (tackle or even flag football)?

Protect Our Traditions:

There is a bigger principle, though, and it touches on many issues we have faced, are facing and are yet to face future. The principle of protecting our long standing traditions in the face of enviable change.

I moved from New York to Pickens 20 years ago. In New York, growing up in the 1960’s I saw firsthand what urban sprawl can do to a town. That is starting to happen here as Greenville sprawls into Pickens County. I lived it and on balance this will harm the quality of life in our town (e.g., excessive population growth, more traffic than roads can handle, impact on the environment and wildlife, unaffordable home prices and rents, larger government bureaucracy, higher crime rates, and it goes all the way down to rudeness at checkout).

Most of these things our leaders will not be able to prevent or control. As a result, 7 of 10 things we have now, we’ll lose. Given that, what our leader are able to control and make decisions on, they must act to preserve what was, because in the end that is the only thing we’ll have left.

Reading this, you can see why I so strongly opposed the decision to close the country schools of Holly Springs and AR Lewis. Tradition. Why I criticized the county council for its refusal to move chapel from the old stockade to the new jail. Tradition. And why I supported and spoke out for the volunteers who were against the county council’s effort to commercialize the Hagood Mill. Tradition. In all cases our leaders had a choice to hold on to and protect tradition, but willfully chose not to. Twenty years from now, when Pickens County has been run over by what is spilling out of Greenville, we are going to drive by that grey and blue wall on Jewel St and say, heck we couldn't even hold on to that (tradition of blue and white). By then most who grew up here will not recognize our town, just like life-long residents of Easley no longer recognize the town they grew up in.

Either we stand up for our traditions and protect them, or we are going to lose them. It is that simple.

Branding:

One final thing tied to this subject. There have been a few efforts to rebrand Pickens, spending money on new logos like “Where the Mountains Begin” and repainting the water tower. Let’s face it, “Where the Mountains Begin” hasn’t caught on. I bet if you asked most on the street what was the Pickens motto, most would not guess “Where the Mountains Begin.”

Pickens has a brand, with a logo and a color scheme -- the Blue Flame, the torch, with a white, blue and red color scheme. Many who went to school here, still live here. They know the brand and have an allegiance to the brand. If our leaders want to market the town of Pickens, use the brand that everyone already knows and recognizes.

Along those things, I thought they made a mistake with the innovative design and color scheme on the wall at the head of the Doodle Trail by the way. Instead it should have been centered around the Blue Flame colors and at least had a Blue Flame torch somewhere on the mural. I don't see the torch anywhere on the mural. Really, the Doodle Trail with its rainbow color scheme looks like something out of the New York gay pride parade. Go with and build your brand around what the people know and already have allegiance to. People have an allegiance to traditions and what they grew up with. And in Pickens, traditions run deep.