New Yellow Creek Park Sign Sculpture Will Celebrate ROMP, Raptors, and Roots

You never know what folks might be passionate about until you allow them to show you. And that's exactly what happened last month when Yellow Creek Park in Daviess County got a new sign.

Yellow Creek Park Sign

Yellow Creek Park opened in 1978, but the sign with which everyone became familiar (and, as it turns out, became passionate about) was installed in 2004. In May, however, a brand-new sign began greeting visitors to the park, and that move did not come without a little blowback in the comment section.

Sculpture to Be Added to New Yellow Creek Park Sign

I like the folk-artsy look of the old sign, but I also like the new one. I'm glad the former is sticking around, and I'm very pleased about the future of the latter. Larry and Rosemary Conder (Larry's a county commissioner, and Rosemary is the former executive director of the Opportunity Center of Owensboro) have commissioned a sculpture to be mounted alongside the new sign.

The stainless steel sculpture was designed by the Conders, who worked with Chris Schartung, owner of Yellow Banks Ironworks, the company commissioned to create the piece.

Rosemary Conder

The Conders' design celebrates ROMP; the event's signature owl is honored as the sculpture's central focus. The owl also represents Yellow Creek Park's raptor sanctuary.

The banjo strings need no explanation, but the leaves might. They honor the tulip poplar, Kentucky's state tree.

The hope was that the sign would be ready for ROMP, but that isn't going to happen. The Conders will let us know when the sign will be completed.