Week 47 – #31. Out Of Control

June 24, 2014 by tnwaltz 5 Comments

“If that’s a sign, then I’m a doughnut hole,” was the headline of an article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Friday, June 20, 2014. For 31 years, a building and adjacent Koch Bakery have been owned by a third generation pastry maker who is 81 years old and still working 6 days a week behind the counter of her beloved bakery in Chattanooga, Tennessee. During that time, she lost her husband and two sons while singlehandedly supporting her three grandchildren, to build the most beloved bakery in town. She has sent her grandchildren to college from what she earned at the bakery. Although the dingy building was not physically attached to her bakery, she looked at it every time she pulled into her parking space. “Wouldn’t it be more beautiful,” she thought, “if a mural were painted on it which would turn the old dingy building into art?” Afterall, other murals are painted on various buildings on and around the location. That’s exactly what she did one day when she hired an artist, not a sign painter, to paint it with “flying doughnuts” at a cost of $11,000 out of her own pocket. Everyone admired the new piece of art … except the City government’s sign inspector who walked in one day last week and told her it had to be painted over because, although there was no writing and not attached to her bakery, it was advertisement of her business. This caused quite a stir in the community, who thought the inspector was unreasonable and out of control. In protest, the people of Chattanooga went into the bakery daily to sign a petition to leave the mural in place and to buy doughnuts not only for themselves but for the City Commission meeting scheduled for today, June 24th. At the time we went into the pastry shop last Saturday, over 1,000 signatures were on the petition and 31 dozen doughnuts had already been purchased for delivery to the City Commission meeting. By the time of the meeting today, 54 dozen doughnuts had been purchased and delivered to the City Commission meeting in protest of the City inspector’s decision. At the meeting this evening, the City Attorney suggested that the City Commissioners make a decision to study the sign ordinance more closely and postpone a decision until that is done. Hopefully when this is all said and done, it will be decided to leave the little lady and her mural alone and let her continue directing her attention to making the best doughnuts in town.