New welcome sign greets visitors

SEELEY LAKE – For those traveling south on Highway 83, their arrival into Seeley Lake is now announced with a new "Welcome to Seeley Lake" sign. It was installed last week by Clearwater Mini Storage, which is listed at the bottom of the sign.

Kevin Wetherell, managing partner of Clearwater Mini Storage, has been involved in the Seeley Lake Community Foundation and Seeley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors off and on over the last 20 years. He said the "Welcome to Seeley Lake" signs on the north and south end of town either needed to be redone or constructed over that entire period.

Wetherell explained while there have been many efforts to do it, it seemed like when the funds were available, they couldn't get the approval from the Montana Department of Transportation to put the signs on the highway. When MDT approved, the funds were not available.

The most recent attempt at a welcome sign was made by the Foundation last year. They obtained a grant for more than $11,000 to construct the sign on at the south end of Seeley Lake. However the Foundation's Executive Director Claire Muller explained that it was not feasible to put it where it was planned in the time frame that was required for the grant funding.

Wetherell said he started working on signage to promote Clearwater Mini Storage on their property on the north end of town. He decided he could advertise the storage units on the bottom part of a larger welcome sign.

Emulating the "Seeley Lake Welcomes You" billboard at Clearwater Junction, Wetherell had the Clearwater Montana Properties marketing department design the sign. He utilized the "Change Your Pace" phrase that has been coined for Seeley Lake. Clearwater Mini Storage purchased the sign and had it installed on their property, circumventing the approval process from MDT.

"Everybody thinks it is really cool. It is catchy, it looks good," said Wetherell.

The old "Welcome to Seeley Lake" sign on the east side of Highway 83 near the Veterans Memorial Garden still remains.

"It was never my intention to replace that with this new sign," said Wetherell. "That can, as far as I'm concerned, remain there as additional."

Wetherell said he has had people ask about plans for a welcome sign at the south end of town, even some willing to contribute towards it. While there is nothing official in the works, he said it is something he would consider installing on the property where The Bob Marshall Music Festival is held.

Wetherell said, "Everyone wants to be proud of Seeley Lake and I've heard people say that helps make them proud."