Community league sign sends different message with head-turning humour
Funny phrases on Leefield Community League’s roadside sign have been raising eyebrows in Mill Woods this summer.
A few of the jokes that have graced the sign on Mill Woods Road, near 91 Street, include:
“Caution! Water on road during rain.”
“If cats could text you back they wouldn’t.”
“There’s no way that everybody was kung fu fighting!”
The double-sided sign typically advertises upcoming events, the community league’s website and hall rental opportunities.
But longtime league president and long-serving former Edmonton city police officer Wil Tonowski said the purpose of the more lighthearted messages is to make people smile during the slower summer months.
“I didn’t want to just have, ‘Have a great summer,’ ” said Tonowski, who spent much of policing career monitoring high-risk offenders. “To me, it’s boring. Let other people put up the boring stuff — I want to put up something that’s going to catch your eye, maybe send a message.”
The number of weddings happening at the hall has also dipped recently, so the humour, he hopes, will help with marketing.
The league installed the $11,000 sign last year, after 20 years of prioritizing other community projects such as new playground equipment, outdoor heaters and security cameras in the hall.
Tonowski’s policing career spanned 30 years and he’s been the president of the community league for more than a decade. He also used to own a sign business and that’s where his interest in clever messages started.
He’s been collecting one-liners for years and has 130 ideas saved in a note on his phone. Some are
original jokes. Others are inspirational or philosophical. The internet yielded more than a few finds.
The rest of Leefield Community League’s board shares his sense of humour, he said, and the signs have sparked conversations on Reddit and received hundreds of likes on Facebook.
Several signs have caused some controversy. One person argued the phrase “I wish Noah had swatted those two mosquitoes!” was “too biblical.” Four people complained about Tonowski’s first sign, which read, “Speed limit enforced by sniper,” citing gullible drivers and the inappropriateness of making light of violence as concerns.
Tonowski isn’t swayed by the handful of critics. “I’m at the point where I’m ready to say, ‘If you don’t like this, just close your eyes as you drive by,’ ” he said jokingly.
Typically, the league’s facility manager changes the letters on the sign, but Tonowski and his wife — who approves each message before it goes up — have taken on the responsibility recently. The chore takes an hour or two each week.
“People look at our sign because they’re expecting something different every time,” he said.
“Yeah, it’s a little bit of work, but it’s also a labour of love.”