Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 2003)
TOWN A BY ANY OTHER NAME EW SLOGAN CONTEST RESPONSES BY ARIA SELIGMANN I n response to the state of Oregon’s new slogan, “Oregon: We Love Dreamers,” we ran a little slogan contest of our own. What would Eugeneans say of their own little slice of geography? The answers came in, not in gushes or droves, but from a few very creative souls who got the wheels turning and offered us a feast of choices. Hats off to Ali Gartlan, “Nancy,” “Irene,” Christopher Logan, Don Webb, Linda and Martin Sage, Benton Elliott (and his dog, Gus), Troy Frahm, Leslie What, Rachael Dillman, Jean Horsfall, Jake Wilson, Michael Chuko, Jeff Koenig and John Jordan- Cascade for their creativity and participation. Some slogans were givens and some were repetitive, and most were classifiable, but not all. So here they are, in their very own topical array, a whole new batch of bumpersticker fodder. RAIN The rain was a no-brainer, inspiring com- ments on Ken Kesey, “We Read in the Rain,” and musical associations, “Where the Rain It’s Plain is not Mainly in Spain,” and The Rain in Lane Can Really be a Pain.” Green, hairy comments included “Where a Rolling Stone Gathers More Moss,” and “Where Moss Grows on All Sides of a Tree.” We received one homage to our great summers: “A great place to live — from September to June.” COUNTER CULTURE Both conservatives and liberals weighed in on Eugene’s counter-culture. From the ob- vious lifestyle stuff: “Where the Counter- Culture Grew Up (sort of);” and “Hippie.com;” to more specific examples of the freedoms we engage in: “Where the ‘Grass’ Grows Greener;” “Where Hippies Make a Profit;” and “Can You Spare a Smoke, Bro?” the comments came pouring in, including the more generic “Where the Dead Head,” and “Land of 100,000 Hippies.” Hair drew feedback: “Greatest Concentration of White-Boy Rasta Dreads in the Known Universe;” and “White People with Dreadlocks;” as did our fashion statements: “Capital of Tie- dye-stan;” and “Where Ties Dye.” But the ‘tude was perhaps best summed up by this short quip: “The Hippie Vibe is Still Alive.” POLITICS Eugene is well known for its political chasms. Ralph Nader chided EW during an interview last year, “Aren’t you the town that calls itself progressive but has one of the most conservative city councils in the coun- try?” Ouch. A tough one to respond to, but at least we can laugh at ourselves, as these slo- gans show: “We’re Broadminded, but We Ain’t Stupid;” “Insular and Proud of It;” “Where We Argue till the Ducks Come Home;” “Where We Dogmatically Question Dogma;” “Where We Tolerate Everything but Intolerance;” “Where Tolerance and Respect for Diversity is Welcome as Long as It’s What We Agree With;” “So Democratic Nothing Gets done;” “Conspiracy Theory Capital of the U.S.;” “Nothing’s Certain but Our Hate of Bush, Government and Taxes;” and “Sustainable Disagreement.” We dare not quibble with those responses. Ironically, it was Eugene humorist Leslie What who got serious on us: “It’s Your City. Vote.” ing grounds appeared in several categories, but in the unique slot, the legacy of Kesey and his cronies, Tim Leary and Ram Dass, is felt the most. Quips included: “Always a Great Notion,” and “Sometimes a Great Notion;” as well as “Tune in. Turn on. Drop by;” “Be Here Now;” and a sum- mation of those thoughts: “Where the 1960s Meets the 21st Century.” Not everyone wants to be labeled an acid- dropping freak, however, and some weighed in on the cultural chasm that sometimes oc- curs: “Are Those Protesters or Duck Fans?” “Where East Meets West (on Willamette St.);” “The Springfield of the New Millennium;” and “Where Ecotopia Lies Down with the Beast.” While those slogans point out our differ- ences, others poked fun at our homogeneity: “Caucasians for Cultural Diversity;” and some didn’t miss the opportunity to re- flect on our boontown image: “Well, at Least We Have One Library.” More Duck love is apparent in the slogan “Green and Gold and Gray” and round- ing out the category is one for the peaceful people: “Open Minds, Open Hearts, Open Arms.” boy. UNEMPLOYMENT The next category of responses reminds us of that old joke: Why do hippies move to Eugene? Because there aren’t any jobs. Sometimes it’s healthy to be able to laugh. Slogans in this category included: “Unemployment Means More Here;” Food Stamps?” “Clean “Got Environment. Good jobs. Dream On;” “Yeah, Slooooww Growth … Just the Way the Caterpillar Likes It!” and “We Write and Weave, Paint and Pot, but Seldom Sell.” TRANSPORTATION If everyone’s so broke, then how do they manage? One answer might be the paucity of fancy cars you see cruising through town. Keeping that ol’ beast going forever is cer- tainly a matter of pride — for some. Can’t you just see these slogans slapped on the back of the bus? “VW Campers Last Longer Here;” and “Greatest Concentration of VW Microbuses in the Galaxy.” If all of your friends seem to driving the same white Forester lately, you’re not alone. One slogan points out this phenomenon: “Home of the Subaru Station Wagon.” Meanwhile, we’re still scratching our heads over: “Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile.” Whatever you say. CLAIMS TO FAME Funny, but except for a couple of com- ments relating to Duck spirit and the green and gold, nobody mentioned anything about the UO. Academics? What? We’ll let the expanded UO marketing de- partment figure that one out. Meanwhile, the following suggestions came in to point out our éclat: “Ken Kesey Tripped Here;” “Rip van Winkle Slept Here;” “Former Home of the Willamette Valley;” and one that smarts: “We Tore Down the Animal House.” CATEGORY BUSTER Last but not least, we received one cate- gory-defying entry that perfectly sums up our bi-polar existence. Where you stand is clear from your attitude toward this slogan; whether you view it as positive — or sarcastic: WHERE MOSS GROWS ON ALL SIDES OF A TREE UNIQUE EUGENE TREES “Come for the Rain, Stay for the Hippies.” Of course, the hippies and the conserva- tives and the Ducks all amount to one big, weird conglomeration. Several respondents didn’t pass up the chance to note Eugene’s uniqueness: “An Entertaining, Eclectic Eddy,” and “Alternative is Just the Beginning!” The fact Ken Kesey made this his stomp- You’d think there would have been more commentary on Eugene’s trees, or lack thereof, or controversy over, but no, no human noted them at all. In fact, only one submission falling into this category was re- ceived, by an interested dog named Gus: “Always a Tree on Which to Pee.” We’re glad that was from a dog and not a frat So there it is. Your town; your words. We’re still wrestling over which are the best slogans and will announce them next week. Thanks for all your submission. Got some late slogan inspirations? We’ll run the best of them as letters to the editor. Happy New Year to all. DECEMBER 31, 2003 9
