THE WOOD - How and why...
Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:18 am
Recently a discussion about "The Wood" or "Wood" has been brought up, how and why it was ever added to the vocabulary of Lakewood. so to end this urban legend so we can move forward I will explain.
Right after Lakewood's Civil War also known as the "Number Thingy" I was looking for a way to bring the city together. Half the city lived in fear of those that come in the night to take homes for cheesecake, the other half took the loss pretty hard. So I started a website called, "ILoveLakewood.com" go figure.
It highlighted the good in Lakewood, and the fun things to do. That even without a new strip mall Lakewood and Lakewoodites could still enjoy their life here.
Part of that project were a series of small oval stickers that proclaimed person had been or lived in Lakewood and was proud of that fact. My company A. Graphic Solution, Inc.,(not to be confused with AGS Printwear division) produced a 1,000 stickers for sale. Proceeds were to go to charity that was left up to the seller to send off to the Lakewood Charity of their choice. Also Lakewood charities were encouraged to sell stickers on their own and keep the money.
The style were, a LO 3 different ways. One was like all the other Oval stickers we produced for vacation areas and schools, another was a little stranger, the third would become the Lakewood Observer logo, and the fourth was the Lakewood logo(still our most popular and hardest to make.
Denny Wendell, at the time a Lakewood designer that had produced many of Lakewood's most popular logos like "Geigers" "Gordo" and the "Lakewood School Logo" said, "What about the Wood?" That afternoon I designed two "Wood" logos to appeal to the younger generation. I only produced enough to obtain the copyright, these have appeared on skateboards, and some cars.
About the same time the Lakewood Observer was born. Many of my more fun and lucrative ideas were shelved as this project took more and more of my time. I believe at one time it came up in a conversation between Steve Davis, Ken Warren and myself. Ken loved the term, not only did it sound young, it captured the magic of what was happening with Lakewood's Renaissance that was being led by the residents. It started to appear on the board and in conversations around town. Today you can hear it in Bela Dubby, Phoenix, restaurants, and other public places. Just last week while standing in line at Marcs I over heard a woman three places ahead of me, say, "I just love fall in the Wood, it is my favorite time of year."
So there you have it, a chance meeting with an ex-resident has conjured up a word and a vision that might well take us into the next century.
No matter what I, you our others call it, we will always be Lakewood.
Fear not, embrace the love and the diversity of our people, businesses and nick names.
.
Right after Lakewood's Civil War also known as the "Number Thingy" I was looking for a way to bring the city together. Half the city lived in fear of those that come in the night to take homes for cheesecake, the other half took the loss pretty hard. So I started a website called, "ILoveLakewood.com" go figure.
It highlighted the good in Lakewood, and the fun things to do. That even without a new strip mall Lakewood and Lakewoodites could still enjoy their life here.
Part of that project were a series of small oval stickers that proclaimed person had been or lived in Lakewood and was proud of that fact. My company A. Graphic Solution, Inc.,(not to be confused with AGS Printwear division) produced a 1,000 stickers for sale. Proceeds were to go to charity that was left up to the seller to send off to the Lakewood Charity of their choice. Also Lakewood charities were encouraged to sell stickers on their own and keep the money.
The style were, a LO 3 different ways. One was like all the other Oval stickers we produced for vacation areas and schools, another was a little stranger, the third would become the Lakewood Observer logo, and the fourth was the Lakewood logo(still our most popular and hardest to make.
Denny Wendell, at the time a Lakewood designer that had produced many of Lakewood's most popular logos like "Geigers" "Gordo" and the "Lakewood School Logo" said, "What about the Wood?" That afternoon I designed two "Wood" logos to appeal to the younger generation. I only produced enough to obtain the copyright, these have appeared on skateboards, and some cars.
About the same time the Lakewood Observer was born. Many of my more fun and lucrative ideas were shelved as this project took more and more of my time. I believe at one time it came up in a conversation between Steve Davis, Ken Warren and myself. Ken loved the term, not only did it sound young, it captured the magic of what was happening with Lakewood's Renaissance that was being led by the residents. It started to appear on the board and in conversations around town. Today you can hear it in Bela Dubby, Phoenix, restaurants, and other public places. Just last week while standing in line at Marcs I over heard a woman three places ahead of me, say, "I just love fall in the Wood, it is my favorite time of year."
So there you have it, a chance meeting with an ex-resident has conjured up a word and a vision that might well take us into the next century.
No matter what I, you our others call it, we will always be Lakewood.
Fear not, embrace the love and the diversity of our people, businesses and nick names.
.
