Short
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The Cechalis tribe purchased the property, which houses the controversial Uncle Sam billboard on I-5 in Lewis County, a symbol of free speech and a local debate from the 1960s.
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The billboard, originally erected by malice by Alfred Hamilton, faced legal challenges and public petitions to eliminate, but remains unchanged despite recent rumors.
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The tribe is not sure in future plans for the site, but it is pleased that it has acquired it as the billboard continues to move emotions and dispute.
Lewis County, washing. – For decades, a lightning rod on the Interstate 5 in Lewis County has officially changed his hands.
The Cechalis tribe has purchased the property, which houses the infamous Uncle Sam Billboard, a sophisticated and polarizing symbol that was attracted to both fierce criticism and steadfast protection, as it first increased in the mid-1960s.
What they say
“I want to say you just can’t miss it. Exactly on the I-5,” said Real Estate Agent Israel Jimenez, who handled the sale. “Everyone, everywhere that goes here, seems to know about it.”
The output of parcel 75 was indicated for $ 2.5 million. According to Jimenez, the Cechalis tribe reached for the first week of its publication.
“The tribe doesn’t even know what he will do with him. They are just excited to have returned him,” he said.
Jimenese, a native of Napavin, said the billboard has long been stirring emotions.
WA TRIBE buys a controversial billboard
History
“This has been here since 1967. And shortly after it was placed, he immediately had discounts,” Jimenez said. “Within a decade, there was a case for its removal.”
This court case came in 1971, when the then-Antoni Slade Gorton brought a case under the Painting Law, striving to remove the sign. However, the Supreme Court of the State of Washington ultimately ruled in favor of billboard owner Alfred Hamilto based on freedom of expression.
According to the local historian Feliks Banel, now the notorious owner originally erected the sign, on the other hand.
“He had a farm for Turkey and they set the Interstate 5 through, and he compensated for the land, but not to the extent he wanted, because it was a public domain project, so he puts that sign and starts commenting,” Banel said. “It was literally lightning for dispute.”
After decades of messaging, Hamilton died in 2004.
“His family members have maintained the tradition, but nowhere to the extent that Mr. Hamilton did,” Banell said.
Local perspective
In 2020, efforts to remove the billboard intensified. There was a public petition signed by more than 75,000 people, and then an attempt at arson.
This week, after news emerged that the tribe has purchased the property, fake rumors have spread online that billboard’s messages have already been changed.
Fox 13 Seattle travels personally to the sign of the sign and determine the images and the claims are fake. The sign has not changed for years. Fox 13 also contacted the Chehalis tribe for comment, but did not hear back.
Source
The information in this story comes from the original reporting of FOX 13 Seattle Lauren Donovan reporter.
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