October 2006 Chester Village News article on the new Chester Village welcome sign.

Having played an integral part in the planning an eventually installation of the Welcome to Chester sign are, from left, Mike Keene, Woodcraft Sign Shoppe; Eric Chandler, Sons of Confederate Veterans Chester Station Camp; Kristi Higgins, CCA aesthetics chairperson; R.M. “Dickie” King, Board of Supervisors Chairman; Page Martin, CCA secretary; Jim Daniels, CBA and SCV; Phyllis Bass, CCA board member; Betty Matthews, former CCA board member; Jerome Weedon, president of CBA; Scott Fisher, treasurer of CBA; Sherry Minson, Chesterfield Center for the Arts vice chair; Tolison Morriss, J.T. Morriss and Son Funeral Home.

As those traveling west along Rt. 10 leave the hyper congestion of the intersection of routes 1 and 10 and settle in on their way toward Chester Village, a new sign welcomes them to what local residents are proud to call home.

Although the new "welcome to Chester" sign is not exactly on the eastern border of Chester, since the exact location of such a border is nebulous, it does evoke a friendly tone to those who may be just visiting.

The Chester Community Association (CCA) began the project to have the sign built and installed some four years ago. It was one of about 20 goals the group had made in an effort to make the Chester community more aesthetically pleasing and identifiable.

The Chester Business Association (CBA) and the Sons of Confederate Veterans Chester Station Camp also donated some money early in the process. After the funding was complete, mostly through income from ChesterFest, a site for the sign had to be located.

Aesthetics chairman Kristi Higgins completed the project started by Jeff Bowman a few years ago when she arranged to have the sign erected on property owned by J.T. Morriss and Son Funeral Home. According to Higgins, Tolison Morriss was very happy to have the sign on the Morriss property just west of their parking lot entrance.

"As most of you know, the Chester Community Association was formed with the help of the Chesterfield Planning Department with the mission to enhance our community’s quality of life while ensuring the implementation of the Chester Plan.

"We have set many goals over the years and accomplished most of them, including our biggest success, ChesterFest," Higgins said.

On Thursday, many of those responsible for the sign gathered for an unveiling, and Board of Supervisors Chairman R.M. "Dickie" King did the honors, pulling the cover from the sign built and installed by Mike Keene of Woodcraft Sign Shoppe.

Representing the CCA was Page Martin, who introduced Higgins and as secretary, acted as the official officer on site. Current board members Phyllis Bass and Mark Fausz were also on hand representing the association along with past board member and chairman of the Chesterfield Center for the Arts, Betty Matthews. The CBA’s president, Jerome Weedon and treasurer Scott Fisher attended on behalf of the local business group. Jim Daniels wore two hats, being both a member of the CBA and of the Confederate Veterans Chester Station Camp, along with Eric Chandler.

Higgins thanked the Chester Civitan for volunteering to do the upkeep on landscaping that will be installed in a couple of weeks and made a special effort to thank architect Rick Minson, now deceased, for his initial concept and ideas. His wife Sherry and their two daughters attended the dedication in his honor.

The Chester Community Association meets on the third Wednesday of each month. Find out more information about their projects and accomplishments at www.chestercommunity.org.

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Chester Station Camp is recognized by the Museum of the Confederacy in their latest Dispatch newsletter for our contribution.

Please apply for the Virginia SCV license plate. It is finally available after 10 long years of hard work by the Virginia Division.