Speaking signs with local volunteer restorer

MILLERTON — History is a family tradition for George McGhee of Pine Plains, who restores deteriorated historical event markers in and around the town of North East.

McGhee, a longtime employee of Herrington’s in Millerton, draws on his experience in the hardware trade to repair the recognizable blue-and-yellow signs to their original condition.

The Pine Plains native took to restoring the degraded signs owing to his grandmother’s influence. “My grandmother was a historian, so as a kid I’d help with the historical society and I’d do odd repair jobs for older people,” McGhee said. “More recently, I saw the signs deteriorating, so I thought to myself, ‘well why not just paint them?’”

Historical markers are installed by the state government through an application process, but maintenance of the signs is far from centralized and usually relies on volunteers like Mr. McGhee. According to the website of the New York State Education Department,“Local authorities maintain, repair, and replace historical markers often in cooperation with local historical groups and volunteers.”

McGhee assumed the role of maintaining signs in and around Dutchess County out of his own interest in seeing the signs properly cared for. “I just started repairing signs on my days off,” he said. “I didn’t ask anyone at first but now I’ll talk with the historical societies in villages, if they have one.”

Mr. McGhee brings his experience from the hardware profession to refurbish the markers with precision, down to the exact shades of blue and yellow paint used originally. “The first coat of blue paint is Rust-Oleum Royal Blue and the writing is Sunburst Yellow — that’s how [New York State] wants the signs done. You can get all that from the internet on the historical pages,” the volunteer restorer said.

Restoring the signs correctly is an extensive process. “I take some drives that are quite lengthy in mileage. One day, if I’m going through the area, I’ll stop and clean [the marker] and then I’ll wait a week and do the next part of it,” McGhee said.

To date, by his own accounts, Mr. McGhee has restored 64 signs in total, including 24 near Gallatin, 18 in his hometown of Pine Plains and five in Millerton.

McGhee cites the Hammertown and Rippon Road signs as the most historically significant markers he has restored. The signs respectively commemorate the Hammertown Sheath — a large, defunct manufacturing business dating back to the 1800s — and the boxing matches which occurred in Boston Corners during its lawless period.

The distinctiveness of Mr. McGhee’s services has attracted interest all over New York from people looking to restore signs of importance to them. “Two weeks ago… [a woman] sent me pictures of a sign [on her property] with the paint pretty well popped off,” McGhee said. “I asked her, ‘whereabouts are you?’ and she said ‘about 15 miles west of the Finger Lakes.’”

History may be in the past, but George McGhee’s restoration efforts are ongoing.

“I don’t plan to stop anytime soon,” Mr. McGhee said.