Nemechek's Sign Field

David Nemechek  |  dates unknown  |  outside of Perry, OK

Sign environment  |  creation dates unknown

First things first - don’t stop along the 2 lane Highway 64 to get out and take photos, the law frowns on this behavior and will ticket you.  You can pull down the road a bit and there is a side road to park on.  

Just from reading the signs, the story seems to go like this: David Nemechek and his family moved to Noble County in the early to mid 70s. During that time, something happened, that got he and the law at cross-purposes.  Was it something to do with their Czech heritage versus the German heritage of their neighbors, as one sign descibes?  No matter the origins, strange things began to happen: cattle were mutilated and murdered, harassing phone calls, threats on his family’s lives, and other things. (As a side bar of coincidence, during the same period of time, 1973, just down the road in Crescent, OK, Karen Silkwood was blowing the whistle on the Kerr-McGee Chemical Plant, later to die mysteriously...cue eerie music...)

David fought back the only way he knew how: by posting signs in his front yard. Lots of them. Then around 1993, the sheriff, accused in the signs of wrongdoing, won a libel lawsuit against the Nemecheks and the next year had their property seized to satisfy the judgment. 

Beyond the mystery of the story, the signs themselves are works of art.  Color blocks accent various segments of neatly lettered discourse.  The rhythm of the different colors are captivating, although the accents are placed on every word.  And it seems that the Nemechek’s aren’t angry with everyone, there is even a sign that reads: “Thank you for stopping please drive carefully.”