Persistence

The key to liberty:

Last week, Ogden's Landmarks Commission approved Bruce Edwards' proposal to restore a sign on his historic C.C. Keller Building on 25th Street -- a full 10 years after his original request.

"I outlasted 'em," Edwards chortled Thursday. "And the bottom line is, I was right."

The original wording, dating back to about 1910 and painted on the north side of the two-story brick structure, is still barely visible: "Every hour upon the hour for about an hour Drink Becker's Beer -- Ogden's Famous Beer."

But in 1998, the Landmarks Commission -- whose membership has now changed -- gave the sign restoration a big thumbs down.

"One of the members said, 'We can't have beer on that sign; we want 25th Street to be family oriented," Edwards recalled.

The decision ignited a feud between Edwards and City Hall -- most notably with Mayor Matthew Godfrey -- at least in Edwards' telling of it.

...Snubbed by the city, Edwards in 2000 put up a large sign in the window of his then-vacant building, saying, "Why would anybody do business in Ogden? It's the dope capital of Utah."

"Dope" didn't refer to illicit drugs, Edwards explained. It was his description of the folks at City Hall.

With the 2002 Winter Games looming and the Olympic torch scheduled to run past Edwards' building, the then-City Council worried the town could be in for some bad publicity, recalled Councilwoman Amy Wicks, who was not on the panel at that time.

...That council responded with an ordinance forbidding such signs. Edwards called the American Civil Liberties Union and the feud moved to court where, in 2005, 2nd District Judge Parley Baldwin ruled in favor of Edwards, saying Ogden had usurped his First Amendment rights: "The sweeping ban understandably would dismay the average American … who would be surprised to learn he could not display flags, religious symbols, political placards, or even bumper stickers in the windows of his vacant building."

To this day, Edwards has signs in his windows, including one with a big likeness of the mayor with a Pinocchio nose and the words, "Indict Gondola Godfrey" -- a backhanded reference to the mayor's support on a gondola transit system.

But after the court ruling, the Landmark Commission again denied Edwards' restoration request.

...So, in 2008, he applied again.

A new Landmarks Commission said OK.