Welcome To Gila Bend

I've driven through the small town of Gila Bend many times, because it's on the road between Phoenix and San Diego which I drive fairly often. But I only recently realized that it has a weird welcome sign: "Gila Bend welcomes you. Home of 1917 friendly people and 5 old crabs."

The 5 old crabs are listed: Earl Carpenter, Clyde Kreeger, Scott Smith, Peggy Perry, and Pat Lauderdale.

From Wikipedia:

Gila Bend enjoys a minor notability among tourists and aficionados of roadside attractions. Besides the quirky welcome sign, the town boasts several roadside sculptures and the Space Age Lodge motel and restaurant (opened in 1963), named for its "Space Age" themed architecture and decor.

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Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 12, 2023
Category: Signage | Billboards

Comments

I went to Gila Bend High School as a sophomore in the early 1970's. It's an odd place but I liked it. I knew a lot of kids who I still remember fondly. A welcoming small town community where I felt very much at home. The high school mascot is the best anywhere, the Gila Bend Monsters.

Posted by dan on 03/12/23 at 09:58 AM

Dan, if you were a sophomore in the early '70s, you may have gone to school with one or more of the old crabs.

Posted by ges on 03/12/23 at 09:37 PM

I only saw Gila Bend once, from the highway, out the window of a Greyhound bus, in 1982. It looked very forlorn. Thanks for telling me it was a nice place to actually live.

Posted by Rodger on 03/13/23 at 09:50 AM

Oh, really, Alex, this is a challenge. This has to be a challenge! Next time to drive through there, stop along and interview one of the crabs, and get them to tell you what weird things happened in their lives. Repeat this for the next five trips (at least), and collect all their weird tales. Come on, we all know: you have to!

Posted by Richard Bos on 03/18/23 at 10:20 AM

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