Mattapoisett Sign Destroyed in Crash Leads to Humorous Message

MATTAPOISETT (WBSM) — One member of the Mattapoisett Lions Club found a way to always look on the bright side of life, after a fixture of the town for over two decades was destroyed following a car crash Monday.

“When they say destroyed, they mean destroyed,” said Lions Club member Jonathan Gray.

Gray is the caretaker for the Mattapoisett Lions Club Community Bulletin Board, which he said has stood at the intersection of Route 6 and North Street – directly across from Salty the Seahorse – for probably about 20 years.

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He said that around 12:45 p.m. on July 3, he began getting texts from people telling him that the sign had been destroyed when a car crashed into it.

“I got at least a dozen texts with pics of the sign. I thought people were teasing me at first, that it was photoshopped,” Gray said. “But then I headed right up and decided to rescue letters that we had left.”

Gray had the sign completely filled with information about the Lions Club’s upcoming Harbor Days happening July 9-16.

“We’ve got a lot going on, and honestly the most full the sign has ever been,” he said. “It’s leading up to our big summer event, so the timing couldn’t be worse, but I’m glad everyone’s OK.”

Gray said from what he could tell, a Jeep was coming fast down the street and another car swerved to avoid hitting it and hit the sign instead, busting it into pieces and scattering letters everywhere.

“As I was picking up the letters, I tried to do it in alphabetical order, because I’m the one who has to put the letters away,” he said.

But then inspiration struck on how to make something lighthearted out of what was a disastrous situation.

“I’m always trying to be a little bit funny with (the sign). I try to find humor in anything I can,” Gray said. “As I was trying to rescue the letters that were remaining, I realized I had enough left to spell (what is now on the sign).”

Gray pulled out an infamous quote from the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, placing “Tis But a Scratch” on the destroyed sign.

“I finally found a message to put on the sign where people are seeing where my sense of humor comes from,” he said.

Unfortunately, the sign is no more. The sign has ceased to be.

Gray estimated the damage at about $1,000 and said that between the Lions Club’s insurance and admin fund, they should be able to replace the sign and won’t need to do any fundraising for a new one.

“While we don’t need to fundraise, people can donate to us and everything donated goes to Lions-sponsored causes,” he said.

And perhaps that new sign, a little more fortified, can move for no man.