My Salisbury

A true story by Erick Sahler

The 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s were not kind to my hometown.

A growing wave of political infighting in the mayor’s office and on city council took its toll. Mistrust and personal vendettas stagnated government, eroded civil discourse and turned every little issue into a high-stakes battle.  

Businesses fled. Giant plants including Campbell’s Soup, the gas pump maker Dresser Wayne and a national builder of fiberglass boats all moved elsewhere, taking jobs and unraveling the social fabric of our community.

Crime rose. Police talked about gangs, and murders occurred regularly. We were named one of the most dangerous cities in the country.

Then the economy tanked. The hulking concrete skeleton of an unfinished condominium on the riverfront and empty storefronts on Main Street stood as monuments to the Great Recession.

All the while, bloggers spread division and hatred reporting unsubstantiated rumors and flat-out lies.

That was the environment in 2009, when I decided to leave my newspaper career of two decades to start Erick Sahler Serigraphs Co.

It took two years to build a print shop, gather equipment and supplies, and start making art. So I had time to think about what my first silkscreen image would be.

I remembered talking with countryfolk while visiting Ireland in the 1990s. Each little village is fiercely proud, they told me. Everyone thinks where they live is better than anywhere else.

I could relate.

Warts and all, I’ve never wanted to live anyplace else.

When I was a child, the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce — then located across from the old Boulevard Theater — gave away navy bumper stickers with white text that read “Salisbury, Md — My Hometown.” I thought they were so cool, I grabbed a handful long before I had a car to stick them on.

In fact, those stickers are the origin of the “My Hometown Series” — the tagline across the bottom of my artwork, an ever-growing collection that now includes more than 50 designs.  

In 2011, when I made my first silkscreen edition, it promoted Downtown Salisbury and featured the courthouse clocktower viewed from the bridge near Market Street Inn.

Someone needed to stand up for our city and I figured it might as well be me.

Things in Salisbury are different today. We have a capable and functioning government that is transforming downtown and moving the entire community forward. Crime is reduced significantly. Businesses and families are moving here. Residents are excited about the future of the city.

It was revealing at the National Folk Festival last year how many first-time visitors — including a New York Times columnist — remarked what a great place this would be to live.

It is.

I have always believed in Salisbury.

A few months ago, I started a list of all the things that come to mind when I think of my hometown: its businesses and institutions, its parks and neighborhoods, its landmarks and traditions, natives who succeeded on the national stage, and some things that have deeply touched my heart — in short, all the stuff that makes Salisbury special to me.

When my list topped 100 items, I realized I had enough material to make a print in the style of Aaron Draplin, a designer who created a series of collage posters celebrating U.S. states and major cities.

In mid-March, at the start of the coronavirus lockdown, I started researching and redrawing old logos — and creating some new ones. Since then, I have made more than 80 graphics and compiled them into a new print. It’s called “Simply Salisbury.”

Oh, I know, I left out so-and-so. Or your business, or favorite restaurant (actually, I didn’t include any current restaurants). Or places and events held in the county. Or … (fill in the blank).

These are MY favorites.

This is my Salisbury.

© Erick Sahler Serigraphs Co.

During the pandemic, I researched and redrew old logos from my hometown. More than 80 of them comprise this print called “Simply Salisbury.”