From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library:
The Sault has had its fair share of slogans over the decades. Some of the most familiar have been, ‘Algoma’s Friendliest City’, as reflected on the Rotary arch, as well as the mayoral chain of office motto, ‘Steel City of the North’. The Sault found itself in a clash of the slogans, however, when the Chamber of Commerce sponsored a contest to determine a new one.
On June 6, 1966, the Sault Slogan n’ Symbol contest was announced, offering the chance to be featured on city literature, envelopes and letterheads– as well as to become $50 richer– in exchange for crafting the best new Sault Ste. Marie slogan and design. 370 submissions later, ‘The Hub of the Great Lakes’ was declared the grand winner. The Sault Daily Star announced ‘housewife’ Katherine Jones, and grade 8 student, Gayle Phillips, as joint tagline prize winners for $12.50 each. The remainder of the winnings went to Grade 13 Sault Collegiate Institute student, John Smale, who received $25 for his drawing design depicting three great lakes as the spokes of a wheel.
Celebrations were in order, as the three victors posed for the Sault Star and student Gayle Phillips excitedly stated she would use the $12.50 toward her sister’s wedding gift. It didn’t take long for critics to surface, however, as opponents argued there were now too many mottos for one small city to handle. The solution? Establish a royal commission– the first ever of its kind– to determine once and for all what the city motto should be. The commission’s conclusion was that the primary slogan should combine the three primary mottos reading: ‘The Friendly Steel Shipping Hub of the North’. It was quickly deemed too long and ‘The Hub of the Great Lakes’ would still become embedded into city promotions and culture for many years to come.
It was into the 90s before another major slogan overtook the Sault– this time as suggested by Toronto consultants who felt the Sault needed a plan to attract outside businesses and tourists. In 1993, the Economic Development Corp funded the ‘Naturally Gifted’ campaign created by Brian Brooks of Brooks Marketing. Brooks’ campaign was chosen over a dozen design competitors for its expression of the Sault’s physical beauty and natural resources. Visually, a circular logo depicted the outflow of Lake Superior with its Precambrian Shield background, the Northern Ontario sky, a maple leaf and rich natural tones to represent the four seasons.
Now in 2024, the current slogan unveiled by the City in 2019 is: ‘Work. Life. Balance. Where you belong. Biindigen (Welcome)’. Its primary goals were to attract young and progressive people to live in the city. In the city’s Brand Story document then mayor, Christian Provenzano, wrote: “We have to move from maintaining the community we have to building the community we want.” The circular medicine-wheel-feel, colours and underlying symbolism depict important cultural and natural elements of the Sault.
A city’s slogans and mottos are more than just words and designs. They often stay and evolve with residents for years after they are used, whether informally or formally. They take on lives of their own, help shape a community’s identity, paint a picture for outsiders, and almost surely upon their inception will have antagonists, too.
Each week, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library and its Archives provide SooToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.
Find out more of what the Public Library has to offer at www.ssmpl.ca and look for more "Remember This?" columns here.