At the end of 2011, local state Rep. John Payne pushed a bill forward that would allow people to purchase specialty license plates bearing the phrase “In God We Trust.”In and of itself, it was not remarkable — it made a few headlines and the bill itself is moving through the state Senate after being passed by the House.
But if one were to follow the bill’s potential progeny it would lead to Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania, a rustbelt environment dominated by slowly decaying towns and the old coal mines that created them.
Tucked amid the hills and valleys of the Allegheny Mountain range and embraced by a broad sweep of the muddy Monongalia River sits State Correctional Institute Fayette, a 2,000 bed maximum security prison.
Inside the razor-wire topped walls of the prison, away from the cell blocks and recreation zones, is a large metal machine shop, the only one of its kind in Pennsylvania.
In Pennsylvania the program is dominated by colleges, universities and volunteer fire companies. But it runs a gamut from Penn State Alumni (by far the most popular) to the Potter County Visitors Bureau, (which has the distinct pleasure of being the only county with its own license plate).
The nonprofit’s executive director, David Brooks, is proud of his organization’s plate, which have sold roughly 330 units since it was created. PennDOT, he said, was skeptical at first and Brooks freely admits it was “one of the quirkier things we try to do.”
Originally the group wanted to have its slogan, “God’s Country,” featured on the plate, but PennDOT nixed the idea. According to the rules (yes, there are rules) the plates can only bear the organization’s logo and name — no slogans.
Still, Brooks is happy with his plate — he has No. 4. The first plate in the Potter County series belongs to a man in Dover.
“We have people who come h
ere year in and year out for decades, wanted to give them something so they could show their love of the area,” he said.Plus, he loves to show it off at tourism industry conventions.
“All the other tourism people see my plate and are jealous because they didn’t think of it first,” he laughed. More...
Click here to buy Potter County Plate
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