Singing sign a side project of Jackson Township battery shop
JACKSON TWP — Mike Meredith doesn’t consider himself a local celebrity. However, people in the area know his handiwork so well that he often gets asked about it if people see him in his work shirt.
One of the most common questions he gets when people recognize him is, “What do I win?” But the prize for the people who guess the song that goes with the words on the Meredith Battery sign is just the fun of trivia. For Meredith, one of the owners of the shop, the whole endeavor is just a way to entertain himself and others.
Each week, Meredith gets to put a song into the heads of people passing by his shop at 22251 Perry Highway. At least, the ones who know what song the words come from.
“It’s been a lot of fun over the years,” Meredith said Friday, Sept. 25, as he was changing the letters on the sign. “We’re all musicians here, so it’s a way to think of a new song every week.”
Although Meredith changes the words on the sign each week, it has one consistent element.
“What song starts …”
For the past 10 or so years, those words have stayed at the top of the marquee sign, while the rest of the sign has been adorned with new song lyrics, which change about once a week. Meredith said some people give him some guff if he goes too long without changing the words.
Most people, though, have nothing but good things to say about the sign, which Meredith said is probably just a small part of the Route 19 commuter’s routine. For him, it’s also a relatively small part of his week, spending about 10 minutes coming up with an idea and replacing the letters on the sign.
He said he tries to include songs from every era and every genre. He sometimes takes cues from current events, like when Dolly Parton died in August. He put words from one of her tunes on the sign.
“You just try to do something that everyone has a chance at,” Meredith said of his song lyric choices.
Meredith Battery was founded by Meredith’s dad, Doug Meredith, in 1976, making this year the 50th anniversary of the shop. Doug is still involved with the business, and he said the singing sign is all his son’s project.
But the shop gets some drop-ins and phone calls that don’t have anything to do with buying or changing vehicle batteries. This has become just part of the job.
“People will call in just to answer the question,” Meredith said. “There are Facebook posts about it. Maria from (Pittsburgh Today Live) calls to ask what’s on the sign this week.
“It’s really taken on a life of its own.”
