Seen from the sidewalk: (U)-Hauling history
11 December 2012 – editors
Seen recently on a Massachusetts street, this moving truck includes a history lesson.
You never know where history might pop up. This Underground Railroad panel is part of U-Haul’s “Venture across America and Canada” SuperGraphics program, which features a different design for each of the 50 states and 12 provinces and territories. While many focus on technological, natural, and even supernatural wonders, several are history-themed, and many, like the Ontario entry, also feature extensive web pages. Not all of the links and images are working, but the historical pages do often connect to historic sites (like Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site in Dresden, Ontario) and reports on the unveiling of the related U-Haul graphic.
Thoughts, public historians? And are there other examples of companies offering history lessons not related to their own corporate pasts?
I have been the creator of the truck images for U-Haul since 1997. I have spent many hours working directly with historians and scientists to make sure the graphics are accurate in every detail. I have recently moved on to bigger ventures and no longer work for U-Haul but you can see more about the graphics and how I have created them on my website: http://www.kingillustration.com/u-haul-graphics.html