Sweetums and I came across a giant fork, which is really more beside the road than in it, on a trip to Lexington, Kentucky. As usual, we had to turn the car around and go back for photos. I mean, really? Did you think we wouldn’t?
We were headed home at the time and didn’t do more than laugh, snap a couple of photos and scratch our heads. But I needed the back story. Did you think I wouldn’t?
The fork was across the street from the marker for the man who was POTUS for a day. Click here to read about him.
So I posted a photo on Facebook (be sure to follow Kelly Kazek’s Weird South) and got an answer from old friends who live in Lexington. Mike and Jamie Bagley were stumped for a moment until they realized the giant utensil must have been a promotion for Forcht Bank, pronounced “Fork.” I went to Google Street View and, sure enough, the fork was in front of a branch of Forcht Bank on Tates Creek Road. Because this location didn’t have a roadside sign, we hadn’t noticed it at the time.
Sign of the Tines
The Bagleys surmised the Uncle Sam top hat may have been added for Memorial Day and left there for Independence Day.
Turns out, the patriotic hat isn’t the fork’s only attire, and the one we saw is not the only Forcht fork. On Street View, whose image was taken last September, the Tates Creek fork is “wearing” a blue football helmet, presumably for the Kentucky Wildcats.
That discovery led me to Forcht’s Facebook page, where I discovered photos of 18-foot forks at three locations “dressed” for different holidays, including Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. They even had one clad in a Kentucky Derby jersey. I love their sense of humor. I hope you enjoy the photos.
KellyKazek.com 