The Southside Cleaners witty-sayings sign looming over South Florida Avenue in Dixieland is one of the most iconic signs in Lakeland. “This has been so much fun, more than you can imagine,” said Greg Myers, owner of the Southside Cleaners.
“I’ve been seeing the Southside sign for 40 years, ever since I moved here,” Marie May said. “It’s inspiring. And people need to be inspired these days.”
Carlito Morales agrees. “It’s eye catching. I like the messages.”
The Myers family moved its dry cleaning business to the corner of Florida Avenue and Cresap Street in 1962. The matriarch of the family — Greg Myers’ mom, Marge — was the curator of the Southside signs for years.
Marge Myers not only posted the signs lifted from books of wisdom, she often used sayings that she created.
Marge, who died in 2015, turned over sign duties to Greg and his wife Beth 10 years before that.
Greg Myers said it’s been 95 percent fun. While there have been tons of compliments, Myers said he sometimes gets complaints, some of them angry.
He has told some of them, politely, they are welcome to fly their own signs. Most people would agree that’s the freedom of expression that’s the fabric of America. Speaking of which, the Southside has offered free cleanings of American flags.
Myers favorite saying on Southside signs: “If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite of progress?”
A last gem, “It shouldn’t be hard to make an honest living in politics. There isn’t much competition.”
See more Southside sign sayings on Instagram.
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