The Superior Express -

Since the 1920s, the water tower located near the intersection of Fifteenth and Washington streets has been a Superior landmark.

Travellers often use the names painted on water towers as directional guides.

A number of years ago, a pilot visually flying an airplane from Topeka to Grand Island and lost his way in a heavy fog. Looking for a clue to his whereabouts, he found the Guide Rock water tower, checked his maps for airports and thought he turned his plane to the west planning to land at Red Cloud. He was surprised when the next symbol he encountered indicated he had flown east to Superior.

The current Superior water tower has been standing at the north edge of Superior since the 1920s. It is regularly cleaned and painted with the expectation it will continue to serve for many additional years.

This fall workers have been scrambling about on the tower like flies making repairs, sandblasting and painting.

As they sanblasted away the old paint, they were uncovering the tower's history. They weren't surprised to find it had previously been painted in a silver or aluminum color as that was once the most popular water tower color. The surprise was to discover at least once it had been painted red probably in keeping with the red and white Superior High School colors.

Last week the workers added the town's name on the freshly painted water tower. And it is far from the plain block letters which once identified the tower.

The letters utilize a custom font and tucked into the letter "O" is the high school's Wildcat logo.

Earlier Owen Perrie, a senior attending Superior High School, won a city council sponsored water tower design contest.

The design utilizes Perrie's unique type font and the latest rendition of the school mascot.

While working through the creative process, Perrie worked closely with Andrew Brittenham, the city's utility department manager. Perrie stepped up to the challenges of this assignment and realized it carried with it a lofty responsibility for the image as one of the first things motorists see when entering the town from the north.

When in the school's art studio, Perrie works in a variety of mediums including acrylic on canvas, graphite, charcoal, pottery and glass etching.

When asked about her student, his teacher, Melody Rempe, said, "Owen's talents know no bounds and we have benefited from leadership both in and out of the classroom.

After graduation, Perrie plans to pursue a college major in visual arts.

In September of 2021, the city council approved a water tower improvement plan. Modifications to the tower have included the replacement of the roof, installation of a new hatch, installation of an interior ladder, replacement of the existing gangway and decking in addition to repainting the tower. It had been 15 years since the tower was previously painted.

The changes to the steelwork will allow the city to be more in-line with current safety regulations and recoating the tower will protect the existing steel shell and prevent the tank from corroding.

The new graphic can be seen for miles.

Perrie submitted three designs. After the winning design was selected by the council, the contractor, Viking Tank and Tower, had a stencil cut so the design could be applied to the tower. That was done last week and this week the tower has a new look.