Naperville renames plow trucks with help from area school districts
Come each winter, Naperville's fleet of snowplows set off to clear roadways and salt busy routes. But the plows that make it possible, alas, are an anonymous bunch. Unsung, if you will.
No longer.
The city in partnership with Naperville School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204 is renaming some of its 24 plow trucks. Naperville's Department of Public Works has affixed signs made in-house to the vehicles boasting new names, just in time for Wednesday's snow.
'It just brings a smile to something we're very serious about, which is servicing the community and making sure that our roads are treated,' city spokeswoman Kate Schultz said.
So far, six trucks have hit the streets with new nomenclature. They are:
Frosty the Snowplow
Scoop … I Did It Again
Blizzard of Oz
Chilly WATTSon
Seymour Snow
Kendall Plowtriots
The first batch come courtesy of District 204, Schultz said. District 203 is poised to provide another six names, she said. Schultz divulged the city has already received a couple of D203 submissions: a second 'Blizzard of Oz' and 'Snowy Eagle.'
Naperville's plow rebrand has been in the works since late last year. The city's public works team started discussing the idea in light of snowplow contests becoming more popular around the Chicago area in recent years, Schultz said.
For the past three years, Chicago has held an annual 'You Name a Snowplow' contest. This year's winners, announced in January, included the likes of 'Bozo the Plown' and 'Bean There, Plowed That.' In 2023, Park Ridge renamed its 14 plows thanks to a local contest of its own, which produced names such as 'The Salt Shakers' and 'Sir Plows a Lot.'
For Naperville, instead of a city-wide contest, public works staff thought the venture 'could be a great way to tap into the creativity of our community's kids,' Schultz said. Director of Public Works Dick Dublinski reached out to both of Naperville-area school districts and let take the lead to determine how names would be submitted.
Of D204's 21 elementary schools, six from Naperville — Brookdale, Clow, Fry, May Watts, Patterson and Kendall — ultimately participated. The winning names were submitted in January.
Ron Wilke, District 204's school safety, security and emergency preparedness coordinator, said he hopes students have a chance to see the plow they helped name around their school and neighborhood. And maybe it will serve as a learning experience as well, he said.
'I think what we were looking for is just our students to understand that there are people out there working for their safety, not just in the school system, but within the municipalities that go out and plow,' Wilke said.
'We have people on-site that do the driveways and the walkways that go to the school, but … there's all the other people: police, fire, emergency responders, public works that clean these streets off and make them safe so their parents can drop them off or the buses can get to the school.'
Schultz assured that through this week's winter storm, the newly named plows were out hard at work, 'doing what they do best.'
And when this winter draws to a close, the city will be taking the names off its fleet and giving them back to participating schools, Schultz said, leaving trucks ready to shrug off their winter caps and prepare for leaf collection come fall.
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