BY Dale Welch
Like the naming of the new Town of Monterey, in 1893, the new motto, “Where Hilltops Kiss the Sky” was named in a contest, in 1931. And like the town’s naming and coming up with the new moto, nobody has a clue as to what all the other choices were.
The new Monterey Chamber of Commerce was formed on Aug. 10, 1931. A group of downtown businesses got together to promote commerce in the town as new highways like Highway 70N and Highway 84 were being promoted.
Highway 70N was opened a few years earlier, in 1926; and Highway 84 was an improvement on existing roads that had opened from 1926 on into the early 1930s. People were still arriving by train, too. To canalize upon the increased traffic, the Monterey Chamber of Commerce was hoping to catch some of those new tourism dollars as more automobiles were being made affordable for families to buy.
One of the first projects of the new chamber was a contest to come up with a motto for the town. Something catchy that would make people curious enough to stop and explore the natural beauty of the area, have a homemade meal, and spend the night at the Imperial Hotel, or one of the others that were still in existence.
During the week of Aug. 26-31, 1931, the contest was on! Over 50 entries were submitted. Can you imagine all the motto ideas flying around the busy streets, restaurants, and shops? That was way before we had computers and even way longer before we had AI. The chamber went through each one and made the right decision. Mrs. W.R. Johnson came up with the winner that is still used today— “Where Hilltops Kiss the Sky.” Modern day folks try and add another “the” to it. We do not know what she won but hopefully it was something good.
The motto was first used by the Monterey Chamber of Commerce on two signs on Highway 70N at each end of the city limits.
We are not changing but what motto would you come up with? For instance, the Monterey Depot Museum had a tee shirt a few years ago that said “It’s All Downhill from Here.” Let us know.