Read time: 6 min.

People get attached to the strangest things. The unexpected places we connect with aren’t just objects, though; they’re touchstones that anchor us to memories and moments in time. That’s why it stings to hear the recent news that the tiger on Yorktown’s water tower is about to be painted over¹. It’s hard to believe it’s time to say goodbye to something that’s become such a proud, familiar landmark. For more than a quarter century, the Yorktown Tiger has been part of growing up here. 

I’m not sure why, but I was obsessed with water towers as a kid. Whether it was the smiley-face tower in Markle or the squat, wide ones scattered around Anderson, I loved them all! I used to draw them on that old-school printer paper with the perforated edges at my grandpa’s house every chance I got, and I couldn’t believe it when Yorktown’s started going up right across the road from Mrs. Keller’s second-grade classroom. I’ll never forget how much its conical base looked like a space capsule from the window. It felt like astronauts were about to blast off three hundred feet away!

The spaceship never launched, but watching the new water tower take shape from my desk at Pleasant View Elementary twenty-six years ago² was equally thrilling. Soon, that awesome tiger appeared almost overnight as the perfect crown jewel. From then on, I’d look up and feel a spark of pride every time I accomplished something: no matter what I was achieving, this outsider with a speech impediment was doing it as a Yorktown Tiger! The mural made me feel like I belonged to something bigger. 

As it turns out, I did. We all did! The water tower tiger was something bold to look up to, but I didn’t realize how much community effort it took to make it truly ours. The tiger was more than just a painting; it was a gift from all of us to all of us. The artwork was the result of an earnest collaboration between Yorktown’s government, our water utility, local businesses and boosters, and even Marsh Supermarkets’ sign shop³. Soon after it was finished, the tiger on the tower became a symbol of Yorktown’s shared identity. 

I may be young enough to have watched the tiger tower spring up from my second-grade classroom, but I’m old enough to remember Yorktown’s original water tower downtown and the second one out near the Lion’s Club. I drew them both as a kid, and I can still picture the giant clown face Jeff Gant painted on the second in the early nineties⁴. Unfortunately, neither the first tower nor the mural on the second is with us today. Seeing those pieces of Yorktown’s history disappear felt like losing parts of our identity. Sadly, it looks like we’re about to lose another. 

I’ve got no problem with giving our tiger tower a fresh coat of paint. Water towers need regular upkeep, and periodically repainting their innards and outards is crucial for places so vital to our infrastructure. We should be grateful that Yorktown has the resources to do it! Still, a refresh shouldn’t mean we have to say goodbye to our beloved tiger. Instead, we should honor the people who poured their time and care into making it a symbol of pride, no matter how much Yorktown is growing. Our tiger is part of our history. It deserves to be celebrated, not eliminated. 

I’d love it if Yorktown, the place, didn’t leave behind Yorktown, the people, especially those who have lived here since square one and value what came before. For me and many, the tower’s proposed profile⁵ just doesn’t land. Painting over our tiger feels like an arbitrary gesture toward a bland corporate brand. Some might roll their eyes at me, and good for them, but I’m the guy who gets a little misty when an old schoolhouse comes crashing down. Someone has to! Covering up the tiger in the name of “progress” won’t just change my view here; it’ll erase a piece of what this place is. Yorktown won’t feel the same without it.

I don’t know of anyone with Yorktown ties who truly wants to see our iconic tiger replaced with a generic logo that could belong to any other town in Indiana that starts with the letter ‘Y⁶.’ In fact, some dedicated community members have even started a petition to save it! We’ve spoken up loud and clear, but it remains to be seen if the people in charge will listen. It may sound stupid to get bent out of shape over something silly like a water tower, but when artwork that’s been part of the everyday view for twenty-five years suddenly disappears, it does more than alter the skyline: it changes how it feels to come home.

Sources Cited
1 Town Of Yorktown Indiana-Community. Town Of Yorktown Indiana-Community (Indiana). (2025, April 24). A Note on the Water Tower – We’ve heard from many of you about the Yorktown Tiger on our water tower Do [Post]. Facebook.
2 Carlson, J. (1999, September 12). He’ll do without this bird’s-eye view, thank you.  The Muncie Star Press. p. 9. 
3 Studebaker, W. Concerned Citizens of Yorktown (Indiana). (2025, April 24). I just heard yesterday that the Town is going to remove our TIGER from the 400k water tower . WHAT??? Do [Post]. Facebook. 
4 McBride, M. (2007, August 26).  Funeral director has serious, silly sides. The Muncie Star Press. p. 36. 
5 (See footnote 1).
6 Harshman, M.B. Concerned Citizens of Yorktown (Indiana). (2025, April 25). Does the “Y” represent Yeoman, Indiana? Young America, Indiana [Comment]. Facebook.