Greenville, SC Wooing of Google Fiber has Historical Precedent

March 11th, 2010 → 11:15 am @ admin

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We are in the middle of a nationwide frenzy involving Google Fiber, a revolutionary internet service that will be awarded to the city that convinces the internet giant to pick them to be the guinea pigs for this new project. Topeka, KS has already changed its name to Google. We also now have a Google Island in Florida. Greenville plans to host “Google on Main,” in which they will put on a visual display to spell out Google on Main Street – and this isn’t the first time the community has gotten together to show their commitment to the organizations they want to draw in. The prime example may be the 1947 courtship of Bob Jones University.

Greenville area bookstores were stocked with books written by Bob Jones Sr. Residents were asked to dress the part.

Greenville residents dressed as Bob Jones University students pose for a photograph in a Greenville bookstore that had been stocked with books written by Bob Jones Sr. All of this was an effort to make the university feel at home.

In the wake of the GI Bill, Bob Jones University was expanding beyond their Cleveland, TN campus and needed a new home. Greenville, SC stepped up and suggested their city would be a perfect match. BJU Board Members set up a week-long early February meeting with Greenville city leaders to see what they had to offer. To prepare for the visit, city leaders asked citizens to adopt the rules of the morally strict Bob Jones University Student Handbook during the duration of the week-long meetings. To add yet another touch to the campaign, the city painted Main Street’s opposing sidewalks pink and blue, a light-hearted tribute to the university’s strict dating policies. This tribute gave rise to the urban legend that the university’s sidewalks are painted in such a manner to keep apart the men and women students.

Although most of the records have been lost, some remain and hint that Greenville was far from the only city clamoring to bring in the school. Duluth, MN temporarily renamed their city to Bob Jones, and Louisville, KY decreed that all of the first-born sons would be named Bob. Not to be outdone, Roanoke, VA declared March 1 to be Combover Day, which is still recognized even to this day.