At first, a local woman who decorates a street median at Progress Road and Old Highway 5 thought a recent run-over of the spot was unintentional. Then the same thing happened again just a day later.
Maddie Mullis, a licensed residential building contractor, has decorated the dirt inside the concrete divider at the end of Progress Road for about six years now. She changes out the decor and plants every so often, for changing seasons and special occasions like the start of the school year. The spot has become known as “Maddie’s Median.”
“I’m blessed that nobody’s ever stopped me from taking care of it. I think everybody’s just kind of enjoyed it,” Mullis said.
A couple of weeks ago, the median’s spring display of pink tulips was in full bloom. Then, Mullis found the flowers had been run over and soil spread across the road.
“It’s been run over a few times (over the years). You could tell because you could see the tire tracks, but it was a quick run-over (those times) and no big deal. But, this time, it looked like somebody had spun their tires there,” Mullis said.
She repaired the damage only to find it wrecked again the following day.
“The next day it was pretty obvious that it was vandalism because somebody had rode straight up the median and got as close as their vehicle could get to the stop sign, spun their tires and threw all the dirt out,” she said. “I was disgusted and just threw my hands up at first, then I got to thinking about it and tried to keep it in perspective.”
Mullis, who pays for the materials herself, said she considered not doing the decorating anymore until she got an unexpected lift on social media after posting pictures of the damage.
“With all the comments, it was over 1,000 people. That really cheered me up and got me back on track,” she said.
Karen Freeman said she’s one of the people who’ve been brightened up by Mullis’ decorating and quirky signs over the years.
“There are so many people who enjoy it,” Freeman said. “(I’m glad) she had so many people in Ellijay tell her how much it means to them and how it makes them smile.”
Mullis, whose efforts at the median have earned her the nickname “the sign elf,” first started sprucing up the spot because, when she drove by each day, “it looked sad and like it needed help.”
Mullis said she’s been undergoing treatment for breast cancer over the past year, but hopes to stay active as Ellijay’s sign elf as long as she’s able.
“I can’t not take care of it. I ride by it every day, and I can’t let it regress back to what it was with all the weeds and cigarette butts,” she said.