ASPEN ” For those who lamented the disappearance of the Thumbing Station sign on Main Street, the darkness has ended and the sign will soon resume its rightful place.

Well, not the original sign, or even what is believed to have been a replacement sign, which stood next to the old Cortina Lodge at 230 E. Main St. for decades.

According to various residents and officials, a Thumbing Station sign at that location has provided a safe haven for hitchhikers for more than 30 years. Some believe the original sign was stolen and replaced, but that was at least a couple of decades ago, and the replacement had stood undisturbed until some time this fall, when it disappeared.

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But there will be a sign there again, according to City Hall.

“We have ordered a new Thumbing Station sign from Mr. [Gaard] Moses and will have it up as soon as he gets it painted,” said assistant city manager Randy Ready in an e-mail Thursday. Moses is a local sign painter.

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There was no word as to what kind of security arrangements the city may make in order to prevent yet another souvenir seeker from stealing the new sign.

jcolson@aspentimes.com