Eighter from Decatur - Decatur, TX
N 33° 14.065 W 097° 35.144
14S E 631770 N 3678166
The official slogan of Decatur, TX, "Eighter from Decatur", is immortalized in the form of a sculpture of rolling dice, in a parking lot at S Church and E Main Streets, next to a complementary mural.
Waymark Code: WMY45R
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/17/2018
Views: 3
It's difficult to drive through town and
not see this catchy slogan somewhere. The origins of the phrase, "Eighter from Decatur", are a bit cloudy (see website), but a laborer shooting craps, saying "Ada from Decatur" to invoke a local pretty lady for good luck, tends to be at the root. Over time, "Ada" became "Eighter", as others tried to roll a lucky eight. Bob Wills immortalized "Eighter from Decatur" in his instrumental of the same name.
The sculpture itself is a remarkable feat of engineering, just over twelve feet tall and weighing over 4500 pounds, made of steel. The sculptors actually wanted to depict rolling dice, as opposed to having them flush with the ground, so there is a good amount of reinforced steel and a well-hidden post that is used to illuminate the sculpture in different colors. Of course, wherever you look at them, they're rolling an Eighter from Decatur.
PDFs of the referenced links have been saved offline, and should the originals be removed, they are available from me upon request.