I think of Roberts and his counterparts, including Rachael Hairston of First Refuge Baptist Church in Camden and Craig Fisher of Taylor Rental in Mount Laurel, as members of South Jersey's better-lettered crowd.
Movable consonants and vowels are their stock in trade; puns and fun turns of phrase are their specialties, helping make their ever-changing signs local landmarks.
They enjoy mastering what could be called Magnetic Poetry without the magnets, assembling phrases from letters sized not for viewing on a refrigerator door, but for visibility from passing cars.
"One of my favorites was 'God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts,' " says Hairston, offering a smile and style worthy of Vanna White as she slides one letter after another into place.
(The secret? Arranging the sequence in a stack and carrying it to the installation site. "About five minutes and I'm done," Hairston says, accurately).
Other well-received messages, she adds, include "Your life may be the only Bible your friends ever read" and "Don't like how you were born? Try being born again."
"I like the ones that are theologically sound," says the Rev. Eugene Gilbert, pastor of First Refuge.
The appeal can be ecumenical: A few years ago "a Catholic priest called and said, 'Whoever is doing those signs, keep up the good work.' He said he came past this way just to see them," Hairston says. "That was awesome."
She often finds inspiration on Sunday, in the pews of the church on Kaighns Avenue. But it's OK to borrow from other local churches, the book Church Signs Across America, and from online sources.
"I definitely troll the Internet," says Fisher, who changes all four exterior signs at his Route 38 business once a month. The latest lineup includes "I doubt, therefore, I might be" and "Caution! This sign may be ambiguous."
