After a colorful decade of messaging, the oil tank along Route 101 in Peterborough has been removed from the side of the road and repurposed, its owners report.
Starting in 2008 when landowners Sandy and Sally Eneguess painted “Obama” on the side of the giant tank in their hayfield, the tank has served as a canvas for a number of political campaigns, community events, and messages over the years. Earlier this year it was repainted in honor of the Class of 2020, and hosted a slew of other messages and political campaigns in a busy election year. Most recently, the tank read “Biden/Harris” on one side, “Kuster” on the other, and “Black Lives Matter” on the end.
Last week, Sandy Eneguess moved the tank to another area of the farm with his excavator, cut off one end, and filled it with a sand salt mixture that his company uses for maintaining winter roads and icy parking lots in the area, Sally Eneguess said, describing it as a “new job” for the longtime landmark.
The move wasn’t prompted by any complaints or issues, the Eneguesses said, although the tank periodically attracted graffiti and encounters with the towns’ code enforcement officer in the past, such as in 2016, when the couple sought a variance after they were ordered to paint over an ad for the Thing in the Spring music and arts festival, which was deemed too large and painted too far in advance to comply with the town’s sign ordinance.
“It has served well,” Sandy Eneguess said. “Time for a change.”