We all have objects that we notice every day, that ground us in our communities. Maybe it's a particular mailbox, or a nice street tree. Maybe it's a sign on the way to work that makes you laugh. Or maybe it's a pickle jar, perched on a concrete wall next to a highway ramp.Such is the case for many who drive through Des Peres, Missouri. On the ramp that leads from I-270 North to Manchester Road, near a grocery store and a busy shopping mall, there often sits a quiet and mysterious jar of pickles. When it falls, breaks, or disappears, it is always replaced. It is the highway's warty lodestar.
A Highway Pickle Mystery Is Preserved in Missouri
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-pickles-highway-missouri
I can't remember when this ramp was last rebuilt (part of a huge redesign several years ago now). But I've probably used this ramp a couple hundred times on my way to Trader Joe's or Menard's and never noticed a pickle jar. It's in a weird location as the ramp curves right and then suddenly veers left just before the stoplight. I'll look next time I'm through there. Maybe I'll leave one just to keep the tradition.
This sounds like something I would want to do.