abass@northstarreporter.com
As North Attleborough enters the new year, Town Councilor Andrea Slobogan knows what New Year’s resolution she has planned—updating the town seal.
At the council’s meeting on Dec. 12, Slobogan presented a potential design that would replace the one currently seen throughout the Town Hall, letterheads, and municipal vehicles.
The council did not take a vote on the proposal and gave the group tasked with redesigning the seal more time to discuss further action. Slobogan currently sits on this group.
The current seal is a red circle surrounded by white circles with a picture of a woman next to a cornucopia, anvil, and wheel–representing what North Attleborough has to offer for the community.
Slobogan said this design was not historically accurate to the original art. While the original design could not be found, an earlier drawing showed differences between the two, such as the red items in the cornucopia as an array of fruits and vegetables, and the white circles were more oval-shaped.
“My understanding is that this is not what our town seal was,” Slobogan explained. “Literally what’s happening is that people are taking photos and trying to recreate the original thing.”
The redesign–shown as a black and white drawing for now—would keep several elements of the current seal, namely the anvil and wheel sitting at the bottom-right side of the portrait, and the woman herself, who is known as “Miss North Attleborough” or “Helen” by members of the council and Town Hall staff.
Council President Justin Pare said he liked the new design and suggested the font in the seal that reads, “Town of North Attleborough, Incorporated 1887” could be changed for stylistic purposes. Slobogan agreed with this idea.
“There probably is an opportunity for modernizing this logo,” Pare said. “There’s not some radical departure from this design.”
The idea to redesign the town seal has been a goal of the Town Council and Town Manager Michael Borg since April of 2022. The council will need to approve the design and potential new color of the seal by a vote. That date for a vote has yet to be determined.