So, having finished up my research at the library in Charlotte, Michigan, we had some time to drive around a bit and see how much the town had (or hadn't) changed in the half century since I lived there. And in keeping with what I've found in other places while looking for heraldry, there were some blank shields.
This one comes from one of the buildings in the two-block long downtown part of the city. It's a really great architectural feature but, as with so many other blank shields/cartouches/ovals/etc. that I run across in my travels, I wish that they had added a coat of arms to the shield or, in this case, the oval.
And then we drove by a house that had two of these babies sitting outside, one on either side of the sidewalk leading up to the house. I have no idea where the owner got them, but I'd sure love one (or two) to place at the front of my house! And let me tell you, the shield hanging from the chain around its neck would have my coat of arms on it, too, instead of the horizontal (and sadly, blank) plaque here.
Still, for all that it's bearing an empty shield, what a great thing to have "guarding" the path to one's house.