Wymore? Why not?

 

We pulled into Wymore around 7 a.m., so the light

wasn't the best.

But we did notice this on the north end of downtown.

Can't decipher the first two words, but the third

is definitely "PRODUCE."

What we didn't notice was the one next to it.

We'll have to get it next time.

There was plenty more to see anyway.

And we didn't even know there was a 

Welsh Capital of Nebraska.

But here is the piece de resistance:

Conner Saloon?  Corner Saloon?

The Coca-Cola part is undeniable, and the word

CIGAR is partially behind the pole, but 

we wonder if we see Budweiser in there too,

two lines below Saloon.

How about you? What can you pick out?

Final Fairbury

We do appreciate a good mural.

We hope to return to Fairbury, because we're sure there's more signs.

There were traces of a Coca-Cola sign we couldn't quite get because

of the setting sun.

When ghost sign hunting, be sure to prowl a few alleys.

 

Uneeda?

 

As we walked away from the Majestic Motion Pictures find, (see previous entry),

we noticed this, and went around to the front of the block for a better view.

No dice.

So, we went back, into the alley, hoping something

would be visible. We were not disappointed.

The combination of the shadow and setting sun

means the photo ain't so great.

A lot of detail is lost.

But this is a layered beauty, and we believe it to be

an ad for Uneeda Biscuit.

(This may be our first Uneeda sign in person. There is

at least one in the collection from a loyal reader.)

Uneeda Biscuit signs, like Mail Pouch, Bull Durham,

and Coca-Cola signs, have a certain magic in the 

ghost sign community.

Or at least it seems that way to us.

Majestic

 

We spotted this in Downtown Fairbury.

Whether this was a movie theater or a movie studio is up for some debate.

The wording suggests it was more than just a theater, but googling Majestic Motion Pictures

shows there was a production company by that name but gives no indication

they made movies in Fairbury. Which could mean this was a distribution office.

The yellow border on this otherwise unreadable sign

leads us to believe it's also for the mysterious Majestic.

This may be a recreation, or at least a refresh, but we still

thought it worth including.

More from Fairbury

 

Much more from Fairbury, actually.

These were unreadable to us, but in staring at them, we noticed something else:

You can still buy Salada Tea today.

Glass ghost signs are still a rare treat.

Not a lot readable here...

On the right, we can make out the word Crawford,

And on the right, Paint.

And in the middle bottom... and there's something beneath 

the Steakhouse.

Still much more to come.

Fair Bury

When in southeast Nebraska, be sure to visit

Fairbury for all your ghost sign needs.

Driving around with the family, my mother spotted this one.

Coca-Cola on the left, 

what we believe to be Gooch's Best Macaroni in the middle,

and you're on your own for the right.

 

Same building. 

Just above the doors, there's a faint outline of some lettering.

And across the top, at the roofline, we see what we think is

The Morgan Trans-something something something.

And downtown Fairbury held many more surprises

than we were expecting.

Stay tuned.

 

Western, Nebraska

 

Not to be confused with the region, western Nebraska. 
This is Western, Nebraska: The village, in southeastern Nebraska.

According to Wikipedia, Western was (likely) named for 

Wesley West in somewhere between 1872 and 1880.

Western's population peaked in 1930, with 511 citizens.

The last census shows less than half of that.

This has been submitted before, by Mr. C. Schweer.

Edgar

 

We leave no stone unturned, no small village unvisited in 

our drive to catalog ghost signs and faded ad art.

These examples were found in Edgar, Nebraska.

We believe we read "Equipment Co." at the end of this 

painted sign, but if you look above the center window,

you may also see the letters A.O.U.W.

And above that, the I.O.O.F. near the roofline.

Now entering Nebraska

 

Look at this beauty in Beatrice, Nebraska!!

Yet another Owl cigar sign, but there's much more.

There's the remnants of wholesale groceries across the top.

Argo Starch above the Straiton and Storm's Owl.

And another cent sign mixed in with at least three signs

in the lower right hand corner.

And if you'll note, the yellow block letters seem to spell Durham.

Directly below them we see "Toba" which leads us to believe

there's a Bull Durham tobacco sign mixed in there.

(Whoever painted on top of who, Owl or Bull Durham, this had

to be something of an advertising coup.)

And over on the left, there's a figure in a yellow circle

above a white panel.

(At first we thought it might be another version of the Owl Cigar owl,

but comparing it to yesterday's entry leads us to believe they're

quite different.)

Brilliant!!

Kudos to Stone Hollow Brewing for not destroying it.

(AND, after looking through our records, we found early photos

of this sign, before the building had been repurposed. Courtesy of

Ms. D. Walz.)

The last batch from Brookfield

 

If you're tired of "Brookfield this" and "Brookfield that" and

"Brookfield is so great" you're in luck. These are the last of the 

ghost signs from Brookfield.

You'd think this one would be in better shape...

Considering it had some protection from the elements.

As it is, we can only make out what appears to be

the numeral 5, and we're not completely sure of that.

Brookfield really appears to have been a major target for ads from

 Owl Cigars. We can't think of any other place we've seen two

and so close to one another. The owl is still slightly

visible on the right side, and we believe we see a 5¢ 

just to the left of the owl.

Could the 5¢ in the previous sign be another cigar ad?

In the upper right hand corner, we can make out 

what appears to be the word 'grocery'

in two different fonts, slightly overlaid each other. 

But we can't decipher the name across the top.

If you can interpret anything else from this sign, 

please let us know.

Still More from Brookfield

Just a block away from yesterday's entry, the Owl Cigar sign, we 

find the remnants of a Bull Durham advertisement in bad shape.

On the other end of the wall, we find 

two more in worse condition.

There are faint traces of sweeping lettering at the top.

A small Coca-Cola sign, perhaps?
 

Traces of yellow, and lots of lettering if

you look closely enough, but unreadable.