Reader submissions

 

First, this entry from Quebec, captured by Ms. J. Woll.

And then two sent by Ms. J. Fiesta in Chicago.

Tobacco Road

 

We left Wheeling shortly after capturing all 

those Marsh Stogie signs, and heading south

off to the right we saw another complex of 

tobacco related buildings.

(They were distant, and we were moving, so these aren't 

the greatest photos, but trust us, they say

Mail Pouch from the Bloch Brothers.)

Little did we know what awaited us.

We followed the Ohio River back to Cincinnati,

and every few miles, we found a Mail Pouch sign.

By now, everyone knows the story

behind the famous Mail Pouch signs.

There were a couple we missed, because

they came up quickly, and there was

no room to turn around on this

two-lane highway.

But every few miles, we found another.

To back up a bit...

Long time readers will recall finding

Mail Pouch tobacco barns during a 

trip to Pennsylvania.

Thanks to Ms. J. Fiesta, we finally

captured the one we missed in 2022.

Wheeling, Part II

 

We've said it before: Taking ghost sign pictures

from a moving car is not an ideal way to hunt.

But, sometimes, one has to compromise: Do

you want to get great photos, or do you want to

get where you're going?

Many thanks to our new staff photographer:
Ms. J. Fiesta for her sharp eyes and her willingness

to take pictures and her patience.

Of course, when you are doing "drive-by

photography," you're bound to miss a lot.

For instance, the giant Marsh Wheeling Stogies

sign on top of this building.

You can see that giant sign here, along with a

history of the Marsh Stogie company.

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?

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.

More from Brookfield

 

Among the Ghost Sign community, there seems to be a certain love

for Mail Pouch and Bull Durham signs. (You can find both here.)

I'm just as fond of the Owl Cigar signs I've found across the Midwest.

The weather was beautiful for our hunt through Brookfield,

but the time of year makes some photos difficult:

the sun is very low in the sky.

The only word we can discern on that top

sign is "Harness."

Revisits

 Regular visitors to this blog will recognize 

that we strongly encourage revisiting signs.

Here's why.

We'd often argued there was lettering beneath the red paint

here at 12th and Republic. And they laughed at us.

But just recently, those letters have started to become more legible.

And who's laughing now?? Huh? Who's laughing now???

Here's another you might recognize. It's on McMicken, by the Rothenburg School.

The letter has clarified itself to the point where we can now read Bull Durham,

a once popular brand of chewing tobacco. 

There's also the arrow on the right, pointing people straight ahead,

which suggests the writing across the top is the name of a local market.

Could it be this one?

Another favorite where the yellow has faded, revealing another sign beneath.

Compare it with a photo from eleven years ago.

Granted, the signs may not have changed all that much, but the cameras

in our phones certainly have improved.

Lower Price Hill

Along River Road, a bit west of State Street.

The circles on either end were probably logos for Coke. Or Pepsi. Or Barq's. Or something like that.

West 8th. We've featured this before, but this is a much better photograph.

 

Seneca Kansas

Like Belleville, Seneca is another community we'd passed by numerous times, but never checked out.

And we're glad we did.

Cremo Cigars: founded in 1896, and get this:

The Miami, FL, company is still in business today.

Although cigars are little more expensive today.

We can clearly make out Hall, but not the word atop it.

And we can see the signature: Roderick.

The ghost sign is to the left, on the taller building. 
We cropped this to include the Seneca postcard-style sign on the right.

There's some disagreement, but some of us see the word "Flour"

along the top, towards the right side.

Sadly, Selz is not still in business. 

A Google image search turns up a number of other similar signs, many painted with blue.

And endorsements by Shoeless Joe Jackson.

On the west side of the building with the Cremo sign: Furniture?