Welcome to the new year

Happy New Year ! I did not get to do too much neoning over the holidays, as was expected. I have a few items to post here. A missing link, and I captured an absolute gem. Problem with this gem is that it appears to be dark. There is a story behind it as well.



This Planters Peanuts sign is a restoration job. From what I can remember from reading the local paper, the Peanut Shoppe, a small candy/nut store in downtown Columbus, had moved from their original location after some forty years, back in the late 1970s. During that time, the sign was left to decay. Many cities and towns have a store with a Planters neon sign, and Columbus was no exception. Many were well kept up, but many suffered the fate of darkness, decay, and disposal. A few years ago a local preservationist group, dedicated to the preservation of recent historical artifacts (roadside memorabilia..think neon and such from the 1940s-70s), persuaded the owner of the sign to have it taken to a neon museum (now located in Cincinnati I believe?? Roadtrip coming soon then!) for restoration. Well the sign was restored to almost it's original glory and placed near the shop's original location on N. High street, just a few blocks north of Broad. I am not sure of this is the exact story, but this is what I seem to recall. Please let me know if I am incorrect. The sign is there now, but I have never seen it lit. Was this restored without the purpose of being lit? It appears in good working order, but like I said, it is dark. Anyone with any more information on this sign..please contact me! I was driving down High Street the afternoon of 12/27 when I snapped this at a red light, so of course it is slightly obscured by trees. I hope to get a better picture of it, but I know other photographers have posted pics on flickr and photobucket. I hope sometime to see this gem lit up over High Street!




This missing link is not really anything eye catching. I just wanted to include it, since there is extensive neon on this place. The 14-0 Carryout on E. Hudson Street was so named after the Ohio State football team won the 2002 National Championship and finished without a loss. I remember that season well, and the Buckeyes could have easily dropped a few games that year. But our defense held up and beat Miami in overtime to win it all. That was when the National Championship game was rotated among 4 major BCS bowls. Now the location of the game rotates in the same manner, but it is a separate game from the actual bowls. In 2002 (January 2003 actually) Ohio State won the Fiesta Bowl to win the BCS title. In 2007 and 2008, of course, we know how Ohio State fared in National Championships. But including that championship game, Ohio State is 3-0 in Fiesta Bowls in the last 6 years. And trying to make it 4-0 tonight against Texas. It won't be easy, but I think it's possible to beat Texas..possible, not probable. Go Bucks! Pics were my first of 2009, taken the evening of Sunday, 1/4.