Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 11, 1992 TAG: 9201110056
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE KENNEDY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
NEON MEANS MORE TO ROANOKERS THAN JUST LOOKS
Thirty-four readers called to tell us why they like neon, which signs they like the best and even to reminisce fondly about the Woods Brothers, whose H&C Coffee sign, we're happy to say, remains a Roanoke landmark.Male and female, young and old, they used different words to say the same thing - neon has long-lasting appeal on more than just a visual level.
"Perhaps it's because of the happy colors, the brightness that makes us feel happy when we see the bright, happy lights," said Betty Graham of Roanoke, who pointed out that psychologists lately have said light is good for depression in the dismal winter months.
"I enjoy neon because even though it's from the past, it looks like it belongs in the future," said Stuart Greenberg, a graduate student at Virginia Tech.
"I think neon turns people on because of the ability to see it from a distance," said Mary Young of Roanoke. "It's sort of a warm feeling."
"We feel it's mostly appealing because of the mystery of what really makes it work," said Gary and Kathy Bonham, owners of a neon sign advertising their Blue Jay Motel. "It sort of reminds you of when you were a child and you wondered about a firefly."
For one caller, the mention of neon brings the Texas Tavern, with its EAT sign, to mind. "Whenever I come back to Roanoke, I've always gone down to the Texas Tavern just to relive good memories," she said. "I see that neon sign welcoming back to the tavern each time."
\ Barry Lipscomb likes not only the lights of neon but also the sound - presumably an electrical buzz that's audible when you stand nearby.
\ Matt Thomas of Bedford loves the sign at the little white building at Jamison Avenue and Ninth Street in Southeast Roanoke. It says EAT WELL.
"It's not that unusual or pretty or anything, but it's been a landmark there for quite a while," he said.
V. Camden of Salem mentioned several signs, including the neon work inside Tanglewood Mall by its food court. "It just makes you feel good all over," Camden said.
Readability and craftsmanship appeal to Jay Huff, who says the Commodore Inn on Patterson Avenue has a worthy neon sign.
Readability also figures into the appeal of the JESUS SAVES sign at the Rescue Mission of Roanoke, said Lois Bettis, its executive director.
Seeing the red and blue neon in the shape of a cross is "kind of like seeing the arches from McDonald's if you're traveling or homeless or out on the street. You say, `There's a mission I can go into.' "
The mission paid either $150 or $250 for it back about 1949 after collecting dimes for the purpose, Bettis said.
\ Dick Dearing of Roanoke said the JESUS SAVES sign of Ghent Grace Brethren Church is his favorite. He remembers it from his childhood in the '40s and figures it goes back well past that.
"We were told two stories," he says. "One was that that after the Prohibition era, when alcohol was being advertisied again, someone in church said, `If they can advertise alcohol, we can advertise Jesus.'
"The other one may be true, too. A Dr. Joseph Huffman Cohn from New York came for an annual missions conference, gave $5 as contribution No. 1 and said, `I think a church sitting high on a hill like this should be a beacon for the valley.' "
Two great stories, and here's a third: A few years ago, when heavy winds blew the sign down, Roanokers contributed $2,000 to erect it again. They weren't all church members by any means. They were people who just missed the sign.
No tour of Roanoke's neon would be complete without yet another mention of the recently rejuvenated H&C Coffee sign.
"That has always been my family's favorite," said Sue Barton. "When my children were small way back in the '50s they really looked forward to seeing the `perky pot.' "
\ Doris McClaugherty of Friendship Manor and her husband ran a grocery store on Patterson Avenue for 39 years. "We handled H&C Coffee and we really sold a pile of it," she said. The Woods brothers "were awfully nice people."
Another woman agreed. "I remember some of the Woods brothers that called on my daddy years ago, in our small, neighborhood grocery store." The coffeemakers were appreciative "whether we bought 2 pounds of coffee or 100 pounds."
In other words, they were as warm as their neon sign.