Signs of the Times

Signs of the Times

Photos and article by Darcy Dougherty Maulsby

Ghost Signs Hint at Iowa History

Allerton is one of those places you don’t end up in by accident, but don’t underestimate the importance of this Wayne County community. Located in south-central Iowa, about 10 miles north of the Missouri border, this small town (population 500) has played a significant role in the revival of an art form that had faded away decades ago.

The first clue of this legacy is a large, painted Coca-Cola advertisement on the south side of the Old Time Soda Fountain at the corner of Central Avenue and Maple Street. It’s flanked by another painted sign that reads “Dedicated to the People of Allerton and the Iowa Letterheads.”

Nancy Bennett (left) and Lorena and Ross Blount discuss the larger-than-life ghost sign in Allerton.

“I started noticing ads like the CocaCola sign when I was hired to paint over the old advertising and put a different company’s ad over the old one,” says Nancy Bennett of Centerville, a former Allerton resident and artist who worked on the Coca-Cola ad and Letterhead sign nearly 30 years ago. Bennett was a member of the Letterheads, which formed in the 1970s to preserve sign design principles and techniques that were no longer being taught or valued by modern sign shops. These techniques, including brush lettering and pictorial work, were common in the the late 1900s into the early 20th century, when brick walls in downtown business districts provided a ready canvas for painted advertisements.

Artistry Endures the Test of Time

While many of these painted ads have completely vanished, thanks to weather or bulldozers, some of these “ghost signs” endure in towns and cities across Iowa and beyond. Hidden in plain sight, these ghost signs reflect artistry from a bygone era.

“I remember hearing people talk about the old-time sign painters who traveled from town to town to put advertising on walls,” Bennett says.

The Council Bluffs Grape Growers Association, which became the first large-scale co-op of its kind, formed in 1893.

Dubbed “Walldogs,” those hardworking sign painters were a rugged, resourceful lot. Bennett understands determination and resourcefulness. While she and her husband Danny farmed in the Allerton area early in their marriage, they needed options – and additional income – to survive the 1980s Farm Crisis. They drove to Ankeny two nights each week throughout 1982 and 1983 to Des Moines Area Community College. Bennett, who had enjoyed art classes in high school, took lettering classes, while Danny studied business.

“Lettering focuses on the things that make letters beautiful,” says Bennett, who leveraged her new skills by running a T-shirt shop and painting signs. “Then, you take things a step further and embellish letters with drop shadows and other artistic details.”

This artistry can be applied in many forms, from small projects to wall murals. In the summer of 1993, Bennett and other community leaders organized a gathering of 75 sign painters from across the country to restore Allerton’s vintage Coca-Cola sign and add other murals and artistic touches around town. They became known as the modern-day “Walldogs.”

This ghost sign in downtown West Bend promoted work clothes.

“Nancy and the Walldogs offered Allerton a gift that really lifted this town,” says Ross Blount, who volunteers with his wife Lorena at the Old Time Soda Fountain, which serves malts, shakes and more on Saturday evenings in the summer. “They helped build social capital.”

Preserving the Writing on the Wall

Ghost signs reveal compelling insights into Iowa’s economic and social development. Consider the historic Harvester buildings near downtown Council Bluffs. These two large, brick buildings, which housed farm equipment more than a century ago, have been transformed into artist lofts and are key components of a new arts and culture center.

“We love that these buildings are still here after all this time and are glad we could help repurpose them,” says Chris Jensen, a designer with Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture in Omaha.

This sign was discovered when the adjacent building was taken down in Ackley.

The four-story Harvester Artist Lofts property houses 36 units in a repurposed warehouse built in 1888. Ghost signs are visible on the corner of the building at 10th Avenue and South Main Street, where “Binders,” “Mowers,” “Buggies” and “Farm Implements” were painted in white, with the words arranged vertically from the first floor to the third floor. “Old photographs show painted signage on this building by 1898,” Jensen says.

Faded, white block letters promoting the International Harvester Company also span the width of the four-story building next to the Harvester Artist Lofts. “Around 1915, International Harvester owned this entire campus,” Jensen says. “A lot of the farm equipment that International Harvester made in Chicago was shipped to this transfer house in Council Bluffs, where it was distributed to implement dealers around Iowa and other states.”

In recent years, the International Harvester building (known as Harvester II) became part of a new $22 million arts and culture center. Pottawattamie Arts, Culture and Entertainment oversaw the construction of this facility.

“I’m a fan of historic preservation, and there’s nothing more sustainable than repurposing an old building,” says Todd Moeller, a partner with Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture. “I used to think maybe we should repaint the ghost signs, but I like to leave them intact. So much of the history of the building and the community is in that paint.”