“Ford City’s Unhidden Mail Pouch Treasure Gets a New Lease on Life“
by Bill Vint – Summer 2020 edition of the ‘Mail Pouch Barnstormers’ newsletter
Early on Friday morning, October 3, 2008, Kathi Baer got a phone call: her building in downtown Ford City, Pa., was on fire. By the time she arrived, she learned the building engulfed in fire was not, in fact, the building she owned and where she operated her beauty parlor. It was the adjoining 100-year-old McNutt building that was completely destroyed.
Thanks to the local fire department, her building was saved. Not only was her building saved, but with it, a majestic Mail Pouch Tobacco sign that has since been ranked as one of the largest Mail Pouch signs ever painted.
“It was amazing, almost like brand new,” Baer said when the sign was revealed. “It must have just been painted when (the McNutt building) went up. I knew there was an identical sign on the other side of my building, but it’s on the alley side and you can barely see it.”
Baer knew a little about Mail Pouch signs; after all, in the region around Ford City – a community of just under 3,000 residents about 40 miles northeast of Pittsburgh – there once was an abundance of Mail Pouch barns. But this one?
“Ed and Sue Bruce were long-time customers of mine, and Ed knew a lot about Mail Pouch signs,” Kathi said. “They had no idea there was one on my building (hidden by the McNutt building) so it was a huge surprise when they saw it. Ed went on and on about it. He was really impressed. He said there weren’t many signs like it that had a Mail Pouch Tobacco pouch as part of the sign.”
What Ed and Sue Bruce did know was that the Ford City sign needed to be saved. For years they led an effort to create awareness about its historic importance. Almost immediately they led fundraising efforts to preserve the sign. The late Lonnie Schnauffer lived not far away, so they asked him to take a look, to get his opinion on what to do.
There were mixed feelings about the project. Some dedicated Mail Pouch preservationists wanted to do necessary repairs and touchup painting. Others favored a more extensive restoration. Cost was an obvious issue, but the end result also was important. An overriding concern, however, was the deterioration of the building when it was finally exposed to sunlight and weather.
As the years began to creep along, the urgency began to increase. The Bruces – both dedicated members and former officers with the Mail Pouch Barnstormers – Kathi and a handful of others formed a fundraising committee. They held bake sales and other projects to raise money. They applied to the Barnstormers for a $1,000 restoration grant (the grant was approved, but ultimately wasn’t needed because of the successful fundraising efforts done locally).
Eventually, the group cultivated a relationship with the Armstrong County Museum and Genealogical Society, which gave them non-profit status for their efforts. Rob Watt, the museum’s curator, offered his assistance. Among his contributions was contacting Alison Zapata of nearby Aspinwall, Pa., a noted muralist, to restore the sign to like-new condition.
“It was more than she expected,” Baer said. “She had to overcome things like cracks and old mortar made of sand that was failing. If you rubbed it too hard it came right off.”
As word spread about the project, the Ford City business community began to get more and more involved. Scott Zambotti of West Penn Pro Wash helped prepare the wall, washing away much of the dust and peeling paint at no charge. United Rentals provided the scissor lift for the painters. After initially projecting the project would take two weeks, Zapata admitted she had underestimated the degree of mortar erosion, so she had to enlist two assistants, Kevin Kino and Christan Miller, to help.
“This type of work is one of my favorite things to do,” Zapata said. “I normally do murals, but I love sign painting. I love the tradition, the straight-forwardness and accuracy that come with creating something to look identical to the original. I strive to be as accurate as possible, down to matching the original color of the paint that was used.”
Zapata said it was like working in a different time era as she worked with an advertisement that had been done by sign painters a century earlier.
“I’m actually repainting this Mail Pouch Tobacco advertisement,” she said. “It’s actually a ghost sign which means I’m bringing it back to its original form.”
An interesting side note is that the side of the building also includes an ad for the “Ike” Lefkofsky Clothing store. The Lefkofsky family was well-known in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Ike Lefkofsky’s son Charles ran the store until 2004, when he retired. Their portion of the wall advertised clothing for “Ladies and Gents Furnishings” and an elite line of “Walk-Over Shoes.” That portion of the wall hasn’t been restored and may remain as-is to highlight its original state, as well as showcase the aftermath of the fire next door.
The Mail Pouch restoration, on the other hand, is vibrant, colorful and eye-catching for the constant stream of curiosity-seekers who regularly visit the site.
“I think it’s gorgeous. And the fact that it’s 100 years old, I was all over that,” Watt said. “It’s a source of pride for the community,” he added. “It definitely enhances the appeal of our downtown.”
“We worked for years to get it done,” Baer said. “It was 10 years to the day when we finally got it done.”
The empty McNutt building lot remains the next question. There is some sentiment about converting the empty lot into a mini-park, but whether or not that happens remains to be seen. In the meantime, the 27 by 61-foot brick wall in Ford City will serve as a monument to an era past for years to come, thanks to some preservation-minded fans of history.
The Ford City sign was selected as the Mail Pouch Barnstormers’ featured sign for 2020, and it’s only the second sign not on a barn to be recognized by the organization. As part of the featured sign status, the Barnstormers create a “woodie” or miniature replica of the building; an embroidered patch and a postcard. All of those items are offered for sale on the mailpouchbarnstormers.org website under the “shop” link. Proceeds from the sale of those items go toward the MPB sign restoration/preservation fund.
For more information on this sign, see MPS 38-03-08.
Above, the Ford City, Pa., Mail Pouch Tobacco sign restored to as close to its original state as muralist Alison Zapata (center, below photo) could imagine. Her assistants were Kevin Kino and Christan Miller.
Below are the new Barnstormers’ woodie and embroidered patch that are available on the mailpouchbarnstormers.org website under the “Shop” link. A commemorative postcard also will be available, with proceeds benefitting the Barnstormers’ preservation and restoration fund.
