Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 8

BENDER
OF GLASS
Jim and Becky McCarter keep
history alive through neon signs
With their company, Creative Neon, Jim and Becky McCarter create and restore neon signs. Jim is the only glass bender left in central Missouri and
routinely receives work from across the state. His dedication to the craft has blossomed into an impressive collection of signs, pinball machines and
other relics of Americana, which all require a little TLC from Jim. " I love the challenge of trying to get things to work again, " Jim says.
by Sara Schafer | sschafer@ruralmissouri.coop
E
very sign has a story, and every sign is worth saving
- at least to Jim and Becky McCarter. The Columbians
have been dedicated to the craft and history of
neon signs for more than four decades.
When you enter their in-home business, you are immediately
engulfed by that undeniable low buzz of a museum
of neon signs and relics of Americana. Porcelain-faced
signs, a barbershop pole, beer signs of every fl avor, clocks
and a life-sized railroad signal shine, turn and fl ash in the
crowded shop. Welcome to Creative Neon.
On a typical day you'll fi nd Jim in his backyard studio
with two fl ames blazing - a cross fi re and a ribbon
burner. He eyes a hand-drawn sketch, inserts a silicone
straw into his mouth and selects a narrow tube of glass.
He leans over the fi re and slowly morphs the glass from
solid to liquid, blowing air through his straw to keep the
glass a perfect tube.
8 RURAL MISSOURI | JANUARY 2024
He eases back from the fl ame and bends the glass to
mirror the sketch. " I bend everything backwards, " says
Jim, who admits he commonly writes letters backward
after years of creating neon signs.
Once the glass is cool and all the pieces are created,
Jim is ready to pump in the gas. He moves to a table with
a setup that looks like it was inspired by Frankenstein. He
attaches the tubes to a vacuum, which draws out moisture
and any impurities. The glass is heated to around 500
degrees, and once it cools, Jim adds either neon or argon
gas. The type of gas determines the color, red for neon and
blue for argon.
Jim's work spans designing new neon signs to fi xing a
bar's broken beer sign. If you spot a neon sign in Columbia
or many of the surrounding towns, you can bet Jim
and Becky, members of Boone Electric Cooperative, had a
hand in making it shine. A small sampling of their portfolio
includes the neon signs at Billiards on Broadway, D&M
Sound, Tropical Liqueurs and Murry's in Columbia, B&B

Rural Missouri - January 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - January 2024

Contents
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - Cover1
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - Cover2
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - Contents
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 4
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 5
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 6
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 7
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 8
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 9
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 10
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 11
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 12
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 13
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Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 20
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Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 29
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 30
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 31
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Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 33
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 34
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 35
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 36
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 37
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 38
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 39
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 40
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 41
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 42
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Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 45
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 46
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - Cover3
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - Cover4
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