Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 9

Top: Jim uses a ribbon burner (left) and cross fire burner (right) to bend glass. He blows air into the tube with a long silicon straw to keep it from
collapsing in the process. Bottom left: The custom signs Jim and Becky create all start with a hand-drawn sketch. Becky and Jim collaborate with
the customer and then fit the idea to neon. Bottom right: Jim lights up a tube gas. The type of gas, neon or argon, determines the color.
Theatres in Fulton and Goody's Steakburgers in Sedalia.
One special Columbia sign is at Dryer's Shoe Store.
Back in the 1980s, when Jim and Becky first moved to
Columbia, the original sign hung above the downtown
store - but it was a light-less shell. It took several years,
research and special permits, but Jim was able to restore
it to its original glory. " That probably was one of the most
rewarding jobs because the owner had never seen it lit up
before, " he says.
Jim and Becky, who have been married 52 years, also
had a special role in a proposal. They knew a young couple
who were both medical students at the University of Missouri
in 1995. He was ready to propose, but she said it
would take a sign from God for them to get married with
all the stress from school.
The resulting sign read: " Holly will you marry me?
-John " Below the shining words, in vinyl, Becky put: " A
sign from God. " Needless to say, Holly said yes, and the
couple still have their personalized sign. " That was the
only marriage proposal we ever did, " Becky says.
From special Christmas presents to casinos to car dealerships
to tattoo parlors, Jim and Becky help their customers'
visions shine.
" The cool thing about neons is during that rush of
neon - in the '20s, '30s and '40s - it was on almost every
sign, " Becky says. " Then in the '50s and '60s, lighted signs
with plastic faces were the new thing. Everybody said
LEDs were going to replace neons, but they don't have the
longevity. We're starting to see a huge amount of collectors
after old neons. For us, neons are back in their heyday;
people want glass. "
Becky is the third generation of her family involved
in sign production. She and Jim grew up in Cedar Falls,
Iowa. Becky's father owned a mid-sized company that specialized
in commercial signage. As part of the business, her
grandfather learned the neon sign trade. After Jim got out
of the service in the 1970s and started dating Becky, he
became an apprentice of her grandfather and father.
JANUARY 2024 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 9

http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

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 - 28
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 29
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 30
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 31
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Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 33
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Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 35
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 36
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 37
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 38
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Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 40
Rural Missouri - January 2024 - 41
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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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