October 7, 2025 • 64 mins
We have the GREAT Kathy Kikkert on the show this week, and she is amazing. We talked about her book, Hollywood Signs: Glittering Graphics and Glowing Neon in Mid-Century Tinseltown
her work with the legendary Charles Phoenix, Neon Speaks, and her work with the American Sign Museum.
Visit her website here.
I totally forgot so many people because my exhaustion was on display.
So, to the people that I forgot, here, I'll give y'all some love:
@ryanrichards92
@retroroadsidephoto
@hmdavidcalmod
@vintageneonproject
and here are shout outs to everyone else:
@owlcop
@dv_over_dt
https://www.benkoush.com/
@colorbyspiegel
@roadsidepeek
@neonsignsofthetimes
@3earedrabbit
@signpeeper
@mark5280pix
@neon_denver
I probably got a LOT more stuff wrong, too. I'm rusty.
Also, our thoughts go out to the family of Corky Scholl on their loss. You are missed!
her work with the legendary Charles Phoenix, Neon Speaks, and her work with the American Sign Museum.
Visit her website here.
I totally forgot so many people because my exhaustion was on display.
So, to the people that I forgot, here, I'll give y'all some love:
@ryanrichards92
@retroroadsidephoto
@hmdavidcalmod
@vintageneonproject
and here are shout outs to everyone else:
@owlcop
@dv_over_dt
https://www.benkoush.com/
@colorbyspiegel
@roadsidepeek
@neonsignsofthetimes
@3earedrabbit
@signpeeper
@mark5280pix
@neon_denver
I probably got a LOT more stuff wrong, too. I'm rusty.
Also, our thoughts go out to the family of Corky Scholl on their loss. You are missed!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Welcome everybody back to another episode of International sign Finders.
I know it's been like eight months. It's been a
long year for some of you. It's been a long
year as well. Some of you it has been a
great year. It's been a great year in a lot
of different ways. I finally finished my certificate for multimedia.
So if you know, anybody has any jobs, I'm looking
for one type of thing. But tonight we've got a
(00:37):
special guest. She has worked with the one and only
Charles Phoenix. She has a book coming out, or she's
had a book that's out for two years already. Let
me get my fact straight, like I told her, sometimes
the facts are in my head, but they don't come
out in the right order. She's amazing. We've been laughing
it up already before we got onto the podcast. Welcome
(00:59):
to the show, Kathy Kicker, Kathy, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Well, it's great to be here with you, Drew. Thank
you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Oh and I'm so glad that we finally get to
do this because we both have been just like we've
been busier than one legged dogs with fleas. Absolutely yeah,
because you just got a new puppy didn't you.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I just got a new puppy. Yes, yes, what.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Type of pupp.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
She's part beagle, okay and maybe a little husky. We're
not sure exactly.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
That's an interesting combo.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
She is the sweetest puppy and yeah, yeah, she's adorable.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
See. We talk about all sorts of things. I mean,
we'll get into the signs, don't worry, but we talk
about life and other things like that, some fun things,
because that's part of the whole sign finding experiences, the
experience exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
And also, you were at Neon Speaks last week?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Was it? Oh my goodness, it was amazing. It is amazing.
Every year is better than the last, and I don't
even know how that's possible, but it is.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Yeah, one of these days I'll get out there. Oh
my gosh.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I gotta start saving up my my pennies.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Oh yeah, it's worth the trip.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Was there a specific theme to this year's Speaks.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
There wasn't one specific theme, but there were a number
of There are always incredible presentations, so let there be
ne On. Jeff Friedman and Dave Waller did an incredible presentation.
Because the Wallers are taking over. Let there be me
On and we had a special tribute to Corky Shoal
(02:45):
of den just heartbreaking. Well he passed away about a
month ago. And yeah, oh I'm so sorry. I thought
you knew that.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yeah, I one of my the one podcast that go
back to. Oh dang, now I would have started crying.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Oh no, I'm so sorry.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
No, it's fine. Uh one of my favorite interviews it
was with him. And is it Todd, that's.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Todd in Denver? Yes, yes, oh yeah, so a great yes. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Then two rap scallions were a handful. They were so
much fun.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
To talk to, no doubt. Have to go listen to that.
I didn't I miss that one.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Yeah, Kirky was doing the lord's work in.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Denver, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
And how many people's garages he has filled with signs
that they were trying to salvage. Oh my gosh, that's that.
That is a we may have to do something for
Corky as.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Well here, Yes, yeah, and I mean Corky and his
wife Melissa were at I believe they were at every
single Meon Speaks and made such an incredible contribution and
they were so much fun and just like wonderful, wonderful
people so I just adore them both. Yeah, and uh,
(04:34):
it's just heartbreaking loss. And I'm heartbroken for from Melissa
and their kids.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
My goshya and the treasure troves that he was that
people gave him too.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Absolutely, they give him by.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Boxes of pictures.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Incredible. Well, I understand that Save the Signs in Denver
is continuing, Melissa, Yeah, yeah, so it in his honor.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Yeah, I wonder if who is it? Mark fifty to
eighty picks and sippers there. And there's also Neon Denver too,
I think as well.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
It's Denver has an amazing It's been on my list
for so long. I hope to get there soon. But
it has an amazing uh legacy, you know, a legacy
of Neon signs. I'm still there, people like quirky.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah, and the weird hoops they had to jump through
in Denver, like the motel didn't own the sign, they
leased it or something weird like that.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Oh okay.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
And they weren't necessarily like completely connected. And I'm sure
that if Todd's listening or debor Jane, if you're listening,
you can clarify this for me as well. But they
weren't necessarily connected and so when one went out, it
wasn't the hotel, this was this way. It was weird.
But our Vada, I want to say, our Vada, Colorado,
(06:03):
just down the road, they changed their laws because I
think in Denver and a lot of other places, you
have to fix the neon on site.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Yes, you can't bring it down exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I think I know salt I want to say Salt
Lake does this. I'm probably wrong, but I think Salt
Lake allows you to bring you down to fix it,
to put it back up. And I think our Vada
did the same thing as well, So I think they
work together some weird like that. I have to go
back and listen to the episode. It's I'm going off
a year and a half a memory.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Okay, okay, okay, I'm talking too much.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
No, No, that's a I think that's an important point
about repairing signs that they you know, because a lot
of times it's not that safe for somebody to be
up in the air working like that, and it sort
of creates other issues. So I'm hoping that cities take
a look at that. Yeah, yeah, it doesn't it doesn't
(07:01):
make sense.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, it really Like in I think San Francisco, especially
Chinatown that's kind of a crammed area. I've seen pictures
of like the streets. It's it's very crammed. And getting
a cherry picker. I don't know if they call them
that anymore. That's what we call them as kids, the
old cherry pickery. Yeah, just backing that down, My gosh,
(07:22):
that's gotta be uh, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta
be in tune with your.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Quipment as somebody that has a fear of heights. And
really just the fact that I admire anyone that climb
up and work on scaffoldings and you know, it's it's
tricky work to begin with that I could do it
in mid air. It's like a you know, acrobatic I.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Think one of the this is kind of a side note,
but kind of goes along with it. I was in
Idaho in this place called Ice Caves in East Idaho,
and they had like this rim around where you go
down to enter and you're a good one hundred two
hundred feet up and my friend's fiance grabbed me and
she was going to act like she was gonna throw
(08:09):
me off, but she pulled me back. I said some
four letter friendlies. She was laughing. I'm like, that's not
funny kind of a friend and I get on my roof,
but it's still a little Yeah. So anyway, let's introduce you.
We're coming to the end of the first segment. We've
(08:30):
got about a minute and a half, two minutes. If
we want to go four more minutes, we can do that.
It's our show. So Kathy, you know, recipes corky QPD
I for hear what that is in Spanish. But hopefully
you'll be at the big Neon convention in the sky
when we see you. But Kathy, introduce yourself to everybody.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Oh okay, I'm Kathy Kickert. My book Hollywood Saw is out,
a graphic designer. Uh what else can I say?
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You're awesome? Okay? Or was that too bold?
Speaker 2 (09:16):
You're very kind.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
I've seen your Here's one thing I'm a I'm an
I'm gonna sell Kathy real fast, and I meant the
past few weeks where both of us it's yeah, it's
like you're running through molasses and getting nowhere, but you're
still getting stuff done. Go through her Instagram page. I
don't know, do you have a Flicker account as well?
Speaker 2 (09:40):
I don't have an account that I posted.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Okay, gotcha, So just go through her page. You're going
to see like the Merry Go Round. One of my
favorite that that that is a bucketless sign, Like it's
like a two or three piece sign where the middle
part rotates GI go around. Yeah, you have Bob's Big Boy.
You have, of course the Army sergeant on there. Got
(10:06):
to have the Army sergeant if you're in the LA area.
But you also have a ton of ones that I've
that I'm not familiar with from the LA area, which
goes along with your Hollywood Signs book? Am I jumping
the gun a little bit?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Like? Which one? Are you thinking? Jesus so many? No,
it might be a sign that's I've posted some vintage
photos of signs that are no longer in Hollywood.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Uh take a hoote the one with the owl on it, the.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Owl that's up in Rio. I think that's a great one.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Well, I say it's close enough, like Rancho super Wash.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Oh, that's one of my favorites.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Is that one in la or the one in uh Seattle.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
That's the one and it's in Ransom Mirage just outside
of Rings. Okay, that is one of it's the screensaver
on my computer, one of my favorite signs.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
So yeah, and you also got the Army's roast beeed
wind so.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
That well, so that one. I was just thinking about
that earlier today, that that that's in the book. But
we just lost that sign.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
I thought they're going to save it.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Well I shouldn't say we we uh meaning Los Angeles
loss of sign. They I believe they're moving it to
another location, another Arby's. So the sign still exists, thankfully,
but we've lost it. It was such a great I mean,
it was on Sunset Boulevard since the sixties, so it's
(11:44):
it's kind of heartbreaking.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah. Yeah, you have a knob hill or not sorry,
knob Hello.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
That's the hob knob is that was in sarasotat.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
The heavy hitters all around the country. Get that.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Uh. And I believe that is also uh in the
last year. I believe that's gone too.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
I swear I'm missing No.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
It's just sad, you know that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
And and so when we come back from the other
side of the break, because we're at the end of
our first segment, we're going to get into some of
these Hollywood signs because I mean, is Baskin's Auto Supply
in LA.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
That's in Fresno.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
It's in California, Sari, I know that one's in La. Man,
I'm so bad. Males driving.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Meles is in LA. We have a couple of meles.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
And also a circus liquor. I'm just going through there.
I just love all these and and in my mind,
in a weird way, it's either La to Denver or
everywhere else. Hit here in my mind Tucson. I'll give
(13:10):
Tusons some love too, Yes, and don't misspell it because
there used to be a guy on X every time
you misspelled it, he would find you and make fun
of you. So when we come back from the other
side of the break, we will because we have to
do those, because it's a spreaker, they have to have breaks. Whatever.
(13:31):
I just go along with the flow. When we come back,
we'll get into more of the LA signs that apparently
I don't know very well. I admit it. I think
I know him, but then I don't. That's on me.
But also we're getting to the books and also maybe
some other things. You never know with international signfinders.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
So we're back after the break.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Welcome back to International sign Finders. Glad you're with us.
I have fully put my foot in my mouth not
knowing where everything is at. And we have the wonderful,
amazing Kathy Kicker with us. She has the book Hollywood Signs.
Get it, Go and get it, seriously, go and get it.
And also, you've worked with the infamous uh, Charles Phoenix too,
(15:07):
haven't you I have. I probably shuldn't say infamous. He'll
come and get me yourself. Well.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Inimitable, yeah, inimidible.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
You use the big words. I didn't. I didn't do
well on the SAT. That's the reason why I'm in radio.
I didn't do well at SAT.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Charles is a lot of fun. Charles is so much fun.
I've I met him before I moved out here. So
it was in the nineties. And a publisher that I
that actually has published most of the books we might
talk about, Angel City Press. When I met with them,
they said, you know what, we have a book, uh,
(15:50):
and an author that we think we'd really hit it
off with. Oh cool, So they introduced us and we
did fabulous Las Vegas and Southern California in the fifties.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Oh gosh, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
An incredible book. It's an incredible book.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Dang. And whish I had more money?
Speaker 2 (16:12):
I know, I know, I know, I wish I had
more space for all the books. Yeah. Yeah. And then
more recently we did Addicted to Americana, okay, and Holiday
Jubilee my head, and we're in we're talking about a
new project which I can't really say anything about.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
I won't. I won't get into it with you. I'm
curious as all get out.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
But no, we're excited. We're excited.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
I will admit that I was highly jealous. Oh what's
the guy out of Austin that does the restoration of
all the midcentry cars? Oh, dang it, I can't remember
his name. It'll coach me later.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
I just thought Austin neon Roadside Relics Roads.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
I'm looking up right now, because no, it's not Roadside Peak.
Dang it. I'll find it. When I find it, I'll
put him in the show notes because he and Charles
did a tour of Houston, and I was jealous.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Oh wow, Oh that must have been incredible.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Houston. You have to know where to go, Okay, and
it's Houston is huge, Hues is bigger. Than Los Angeles
size wise. I did it. I looked it up. You
can fit New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Raleigh, North Carolina.
(17:44):
He can feel like thirteen different large American cities inside
the city limits of Houston. Oh wow, it's six hundred
sixty square miles. Oh only Oklahoma City, Jacksonville, Florida, and
some tiny little towns in Montana and Alaska a bigger
(18:05):
because they just include like wilderness as part of their cities,
right right, So yeah, it's it's a big town. But
like they went down Westheimer in Montrose, which they they're
trying to revitalize Neon and stuff like that. You have
Roswell's which takes Vegas Vicki and puts a helmet on her.
(18:29):
And you also have like Petty Cash and the Leopard Lounge,
which is very it's not midsentry modern. It is like
what do they call it nuclear?
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Atomic?
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah, the atomic Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, the
atomic book, very atomic looking. So it's that area. And
they just got a new big, huge neon like complex,
the Taco stand like all around it is neon. It
is on neon really yeah, And I've put some pictures
(19:08):
up recently of the Taco stand. But that area is
trying to revitalize a neon the rest of Houston. You
find it here and there, Downtown's got it, Midtown's got it,
Heights has it, and then here and there a Memorial
I'll say, Memorial City's got it. But it's not like
(19:28):
it used to be because of laws and basically the
iSER laws back in the seventies, like Lady or Johnson
went after Houston specifically for the billboards because this used
to be billboard city. Yeah, they did all the all
those laws where you can't have all these billboards and
you know we're in a.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Beautify the Highway beautiful.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Yeah, that's it. Yeah. And then seventy three seventy something
to alcop Robert Anderson. If you're not following him, follow him.
He doesn't have a lot of followers, but man, the
stuff he puts up there is amazing. He told me
that apparently there's a councilwoman who's basically like, if your
sign's dead, it comes down, or something along those lines.
(20:10):
If you can't fix it, it has to come down.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
So there you see a lot of skeletons around different
parts of Houston. Yeah, and unfortunately the Admiral Motel. One
of my favorite signs in Houston bright neon pink, and
that is the hardest color to take a photo of.
In my opinion, I think dt over was a dv ever.
(20:36):
DT told me how to do it. You have to
have a special lens to really get it right. But
they tore down the I mean it was a ratty motel.
It was twenty nine bucks a night. You don't ask
questions those places. And the developers going to make it
into a parking lot. Basically I think there might be
(20:58):
some sort of like building on it, but he tore
down the sign. I've I've messaged him on Instagram and nothing.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
So yeah, so I've taken over. Yeah ye oh no.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
No, but Hollywood signs give us kind of a because
I call Southern California xanadu of neons. Uh yes, we're
going back to that old it was a movie right
in the seventies xanadu.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
So yeah, there's you know, like you have little mecca's
like to Cares. I've mentioned Denver, Salt Lake, Battle Mountain,
Nevada has a has a really cool like neon like
restaurant and stuff like that. It was called the Armpit
of America at one point, Like the Washington Post did
(21:55):
a story on the Armpit of America. It was Battle Mountain, Tucson,
who Ab Albuquerque, Albuquerque. Uh yeah, in places I think
there's a little Mecca's. But southern California is like Xanadu,
and La is like the capital of Xanadu in my opinion.
So what is it about Hollywood? The Hollywood signs so well.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
The subtitle of the book is the Golden Age of
glittering graphics and glowing.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Neon andful got me sold.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Yes, And the Hollywood the sort of the the Hollywood story.
I mean not not Hollywood the idea or industry, but Hollywood,
the downtown, the town. The sort of trajectory of Neon
(22:51):
follows the same trajectory of Hollywood. You know, it had
sort of its uh you know, starred in the nineteen
twenties and and then by the fifties and definitely sixties,
it was you know, post war, it was over for
Hollywood and and Neon like they you know, the glory
(23:14):
days were kind of over. How when television came in
that the studio started moving outside of Hollywood, because they
could get more space. And then Hollywood, the town started
its decline, and at the same time you saw that
in Neon like that, you know, Neon started becoming associated
(23:36):
with pool.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Halls and you know places.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Seatier places, so and both have had a resurgence, you know. So,
but it is kind of interesting that it sort of
followed the same.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Timeline because that was the original, like, you know, digital
billboard type thing. Because you know, you have one thing
that I noticed when I went to like Vegas and
to La Are all the digital like big huge o
l ed TVs billboards.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Oh yeah, yes, and uh, you.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Know those things were big, you know, the big bright
Neon gotta get everybody in.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
The one I'm thinking of is uh was it Frontier.
It's the one there in San Jose. It's that big
one that the Pliants store Western appliants. I think it's
built into the store. I was talking. Oh, of course,
her name's going to slip me by and she's going
(24:43):
to get onto me. I'm so tired, I can't remember
Lisa Heather. Oh Heather, that's right, Heather David. Heather David,
Heather David. Because I accidentally said her Twitter handle was
or her Instagram handle was a mouthful. It's a long one,
but it's like, we'll make it work. But you know,
that's a that's the first one that comes to mind
(25:06):
when I'm thinking. And I'm not talking about the casinos
of Vegas. That's Vegas, that's the Old Beast. But like
outside of Vegas, you know, you had like the Western Appliance. Uh,
the was it the Sergeant Army surplus store there in LA.
That's a pretty big one too, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
That's yeah, that's on Hollywood Boulevard. The supply sergeant.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Yeah, supply sergeant, that's what it is. Yeah, I can't
get it right. And even like the apartments, like the
Dingbat apartments. Isn't the Starlet apartments. Isn't that a dingbat?
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Uh? Let's see, uh starlight cocktail ange just went in
my mind.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
The Starlet Uh Southern y No.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
No, No, there's a starlight. Yes.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
And I'm lazy. I'm a lazy talker sometimes.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Yeah, I mean LA's Dingbad apartments is a whole other
subject that is so fascinating that you know, but there
I don't. I don't think i've seen neon on any
of them.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
The Starlet.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Oh in Burbank. Yeah, yeah, yes, okay.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Is that an apartment or is that a motel?
Speaker 2 (26:27):
I'm not sure if it's still a motel or if
it's Okay, I can't remember, but that's a great one.
And yes, you're right, that is Neon.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Yeah, that's only one. Like I know of another one
in Idaho Falls and also the Peter Pan in up
near University of Utah. There's tiny little like just Neon letters.
But those are like more exceptions than the rule type
of thing.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Huh yeah, yes, exactly, Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
So Hollywood, what what happened? We're going to go buying
segments two and three. This is gonna become like one
Mega one because this conversation is going to continue. Uh
darn it. I'm talking to myself because I got to
get my brain wrapped around it. So when the Heyday
(27:15):
went came and gone, sixties seventies are coming in, you
know you're getting brutalism basically, just I mean, Houston's got
a brutaliss like motif for the whole city. So Ben, Ben,
(27:37):
I'll mention you in my in the credits. But Ben
does a whole bunch of architecture photography around Houston, and
he has like a whole section and like the Rice architecture,
architectural like magazine, scholarly journal about Houston brutalism itself.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
Oh wow, yeah, wow, it's frightening. Ye, Brutaliss is having
quite a moment.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Yeah. No, yeah, I saw the Obama Presidential Library that
is so brutalless. Oh it is. Take a look at it,
and I'm like, I I'm this isn't about anybody's politics.
I'm talking about the building. The buildings comes straight out
(28:23):
of like it like Serbia the nineteen seventies.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Wow, Okay, I'll have to look at it.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Yeah, but also has like a weird space age look
to it, like a futuristic like it could take off
any second. So it looks like his spaceship slash Brutaliss
And I'm just.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Like you could have Those are two different ideas, yes ideas.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
It's like R two D. It's like the Gronk bat
if it was a building. So let me get back
to it. Sorry, I'm so distracted, Hollywood. The signs just
just describe what happened in that transition period between the
sixties and the seventies.
Speaker 5 (29:11):
Because oh, go ahead, Sorry, oh no, go ahead, No,
I was what I say, just I can just imagine
and from like old like video and stuff like that,
of l A, you could probably see it from outer space.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
That's that's what they say about Vegas.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Yeah, you know that's true though. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, so, but the decline actually in the sixties seventies,
that that the term is benign neglect. I think when
when a when a neighborhood kind of goes down and
is forgotten, A lot of times things are saved just
(29:56):
out of you know, out of neglect.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
So that happened in Hollywood, and there are a lot
of buildings that are still there, signs that are still
there that that wouldn't have if it If it had,
you know, that they would have turned into something else probably. Yeah,
so it hasn't. I mean, we've had you know, this
(30:23):
is the Renaissance. Nope, Nope, it's going to be ten
years from now and then you know, so Hollywood has
been sort of coming and going. I've lived here for
twenty five years and it's been until COVID things were
doing pretty you know, we're doing pretty well with the renaissance.
So uh, and then we'll see what happens from here.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
Yeah. And then you have like movie studios, movies like
there's one big one in Texas like south of Arlington.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Oh yeah, that's a whole other thing. Is the industry
is yeah, evaporating, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
And everything's becoming like, you know, out of your basement type.
And I'm not criticizing that. Just the technology has become
so cheap, like I can do space age graphics on
my computer out of my home. I mean, granted it's
not one of those air cooled like liquid nitrogen cooled
computers that Disney probably has, or the big egg that
(31:22):
they shot the Mendalorian in, but you know, I can
still do some decent stuff with some camera phones a
decent a decent camera, and and so people are willing
to play ball.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Mm yeah, oh yeah. Yeah. I mean we're kind of
in the midst of so many different changes, you know,
with technology and AI and you know, so it's it's
we have no idea where all this is going, but we'll.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Get let's guided back to the the old neon something
the happy place, yeah, our happy place. Yeah. So, are
is there a revitalization of some of these neon signs
going on? Or are they or are the skeletons left
there like the bone the bones for the boneyard. They're
(32:12):
in Vegas type of thing.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Oh you mean in Hollywood or.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Yeah, in Hollywood.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Yeah, I think there's there has been some really important
preservation work that has been done. The first thing I
think of the Neon dragons that were saved by a
number of important people were eternally grateful. And the East
(32:38):
Dragon is in the Museum of Neon Art here in
Los Angeles, Okay, has been fully restored in and it's
just a miracle that we have. The other one is
in the collection of the Los Angeles Natural History Museum.
(32:58):
They have like a.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Natural Oh oh yeah, they would make sense. Yeah, that
makes sense.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Yeah, so they have the other one. As far as
I know, it hasn't been restored yet. But but I
don't know if you've been to the Museum of Neon
Art here, but it's really it's such a gem and
they have such important they have an important collection.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
The thing I need to do is just go on
a road trip through like Arizona, southern California, because you
have up into Vegas, because you know, you have the
Neon Museum there in Vegas. The Boneyard. Yes, you have Mona.
Just head down to southern California like MEXICALI apparently has
(33:39):
a few really cool signs or calmex Well, then you.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Want to well, then you want to loop all the
way up to Cincinnati. Yes, go to the American Sign Museum,
which is another spectacular place.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
I've seen that you've got, like the correct me if
I'm wrong, you have the Holiday Inn signed from the.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
Yes, if I'm saying this correctly, I think it's the
only existing holiday in sign known as the Great Sign
that was Actually I believe there's one in the Henry Ford,
but I'm not sure if that's an original or recreation.
So so, yeah, and the museum, the Sign Museum uses
(34:26):
it so well by you know, it's the first thing
you see. It welcomes you, you know, and then when
you're leaving, it says thank you for visiting. So because yeah, no,
I mean they're using it as a sign, yea.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
And also using it as a display too. And also
it is that throwback to the old Holiday Inn. You know.
They're the first like franchise motel company in America or
something like that, the first chain hotel or one of
the first.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Uh, definitely one of the first. I'm not sure if
they're the first. Yeah, So in nineteen fifty two, I
think they started.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
Yeah, I've heard an interview with a member of the
family or something like that on our American Stories and
they talked about how, you know, he was changed the
guy who I want to say Memphis, Tennessee and.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Know them wrong there, No, it started in yes, you know,
you're correct.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
Yeah, And so he started working with different franchisers and
you know, they put the kneeon out and that is
I mean, we have t bones in Chema and they
have one that looks like the old those two that
are on on sixty six that are iconic that kind.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Of look like the oh yeah, like Thenger Moss Yeah yeah, yeah, And.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
It kind of looks like a cross between that and
the Holiday Inn signs. And it's a steakhouse. I mean,
that's Americana. That has been replicated across the country.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Absolutely. That sign is so influential. It's been copied, uh,
you know, inspired so many other signs.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
I'll say it like that, and it's one one thing. Work.
Did you do some work with the Neon Museum of
Cincinnati as well?
Speaker 2 (36:17):
I did I I designed there. So they're celebrating their
twenty fifth anniversary this year, okay, which is phenomenal, and
uh so I designed uh we did it. We created
a coffee table book, uh to commemorate that. So it's
a fantastic book. Sam Roberts is the author. He is
(36:41):
the editor of Black Better Letters magazine, okay. And Natalie
Grilly is the photographer and she's she's local in Cincinnati,
and we uh uh with the museum's development uh team,
we put together this book and we had the best
time doing it. So much fun. But I think we're
(37:03):
all really happy and proud of the result. It'll be
out in November, I believe.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
Oh wow, that is Yeah. So when you were did
you go out to Cincinnati to do this or did
you get to stay at home?
Speaker 2 (37:15):
You know, it's so funny. I was on a I
went to the s c A. Their annual trip was
in Nashville last year, so I went out there. Yeah
it was it was great. And but after that trip,
I went on a little road trip up to Cincinnati
(37:36):
with Steve's Biegele and colored by Spiegel and give.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Him a shout out. Dude is amazing. Yes, he's a
ball of energy.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
Yes, it's amazing. And Josh Silberg Signs of the Times
of Giving the and Stephanie Petite, Oh yeah, Roadside Peak
and we had the best time. We just drove from
Nashville up to Cincinnati, and Todd swarmst At, the founder,
(38:08):
gave us a tour of the museum, and we were
just in awe. I mean it was it's now it's
like just my favorite place. I just love visiting. So
I got to visit then, and I got to visit
again while we were working on the book. It's just phenomenal.
I definitely, I can't recommend it highly enough because I
(38:28):
think one of the really exceptional things about it is
it celebrates neon signs, but it also celebrates gold leaf
sign and hand painted signs, you know, so it's it's
it's sort of all encompassing. And for people like me
that I've been noticing signs and typography from my whole
life since I was a kid, it's just like, you know,
(38:50):
being a kid in a candy store surrounded by them.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Heck, yeah, man, I the one. I want to go
to the part of that one, to go to his
main street. Yes, their new main.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
Stream the expansion. Yeah, it's incredible. It's incredible because so
the sign pager has created all these storefronts around the
Neon signs, and it's just an uh, it's just an
incredible place a visit.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
It's man, Yeah, I gotta get up there. There's so
many places I need to go. Right in the one
place I think I've interviewed Stephanie Potite.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
Oh yeah, she's also great.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
Yeah, she's She's amazing. And if you're wondering I can't
remember my past shows, You're right, I can't right now.
Like if this is if I had ten hours of
great sleep, I'd be remembering all these people. Not right now.
But but like the don't worry. The Neon Sign Museum
(39:52):
of Philadelphia has I think we've lost.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
Yes, unfortunately, Yeah, the one. He has such a great collection.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
Yeah, just I've got through his page. And and you
know there's some underrated Neon in Philadelphia, like the cheese
steak places. Those are awesome. They're lit up like the
fourth of July.
Speaker 2 (40:17):
Well, that's that's the thing is that every every city
does have still have some sort of icons, you know,
so any city you go to you can still find
some amazing Neon. It's just not part of every streetscape anymore,
you know, I.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
Mean the first thing he comes to mind when I
think of la is Bob's.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Oh yes, Bob's yes.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
And Mills that on the penguin.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
H well, yes, so that's the Malls out in Santa Monica. Okay,
it was the Penguin Diner, Penguin Diner back in the day.
It was a Googy Diner. I believe it was designed
by Army and Davis, the coffee shop architecture architectural geniuses.
(41:07):
And for a long time a dentist had taken over
that spot, taken over the building and luckily preserve the building.
And they and they kept the penguin on the sign,
and then right and then Male's took it over, so
they they brought back some of the original details. And yeah,
(41:29):
so that's what we love to see, you know, we
love to see that.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
And it's like Salt Lake has a lot of repurposing.
Like there is a down on South State Street, there's
I think the classic apartments, new brand new apartment complex.
But they kept the old bowling pin and you know,
they of course they adjusted it to their needs, but
(41:56):
they still kept some of that old old signage. There's
a kind of there's a dentist office that was an
old bowling alley as well. I think I've got pictures
of it up on my site. And they've kept the
old bowling Marquee up top.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
That's phenomenal. That's great.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
And we have we have a here in Humble, we
have an old oh of course I can't remember the name,
but we have an old Marquee theater Marquee and it's
a lawyer, lawyer office, law office. Oh, that's cool. So
and also Huntsville, Texas has that as well. There's a
(42:35):
couple like real estate agency that used to be an
old motel or not old motel, but old theater and
stuff like that. So yeah, it's it's not the same,
I know, but they're still trying to keep the past
going exactly.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
We have a couple of examples like that in l
A too. We have the Tower Theater downtown Apple it's
an Apples Are now, and we have uh Studio City.
We have Bookstar which is part of Barnes and Noble,
and that used to be the Studio City theater. So
they kept the marketing and then out in covena. We
(43:15):
had the Covena bowl, right, yes, And they so they
kept the facade and the and part of the building
and build apartments, you know, condos. I think around it
so and I think there's still room for a restaurant.
So it's you know that repurposing is so important. It's
(43:38):
so when you have architects and and uh builders and
and developers that are sensitive to that, you really can
get some interesting results.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
Yeah. Oh man, Uh, there's one before we go to
break there's one I wish that they would somehow. I
know it's all rusted out, but it's an old dot
coffee shop telephone road. It's one of my favorite signs.
It is so mid century. I mean, if you're making
a mid century sign and go a little bit over
the top, this one kind of reminds me of something
(44:11):
like that.
Speaker 2 (44:12):
Uh where is that?
Speaker 1 (44:14):
It's here in Houston. Yeah, And it's been like a
salsa place, it's been a Mexican restaurant. It's been so
many different things, and now it's it's in front of
a new building. I know what it is and I
just hope they don't tear it down. It's one of
my it's I go every so often, just to make
(44:34):
sure she's there. You know, my friend is.
Speaker 2 (44:36):
There exactly check on her, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4 (44:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:40):
There's some boys I check on too, Like, uh, was
one I was checking on the other day. Oh, it's
a new one. It's fannin square, simple old school looking
type sign. It's brand new. I just checked on to
make sure it's there, still glowing. The nice guy is
still glowing around it.
Speaker 2 (44:59):
So quell.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
That will bring us to the end of our second
and third segment or four segments.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
I think it's the seventh.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
You're right, Yeah, we're going in the segment fifteen. We've
lost track. We've just been talking that and sometimes we
just got to do that. And the commercials you just
don't have to wait. So we have Kathy Kicker, author
of Hollywood Signs. When we come back, I'll ask her
some places she'd like to go or she'd like to
(45:29):
revisit in her sign finding quest. You're listening to International
sign Finders. Welcome back to International Sign Finders. Glad you're
(46:24):
still with us. Glad you're still with us. We've been
shooting the whatever breeze. I can't say the other word.
I might have mss S Gathy get on to me
for that. Not me, I'm saying, yeah, I probably shouldn't
say that word anyway. But we've been talking about, you know,
(46:47):
signs and the restoration of signs in La around l A.
The amazing job that you know, the Neo Museum of
Cincinnati's done. The was it the Museum of Neon Art?
Speaker 2 (47:02):
There?
Speaker 1 (47:02):
Is it La or Glendale?
Speaker 2 (47:04):
It's in Glendale? Okay, yeah, yeah, but I think that's
La County.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
I've got a friend who's a mart who works at
a mortuary there in Glendale and go see.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
Oh really yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (47:18):
Give me an excuse to go see him. We talked
about the Boneyard in Vegas. H Unfortunately, the Museum of
Neon in Philadelphia, you know that it's gone the way
of the earth. And also to two wild cars you
never think of. Edmonton has a Neon museum slash building,
(47:40):
and the Amazon headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia apparently has
a boatload a boatloadable Neon signs.
Speaker 2 (47:49):
Really, yeah, I have to look at that. Yeah, you
just added to my list. Yeah, that's a good thing.
Speaker 1 (47:58):
And then you're thinking, like and then ten Alberta, Yeah,
they've got Uh. I think they've got him on the
outside as well. Also Helper Utah, and you know was Durango,
Colorado has like me on ali Yeah.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
And there's a AG night in Arizona, Oka, believe. Also
in Bakersfield, the Current County Museum has a really great
collection of Neon signs.
Speaker 1 (48:28):
Oh what, Yeah, that is awesome. Good Bakersfield. Uh now
did you get now, just did you get the big
huge thermometer in Baker to be Neon with the alien
on top or something like that. I think it's alien
jerky where the big thermometer is at?
Speaker 2 (48:46):
Oh? Oh nice? Okay, yeah, the list.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
It's just weird, like you're passing through Baker like two
in the morning, you have a slept for forty eight hours,
and you're looking over it's like, what, there's a big
thermometer in Aliens. Maybe I'm mixing two things up. I
will be I'll be the first to admit that. So
we've talked about a lot of things. We probably have
you back on to talk about the book more. We've
(49:12):
had it. I've loved this conversation. It's been fun. Yeah,
it's me andering, but it's been fun. But so now
in your you've done a lot of traveling. I've seen
that you've got pictures of the Sandman, you know, I
think and Helene took it out.
Speaker 2 (49:32):
Yeah, that's I love that time.
Speaker 1 (49:34):
Yeah, And I talked to the guy out of South
Florida who does a lot of signs, and he's gonna
kill me because I forgot his name again. Like I said,
I'm tired, but I've interviewed him awesome, awesome interviews Todd. Yeah,
that's right. I can't remember anybody to I am that bad.
(49:57):
I'm absolutely that bad.
Speaker 2 (49:58):
Oh, you have to remembers you own, that's all worry.
Speaker 1 (50:01):
Oh, I'll forget it. So what's on your bucket list
of places you'd like to see in our last five
ten minutes?
Speaker 2 (50:09):
Oh my goodness. I have such a long list and
you've just added to it, which is great. I love
that's what I do. Yeah, I have a friend that's
doing a resident and art residency in Montana, and I'm
thinking I might drive up there and stop in Salt
(50:32):
Lake City, which has been on my list for a
long time. Yeah. It's a great like neon uh stop
tour because you stop in Vegas and then Salt Lake City.
And she's already given me the list of stops and
places that I need to take photos.
Speaker 1 (50:48):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (50:48):
So yeah, so that's that's gonna be fun. I'd like
to go up the coast more up up sort of
northern California, north of San Francisco, I mean yeah, north
of San Francisco and into Oregon. That's kind of one
of my lists trips that I want to do. And
(51:12):
then back east. I mean, I grew up in New
Jersey and New York City and there was so much
They Wildwood I've been to, I mean, I've been to
a few times. I love Wildwood and they're yeah, they're
you know, preservation oriented, which is cool. They have the
do Op Museum there. Yeah. Yeah, more of Florida. I
(51:39):
have family in Florida, so I have an excuse to
travel and visit there. Yeah. But all of I mean, yeah,
there's so many. I have a list. I have a
running list in notes on my phone and every time
I hear about something, I just add it, so then
I'm ready to go whenever it hit the road.
Speaker 3 (51:57):
Project Yeah Todd, yes, yes, sorry, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (52:08):
I have one of his miniatures of the of the
signal about the elephant uh sign in rancham.
Speaker 1 (52:20):
So so.
Speaker 2 (52:22):
But I've also done a number of trips with friends.
I mean, that's the thing that Another aspect of all
this that I love is Instagram has brought all of
us together, all of all of us that didn't know
we were all obsessed with neon signs and topography or whatever,
(52:42):
just you know, going on Instagram whenever however many years
ago and adding some hashtags and then finding that there's
all this community. So I've I've met so many wonderful
people through this. So and then we've gone on road
trips together, you know.
Speaker 1 (53:03):
So I know Will and Steve color re Spiegel and
three year Grabbit y'all do some amazing road trips.
Speaker 2 (53:14):
Yeah, I've been on trips with the two. Oh wow,
it is a trip. It's so much fun. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (53:23):
Yeah, I remember Will was my second or third interview.
Speaker 2 (53:29):
Oh really, I was surprised.
Speaker 1 (53:31):
I was surprised. I'm like, he's kind of a heavy
hitter in the neon sign community. But he was awesome,
just so late back. And then Steve, I didn't realize
he was an imagineer, yes, because I know nothing about
it's man, we and his him talking about the neon
(53:53):
at Disney and how a lot of the Neon is recent. Yes,
I'm gonna say within the past twenty maybe twenty five.
Speaker 2 (54:03):
Thirty years exactly.
Speaker 1 (54:05):
It's that this boggles my mind.
Speaker 2 (54:08):
He just did a great He just did his the
Neon Disney talkot on SCA on zoom for all that
a couple weeks ago. And yeah, it's a great talk.
It really yeah, really interesting because it's such a you know,
Disney is its own universe.
Speaker 1 (54:26):
And it's kind of tight lipped about some things, it
feels like. And for him to be given permission to
go into some of the archives and things like that,
to get to dig around to find stuff amazing.
Speaker 2 (54:43):
Yeah. And he also talks about like cars Land, you
know how that is, like like people wait for the
neon to be turned on every day, like it's an event.
Speaker 1 (54:55):
He gave me the inside scoop on that one. It's sundown.
It's like, dag go that that should be so surprising,
but it is. And around here a scary but cool
(55:15):
tip is because you know we get those dark clouds
of thunderstorms when those hit. You know, some of the
neon signs had that eye, the electronic eye. So when
the sun goes down it turns on automatically. Some of
the neon signs will turn on and yeah, and so
(55:36):
we had a horrible, horrible tornado. I was in the
class one day and the tornado came through and it
was still super dark outside. So I'm going down FM
nineteen sixty, which is one of the big thoroughfares of
on the north side of Harris County, and I live
kind of close to nineteen sixty on the east side
of it, and some of the restaurants their neon was
(55:59):
glowing when it normally doesn't. I was like, that's kind
of a mixed blessing because there's some damage that's been happening,
but it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (56:11):
Wow, Oh that's cool.
Speaker 1 (56:13):
Did you grab any like Cabo Cabo Sam's uh? I
think it got break check break Check is old break
of course break Check company. Yeah, but they still have
like that mid century hexagon with two checks on either side,
and a lot of places still the neon tubing, but
(56:36):
they don't turn the neon on. But there's one that
is basically eye level and you just pulling bop and leave.
It's amazing. When do you find one of those. I
don't care how many times I've taking a picture of
it if I if I'm buying one, I'll take a
picture of it again, just to keep the memories going.
Speaker 2 (56:56):
Oh yeah, We're always saying like, yeah, but I didn't
get it on Tuesday sundown, you know, like yeah, like
I think we all tend to photograph our favorite signs
over and over again. Yeah, so you know, yeah, I
want to get it with this light and at night. Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (57:14):
I'm one of the few people. I don't know if
I'm few people, but I will take a picture while
it's raining outside or if it's overcast, because the way
the light bounces off the clouds, or the way the
light kind of goes through the rain, you know, and
sometimes even the myst that comes up during the rain
(57:35):
can add kind of a cool little.
Speaker 2 (57:38):
The atmosphere.
Speaker 1 (57:39):
Atmosphere. Yeah, so I know, not everybody likes to do that,
especially John Marclise. Is it Marcalise that did all the photos? Yeah,
apparently from understanding he didn't. If it was if it
wasn't just right, he would go on or something weird
like that. Oh wow, it would be kind of funny.
And I could be wrong about that too. My memory,
(58:02):
as you see, my memories crap.
Speaker 2 (58:08):
Well, I've taken some pictures like through we don't get
a ton of rain here, but I've taken pictures through
my windshield of Neon signs that have come out really cool. Yeah,
the rain with rain drops and yeah, that's a really
fun thing to experiment with.
Speaker 1 (58:25):
And also sometimes give me reflection off your like going
out and getting reflection off your windshield or even off
the metal of your car or plastic whichever you drive.
Speaker 2 (58:36):
Done that too, I've done that too. I drive a beetle,
so I kind of cool shape in front of the sign. Yeah,
I've done that too. I love that.
Speaker 1 (58:44):
Yeah, my uh my sign finding van. I got to
crash in it back in May. Somebody pulled. Somebody darted
in front of me and it was like last second,
so I see tore off. It was like one of
those old like hybrid explorer trucks and they did make those.
(59:07):
Uh So he would dart in front of me and
I swerved and I almost took off, like the whole
back section of his pickup. Whoa, I was in a
Dodge care van. Those things are sturdy. Even with it
leaking transmission fluid all over the place, it still drove
up an incline onto the back of the bullback truck.
(59:27):
I was like, I'm sad to see you go girl.
He was a good van. So we have reached the
end of our interview. This has been a longer one,
but it's been worth it. Katy, thank you so much.
This has been so fun. I know we have a
stayed on one track. Yeah, thanks so much. I know
(59:48):
we have a stayed on one track. But you know,
this is also part of when people get together that
have similar interest You don't stay on the same track.
Speaker 2 (59:57):
Very often exactly because one to its leads to another
one and another one. Yeah, we have yes, all the overlap.
Speaker 1 (01:00:04):
And ADHD comes comes up strong on me. So are
there any websites you want to plug besides your book
or anything like that where people can find you On Instagram?
Speaker 2 (01:00:15):
Yeah, it's easy. It's my name Kathy with a K
kicker k I k k e r T. So that's
my Instagram and it's also my website.
Speaker 1 (01:00:24):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:00:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:00:26):
Is that dot com or dot website or dot com
dot com? Okay, I just learned about dot website not
too recently. You can get a website called dot website.
How generic sounding is that oh man? So uh and
also your book they can get it Hollywood Signs. They
(01:00:47):
can get that on Amazon or.
Speaker 2 (01:00:50):
Is there available yep, where yes, wherever books are sold
Amazon and Angel City's website was angel City, which is
now part of lapl But I so you can order
it from them. It's yeah, it's any in multiple places
online or reach out to me and I can sign
(01:01:12):
one for you and send it to you.
Speaker 1 (01:01:15):
Hey. Yeah, awesome. Well that'll bring us to the end
of I think episode forty six, forty five, forty six
of I know my goals get to one hundred. I've
been slacking, but thanks so much Kathy for joining me.
Thank you, You're welcome so much. Oh wow, it's my pleasure.
(01:01:36):
I will say that it's been my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (01:01:38):
Yes, I've been looking forward to talking with you and
this has been so much fun. Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (01:01:43):
No worries, and it is worth the wait. I will
tell you that, very worth the way. And also one
thing I try to close out. We don't care if
you have one hundred thousand followers or two. Get out there,
hit the pavement, take the pictures. You can go. You
could go to Kathy's neck in the woods and get
pictures of signs that everybody's seen one hundred and fifty times.
(01:02:06):
Guess what, one hundred and fifty one is just as
good as one hundred and fifty or one. Well, I'll
say that, and also I agree, And also it's you
helping keep the history going.
Speaker 2 (01:02:21):
I was just gonna say that, Yeah, exactly, exactly. The
more things are photographed, the more important they become culture.
And yes, I totally agree. Couldn't agree more so.
Speaker 1 (01:02:32):
And also one thing I will tell you, especially if
you're a night owl like me, keep your head on
a swivel and me, yes we're both night outs because
I'm not. Everybody's bad. But you you might see some
weird stuff too. I've seen naked people I didn't want
(01:02:53):
to see, but I saw nick person. Yeah that was weird,
but anyway, uh, and also tell us those stories. Those
are hilarious too, But so for Kathy and me jor Rabernathy.
Thank you so much for joining us as international sign finders.
Until next time, Happy sign finding.
Speaker 2 (01:03:45):
H
Welcome everybody back to another episode of International sign Finders.
I know it's been like eight months. It's been a
long year for some of you. It's been a long
year as well. Some of you it has been a
great year. It's been a great year in a lot
of different ways. I finally finished my certificate for multimedia.
So if you know, anybody has any jobs, I'm looking
for one type of thing. But tonight we've got a
(00:37):
special guest. She has worked with the one and only
Charles Phoenix. She has a book coming out, or she's
had a book that's out for two years already. Let
me get my fact straight, like I told her, sometimes
the facts are in my head, but they don't come
out in the right order. She's amazing. We've been laughing
it up already before we got onto the podcast. Welcome
(00:59):
to the show, Kathy Kicker, Kathy, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Well, it's great to be here with you, Drew. Thank
you so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Oh and I'm so glad that we finally get to
do this because we both have been just like we've
been busier than one legged dogs with fleas. Absolutely yeah,
because you just got a new puppy didn't you.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I just got a new puppy. Yes, yes, what.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Type of pupp.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
She's part beagle, okay and maybe a little husky. We're
not sure exactly.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
That's an interesting combo.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
She is the sweetest puppy and yeah, yeah, she's adorable.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
See. We talk about all sorts of things. I mean,
we'll get into the signs, don't worry, but we talk
about life and other things like that, some fun things,
because that's part of the whole sign finding experiences, the
experience exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
And also, you were at Neon Speaks last week?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Was it? Oh my goodness, it was amazing. It is amazing.
Every year is better than the last, and I don't
even know how that's possible, but it is.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Yeah, one of these days I'll get out there. Oh
my gosh.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I gotta start saving up my my pennies.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Oh yeah, it's worth the trip.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Was there a specific theme to this year's Speaks.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
There wasn't one specific theme, but there were a number
of There are always incredible presentations, so let there be
ne On. Jeff Friedman and Dave Waller did an incredible presentation.
Because the Wallers are taking over. Let there be me
On and we had a special tribute to Corky Shoal
(02:45):
of den just heartbreaking. Well he passed away about a
month ago. And yeah, oh I'm so sorry. I thought
you knew that.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Yeah, I one of my the one podcast that go
back to. Oh dang, now I would have started crying.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Oh no, I'm so sorry.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
No, it's fine. Uh one of my favorite interviews it
was with him. And is it Todd, that's.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
Todd in Denver? Yes, yes, oh yeah, so a great yes. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Then two rap scallions were a handful. They were so
much fun.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
To talk to, no doubt. Have to go listen to that.
I didn't I miss that one.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Yeah, Kirky was doing the lord's work in.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Denver, absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
And how many people's garages he has filled with signs
that they were trying to salvage. Oh my gosh, that's that.
That is a we may have to do something for
Corky as.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Well here, Yes, yeah, and I mean Corky and his
wife Melissa were at I believe they were at every
single Meon Speaks and made such an incredible contribution and
they were so much fun and just like wonderful, wonderful
people so I just adore them both. Yeah, and uh,
(04:34):
it's just heartbreaking loss. And I'm heartbroken for from Melissa
and their kids.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
My goshya and the treasure troves that he was that
people gave him too.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Absolutely, they give him by.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Boxes of pictures.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Incredible. Well, I understand that Save the Signs in Denver
is continuing, Melissa, Yeah, yeah, so it in his honor.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Yeah, I wonder if who is it? Mark fifty to
eighty picks and sippers there. And there's also Neon Denver too,
I think as well.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
It's Denver has an amazing It's been on my list
for so long. I hope to get there soon. But
it has an amazing uh legacy, you know, a legacy
of Neon signs. I'm still there, people like quirky.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah, and the weird hoops they had to jump through
in Denver, like the motel didn't own the sign, they
leased it or something weird like that.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Oh okay.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
And they weren't necessarily like completely connected. And I'm sure
that if Todd's listening or debor Jane, if you're listening,
you can clarify this for me as well. But they
weren't necessarily connected and so when one went out, it
wasn't the hotel, this was this way. It was weird.
But our Vada, I want to say, our Vada, Colorado,
(06:03):
just down the road, they changed their laws because I
think in Denver and a lot of other places, you
have to fix the neon on site.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Yes, you can't bring it down exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I think I know salt I want to say Salt
Lake does this. I'm probably wrong, but I think Salt
Lake allows you to bring you down to fix it,
to put it back up. And I think our Vada
did the same thing as well, So I think they
work together some weird like that. I have to go
back and listen to the episode. It's I'm going off
a year and a half a memory.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Okay, okay, okay, I'm talking too much.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
No, No, that's a I think that's an important point
about repairing signs that they you know, because a lot
of times it's not that safe for somebody to be
up in the air working like that, and it sort
of creates other issues. So I'm hoping that cities take
a look at that. Yeah, yeah, it doesn't it doesn't
(07:01):
make sense.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah, it really Like in I think San Francisco, especially
Chinatown that's kind of a crammed area. I've seen pictures
of like the streets. It's it's very crammed. And getting
a cherry picker. I don't know if they call them
that anymore. That's what we call them as kids, the
old cherry pickery. Yeah, just backing that down, My gosh,
(07:22):
that's gotta be uh, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta
be in tune with your.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Quipment as somebody that has a fear of heights. And
really just the fact that I admire anyone that climb
up and work on scaffoldings and you know, it's it's
tricky work to begin with that I could do it
in mid air. It's like a you know, acrobatic I.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Think one of the this is kind of a side note,
but kind of goes along with it. I was in
Idaho in this place called Ice Caves in East Idaho,
and they had like this rim around where you go
down to enter and you're a good one hundred two
hundred feet up and my friend's fiance grabbed me and
she was going to act like she was gonna throw
(08:09):
me off, but she pulled me back. I said some
four letter friendlies. She was laughing. I'm like, that's not
funny kind of a friend and I get on my roof,
but it's still a little Yeah. So anyway, let's introduce you.
We're coming to the end of the first segment. We've
(08:30):
got about a minute and a half, two minutes. If
we want to go four more minutes, we can do that.
It's our show. So Kathy, you know, recipes corky QPD
I for hear what that is in Spanish. But hopefully
you'll be at the big Neon convention in the sky
when we see you. But Kathy, introduce yourself to everybody.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Oh okay, I'm Kathy Kickert. My book Hollywood Saw is out,
a graphic designer. Uh what else can I say?
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You're awesome? Okay? Or was that too bold?
Speaker 2 (09:16):
You're very kind.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
I've seen your Here's one thing I'm a I'm an
I'm gonna sell Kathy real fast, and I meant the
past few weeks where both of us it's yeah, it's
like you're running through molasses and getting nowhere, but you're
still getting stuff done. Go through her Instagram page. I
don't know, do you have a Flicker account as well?
Speaker 2 (09:40):
I don't have an account that I posted.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Okay, gotcha, So just go through her page. You're going
to see like the Merry Go Round. One of my
favorite that that that is a bucketless sign, Like it's
like a two or three piece sign where the middle
part rotates GI go around. Yeah, you have Bob's Big Boy.
You have, of course the Army sergeant on there. Got
(10:06):
to have the Army sergeant if you're in the LA area.
But you also have a ton of ones that I've
that I'm not familiar with from the LA area, which
goes along with your Hollywood Signs book? Am I jumping
the gun a little bit?
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Like? Which one? Are you thinking? Jesus so many? No,
it might be a sign that's I've posted some vintage
photos of signs that are no longer in Hollywood.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Uh take a hoote the one with the owl on it, the.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Owl that's up in Rio. I think that's a great one.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Well, I say it's close enough, like Rancho super Wash.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Oh, that's one of my favorites.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Is that one in la or the one in uh Seattle.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
That's the one and it's in Ransom Mirage just outside
of Rings. Okay, that is one of it's the screensaver
on my computer, one of my favorite signs.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
So yeah, and you also got the Army's roast beeed
wind so.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
That well, so that one. I was just thinking about
that earlier today, that that that's in the book. But
we just lost that sign.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
I thought they're going to save it.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Well I shouldn't say we we uh meaning Los Angeles
loss of sign. They I believe they're moving it to
another location, another Arby's. So the sign still exists, thankfully,
but we've lost it. It was such a great I mean,
it was on Sunset Boulevard since the sixties, so it's
(11:44):
it's kind of heartbreaking.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Yeah. Yeah, you have a knob hill or not sorry,
knob Hello.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
That's the hob knob is that was in sarasotat.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
The heavy hitters all around the country. Get that.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
Uh. And I believe that is also uh in the
last year. I believe that's gone too.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
I swear I'm missing No.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
It's just sad, you know that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
And and so when we come back from the other
side of the break, because we're at the end of
our first segment, we're going to get into some of
these Hollywood signs because I mean, is Baskin's Auto Supply
in LA.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
That's in Fresno.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
It's in California, Sari, I know that one's in La. Man,
I'm so bad. Males driving.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Meles is in LA. We have a couple of meles.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
And also a circus liquor. I'm just going through there.
I just love all these and and in my mind,
in a weird way, it's either La to Denver or
everywhere else. Hit here in my mind Tucson. I'll give
(13:10):
Tusons some love too, Yes, and don't misspell it because
there used to be a guy on X every time
you misspelled it, he would find you and make fun
of you. So when we come back from the other
side of the break, we will because we have to
do those, because it's a spreaker, they have to have breaks. Whatever.
(13:31):
I just go along with the flow. When we come back,
we'll get into more of the LA signs that apparently
I don't know very well. I admit it. I think
I know him, but then I don't. That's on me.
But also we're getting to the books and also maybe
some other things. You never know with international signfinders.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
So we're back after the break.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
Welcome back to International sign Finders. Glad you're with us.
I have fully put my foot in my mouth not
knowing where everything is at. And we have the wonderful,
amazing Kathy Kicker with us. She has the book Hollywood Signs.
Get it, Go and get it, seriously, go and get it.
And also, you've worked with the infamous uh, Charles Phoenix too,
(15:07):
haven't you I have. I probably shuldn't say infamous. He'll
come and get me yourself. Well.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Inimitable, yeah, inimidible.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
You use the big words. I didn't. I didn't do
well on the SAT. That's the reason why I'm in radio.
I didn't do well at SAT.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Charles is a lot of fun. Charles is so much fun.
I've I met him before I moved out here. So
it was in the nineties. And a publisher that I
that actually has published most of the books we might
talk about, Angel City Press. When I met with them,
they said, you know what, we have a book, uh,
(15:50):
and an author that we think we'd really hit it
off with. Oh cool, So they introduced us and we
did fabulous Las Vegas and Southern California in the fifties.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Oh gosh, Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
An incredible book. It's an incredible book.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Dang. And whish I had more money?
Speaker 2 (16:12):
I know, I know, I know, I wish I had
more space for all the books. Yeah. Yeah. And then
more recently we did Addicted to Americana, okay, and Holiday
Jubilee my head, and we're in we're talking about a
new project which I can't really say anything about.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
I won't. I won't get into it with you. I'm
curious as all get out.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
But no, we're excited. We're excited.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
I will admit that I was highly jealous. Oh what's
the guy out of Austin that does the restoration of
all the midcentry cars? Oh, dang it, I can't remember
his name. It'll coach me later.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
I just thought Austin neon Roadside Relics Roads.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
I'm looking up right now, because no, it's not Roadside Peak.
Dang it. I'll find it. When I find it, I'll
put him in the show notes because he and Charles
did a tour of Houston, and I was jealous.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Oh wow, Oh that must have been incredible.
Speaker 1 (17:23):
Houston. You have to know where to go, Okay, and
it's Houston is huge, Hues is bigger. Than Los Angeles
size wise. I did it. I looked it up. You
can fit New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Raleigh, North Carolina.
(17:44):
He can feel like thirteen different large American cities inside
the city limits of Houston. Oh wow, it's six hundred
sixty square miles. Oh only Oklahoma City, Jacksonville, Florida, and
some tiny little towns in Montana and Alaska a bigger
(18:05):
because they just include like wilderness as part of their cities,
right right, So yeah, it's it's a big town. But
like they went down Westheimer in Montrose, which they they're
trying to revitalize Neon and stuff like that. You have
Roswell's which takes Vegas Vicki and puts a helmet on her.
(18:29):
And you also have like Petty Cash and the Leopard Lounge,
which is very it's not midsentry modern. It is like
what do they call it nuclear?
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Atomic?
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Yeah, the atomic Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, the
atomic book, very atomic looking. So it's that area. And
they just got a new big, huge neon like complex,
the Taco stand like all around it is neon. It
is on neon really yeah, And I've put some pictures
(19:08):
up recently of the Taco stand. But that area is
trying to revitalize a neon the rest of Houston. You
find it here and there, Downtown's got it, Midtown's got it,
Heights has it, and then here and there a Memorial
I'll say, Memorial City's got it. But it's not like
(19:28):
it used to be because of laws and basically the
iSER laws back in the seventies, like Lady or Johnson
went after Houston specifically for the billboards because this used
to be billboard city. Yeah, they did all the all
those laws where you can't have all these billboards and
you know we're in a.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Beautify the Highway beautiful.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Yeah, that's it. Yeah. And then seventy three seventy something
to alcop Robert Anderson. If you're not following him, follow him.
He doesn't have a lot of followers, but man, the
stuff he puts up there is amazing. He told me
that apparently there's a councilwoman who's basically like, if your
sign's dead, it comes down, or something along those lines.
(20:10):
If you can't fix it, it has to come down.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
So there you see a lot of skeletons around different
parts of Houston. Yeah, and unfortunately the Admiral Motel. One
of my favorite signs in Houston bright neon pink, and
that is the hardest color to take a photo of.
In my opinion, I think dt over was a dv ever.
(20:36):
DT told me how to do it. You have to
have a special lens to really get it right. But
they tore down the I mean it was a ratty motel.
It was twenty nine bucks a night. You don't ask
questions those places. And the developers going to make it
into a parking lot. Basically I think there might be
(20:58):
some sort of like building on it, but he tore
down the sign. I've I've messaged him on Instagram and nothing.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
So yeah, so I've taken over. Yeah ye oh no.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
No, but Hollywood signs give us kind of a because
I call Southern California xanadu of neons. Uh yes, we're
going back to that old it was a movie right
in the seventies xanadu.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
So yeah, there's you know, like you have little mecca's
like to Cares. I've mentioned Denver, Salt Lake, Battle Mountain,
Nevada has a has a really cool like neon like
restaurant and stuff like that. It was called the Armpit
of America at one point, Like the Washington Post did
(21:55):
a story on the Armpit of America. It was Battle Mountain, Tucson,
who Ab Albuquerque, Albuquerque. Uh yeah, in places I think
there's a little Mecca's. But southern California is like Xanadu,
and La is like the capital of Xanadu in my opinion.
So what is it about Hollywood? The Hollywood signs so well.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
The subtitle of the book is the Golden Age of
glittering graphics and glowing.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Neon andful got me sold.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Yes, And the Hollywood the sort of the the Hollywood story.
I mean not not Hollywood the idea or industry, but Hollywood,
the downtown, the town. The sort of trajectory of Neon
(22:51):
follows the same trajectory of Hollywood. You know, it had
sort of its uh you know, starred in the nineteen
twenties and and then by the fifties and definitely sixties,
it was you know, post war, it was over for
Hollywood and and Neon like they you know, the glory
(23:14):
days were kind of over. How when television came in
that the studio started moving outside of Hollywood, because they
could get more space. And then Hollywood, the town started
its decline, and at the same time you saw that
in Neon like that, you know, Neon started becoming associated
(23:36):
with pool.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Halls and you know places.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Seatier places, so and both have had a resurgence, you know. So,
but it is kind of interesting that it sort of
followed the same.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Timeline because that was the original, like, you know, digital
billboard type thing. Because you know, you have one thing
that I noticed when I went to like Vegas and
to La Are all the digital like big huge o
l ed TVs billboards.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Oh yeah, yes, and uh, you.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Know those things were big, you know, the big bright
Neon gotta get everybody in.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
The one I'm thinking of is uh was it Frontier.
It's the one there in San Jose. It's that big
one that the Pliants store Western appliants. I think it's
built into the store. I was talking. Oh, of course,
her name's going to slip me by and she's going
(24:43):
to get onto me. I'm so tired, I can't remember
Lisa Heather. Oh Heather, that's right, Heather David. Heather David,
Heather David. Because I accidentally said her Twitter handle was
or her Instagram handle was a mouthful. It's a long one,
but it's like, we'll make it work. But you know,
that's a that's the first one that comes to mind
(25:06):
when I'm thinking. And I'm not talking about the casinos
of Vegas. That's Vegas, that's the Old Beast. But like
outside of Vegas, you know, you had like the Western Appliance. Uh,
the was it the Sergeant Army surplus store there in LA.
That's a pretty big one too, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
That's yeah, that's on Hollywood Boulevard. The supply sergeant.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Yeah, supply sergeant, that's what it is. Yeah, I can't
get it right. And even like the apartments, like the
Dingbat apartments. Isn't the Starlet apartments. Isn't that a dingbat?
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Uh? Let's see, uh starlight cocktail ange just went in
my mind.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
The Starlet Uh Southern y No.
Speaker 2 (25:49):
No, No, there's a starlight. Yes.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
And I'm lazy. I'm a lazy talker sometimes.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Yeah, I mean LA's Dingbad apartments is a whole other
subject that is so fascinating that you know, but there
I don't. I don't think i've seen neon on any
of them.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
The Starlet.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Oh in Burbank. Yeah, yeah, yes, okay.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Is that an apartment or is that a motel?
Speaker 2 (26:27):
I'm not sure if it's still a motel or if
it's Okay, I can't remember, but that's a great one.
And yes, you're right, that is Neon.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
Yeah, that's only one. Like I know of another one
in Idaho Falls and also the Peter Pan in up
near University of Utah. There's tiny little like just Neon letters.
But those are like more exceptions than the rule type
of thing.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
Huh yeah, yes, exactly, Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:54):
So Hollywood, what what happened? We're going to go buying
segments two and three. This is gonna become like one
Mega one because this conversation is going to continue. Uh
darn it. I'm talking to myself because I got to
get my brain wrapped around it. So when the Heyday
(27:15):
went came and gone, sixties seventies are coming in, you
know you're getting brutalism basically, just I mean, Houston's got
a brutaliss like motif for the whole city. So Ben, Ben,
(27:37):
I'll mention you in my in the credits. But Ben
does a whole bunch of architecture photography around Houston, and
he has like a whole section and like the Rice architecture,
architectural like magazine, scholarly journal about Houston brutalism itself.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
Oh wow, yeah, wow, it's frightening. Ye, Brutaliss is having
quite a moment.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Yeah. No, yeah, I saw the Obama Presidential Library that
is so brutalless. Oh it is. Take a look at it,
and I'm like, I I'm this isn't about anybody's politics.
I'm talking about the building. The buildings comes straight out
(28:23):
of like it like Serbia the nineteen seventies.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Wow, Okay, I'll have to look at it.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Yeah, but also has like a weird space age look
to it, like a futuristic like it could take off
any second. So it looks like his spaceship slash Brutaliss
And I'm just.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Like you could have Those are two different ideas, yes ideas.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
It's like R two D. It's like the Gronk bat
if it was a building. So let me get back
to it. Sorry, I'm so distracted, Hollywood. The signs just
just describe what happened in that transition period between the
sixties and the seventies.
Speaker 5 (29:11):
Because oh, go ahead, Sorry, oh no, go ahead, No,
I was what I say, just I can just imagine
and from like old like video and stuff like that,
of l A, you could probably see it from outer space.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
That's that's what they say about Vegas.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Yeah, you know that's true though. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
Yeah, so, but the decline actually in the sixties seventies,
that that the term is benign neglect. I think when
when a when a neighborhood kind of goes down and
is forgotten, A lot of times things are saved just
(29:56):
out of you know, out of neglect.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
So that happened in Hollywood, and there are a lot
of buildings that are still there, signs that are still
there that that wouldn't have if it If it had,
you know, that they would have turned into something else probably. Yeah,
so it hasn't. I mean, we've had you know, this
(30:23):
is the Renaissance. Nope, Nope, it's going to be ten
years from now and then you know, so Hollywood has
been sort of coming and going. I've lived here for
twenty five years and it's been until COVID things were
doing pretty you know, we're doing pretty well with the renaissance.
So uh, and then we'll see what happens from here.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
Yeah. And then you have like movie studios, movies like
there's one big one in Texas like south of Arlington.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
Oh yeah, that's a whole other thing. Is the industry
is yeah, evaporating, so yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
And everything's becoming like, you know, out of your basement type.
And I'm not criticizing that. Just the technology has become
so cheap, like I can do space age graphics on
my computer out of my home. I mean, granted it's
not one of those air cooled like liquid nitrogen cooled
computers that Disney probably has, or the big egg that
(31:22):
they shot the Mendalorian in, but you know, I can
still do some decent stuff with some camera phones a
decent a decent camera, and and so people are willing
to play ball.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Mm yeah, oh yeah. Yeah. I mean we're kind of
in the midst of so many different changes, you know,
with technology and AI and you know, so it's it's
we have no idea where all this is going, but we'll.
Speaker 1 (31:49):
Get let's guided back to the the old neon something
the happy place, yeah, our happy place. Yeah. So, are
is there a revitalization of some of these neon signs
going on? Or are they or are the skeletons left
there like the bone the bones for the boneyard. They're
(32:12):
in Vegas type of thing.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
Oh you mean in Hollywood or.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
Yeah, in Hollywood.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Yeah, I think there's there has been some really important
preservation work that has been done. The first thing I
think of the Neon dragons that were saved by a
number of important people were eternally grateful. And the East
(32:38):
Dragon is in the Museum of Neon Art here in
Los Angeles, Okay, has been fully restored in and it's
just a miracle that we have. The other one is
in the collection of the Los Angeles Natural History Museum.
(32:58):
They have like a.
Speaker 1 (32:59):
Natural Oh oh yeah, they would make sense. Yeah, that
makes sense.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Yeah, so they have the other one. As far as
I know, it hasn't been restored yet. But but I
don't know if you've been to the Museum of Neon
Art here, but it's really it's such a gem and
they have such important they have an important collection.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
The thing I need to do is just go on
a road trip through like Arizona, southern California, because you
have up into Vegas, because you know, you have the
Neon Museum there in Vegas. The Boneyard. Yes, you have Mona.
Just head down to southern California like MEXICALI apparently has
(33:39):
a few really cool signs or calmex Well, then you.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Want to well, then you want to loop all the
way up to Cincinnati. Yes, go to the American Sign Museum,
which is another spectacular place.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
I've seen that you've got, like the correct me if
I'm wrong, you have the Holiday Inn signed from the.
Speaker 2 (34:02):
Yes, if I'm saying this correctly, I think it's the
only existing holiday in sign known as the Great Sign
that was Actually I believe there's one in the Henry Ford,
but I'm not sure if that's an original or recreation.
So so, yeah, and the museum, the Sign Museum uses
(34:26):
it so well by you know, it's the first thing
you see. It welcomes you, you know, and then when
you're leaving, it says thank you for visiting. So because yeah, no,
I mean they're using it as a sign, yea.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
And also using it as a display too. And also
it is that throwback to the old Holiday Inn. You know.
They're the first like franchise motel company in America or
something like that, the first chain hotel or one of
the first.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
Uh, definitely one of the first. I'm not sure if
they're the first. Yeah, So in nineteen fifty two, I
think they started.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
Yeah, I've heard an interview with a member of the
family or something like that on our American Stories and
they talked about how, you know, he was changed the
guy who I want to say Memphis, Tennessee and.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Know them wrong there, No, it started in yes, you know,
you're correct.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
Yeah, And so he started working with different franchisers and
you know, they put the kneeon out and that is
I mean, we have t bones in Chema and they
have one that looks like the old those two that
are on on sixty six that are iconic that kind.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Of look like the oh yeah, like Thenger Moss Yeah yeah, yeah, And.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
It kind of looks like a cross between that and
the Holiday Inn signs. And it's a steakhouse. I mean,
that's Americana. That has been replicated across the country.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Absolutely. That sign is so influential. It's been copied, uh,
you know, inspired so many other signs.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
I'll say it like that, and it's one one thing. Work.
Did you do some work with the Neon Museum of
Cincinnati as well?
Speaker 2 (36:17):
I did I I designed there. So they're celebrating their
twenty fifth anniversary this year, okay, which is phenomenal, and
uh so I designed uh we did it. We created
a coffee table book, uh to commemorate that. So it's
a fantastic book. Sam Roberts is the author. He is
(36:41):
the editor of Black Better Letters magazine, okay. And Natalie
Grilly is the photographer and she's she's local in Cincinnati,
and we uh uh with the museum's development uh team,
we put together this book and we had the best
time doing it. So much fun. But I think we're
(37:03):
all really happy and proud of the result. It'll be
out in November, I believe.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
Oh wow, that is Yeah. So when you were did
you go out to Cincinnati to do this or did
you get to stay at home?
Speaker 2 (37:15):
You know, it's so funny. I was on a I
went to the s c A. Their annual trip was
in Nashville last year, so I went out there. Yeah
it was it was great. And but after that trip,
I went on a little road trip up to Cincinnati
(37:36):
with Steve's Biegele and colored by Spiegel and give.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Him a shout out. Dude is amazing. Yes, he's a
ball of energy.
Speaker 2 (37:48):
Yes, it's amazing. And Josh Silberg Signs of the Times
of Giving the and Stephanie Petite, Oh yeah, Roadside Peak
and we had the best time. We just drove from
Nashville up to Cincinnati, and Todd swarmst At, the founder,
(38:08):
gave us a tour of the museum, and we were
just in awe. I mean it was it's now it's
like just my favorite place. I just love visiting. So
I got to visit then, and I got to visit
again while we were working on the book. It's just phenomenal.
I definitely, I can't recommend it highly enough because I
(38:28):
think one of the really exceptional things about it is
it celebrates neon signs, but it also celebrates gold leaf
sign and hand painted signs, you know, so it's it's
it's sort of all encompassing. And for people like me
that I've been noticing signs and typography from my whole
life since I was a kid, it's just like, you know,
(38:50):
being a kid in a candy store surrounded by them.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Heck, yeah, man, I the one. I want to go
to the part of that one, to go to his
main street. Yes, their new main.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
Stream the expansion. Yeah, it's incredible. It's incredible because so
the sign pager has created all these storefronts around the
Neon signs, and it's just an uh, it's just an
incredible place a visit.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
It's man, Yeah, I gotta get up there. There's so
many places I need to go. Right in the one
place I think I've interviewed Stephanie Potite.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
Oh yeah, she's also great.
Speaker 1 (39:30):
Yeah, she's She's amazing. And if you're wondering I can't
remember my past shows, You're right, I can't right now.
Like if this is if I had ten hours of
great sleep, I'd be remembering all these people. Not right now.
But but like the don't worry. The Neon Sign Museum
(39:52):
of Philadelphia has I think we've lost.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
Yes, unfortunately, Yeah, the one. He has such a great collection.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
Yeah, just I've got through his page. And and you
know there's some underrated Neon in Philadelphia, like the cheese
steak places. Those are awesome. They're lit up like the
fourth of July.
Speaker 2 (40:17):
Well, that's that's the thing is that every every city
does have still have some sort of icons, you know,
so any city you go to you can still find
some amazing Neon. It's just not part of every streetscape anymore,
you know, I.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
Mean the first thing he comes to mind when I
think of la is Bob's.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Oh yes, Bob's yes.
Speaker 1 (40:41):
And Mills that on the penguin.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
H well, yes, so that's the Malls out in Santa Monica. Okay,
it was the Penguin Diner, Penguin Diner back in the day.
It was a Googy Diner. I believe it was designed
by Army and Davis, the coffee shop architecture architectural geniuses.
(41:07):
And for a long time a dentist had taken over
that spot, taken over the building and luckily preserve the building.
And they and they kept the penguin on the sign,
and then right and then Male's took it over, so
they they brought back some of the original details. And yeah,
(41:29):
so that's what we love to see, you know, we
love to see that.
Speaker 1 (41:34):
And it's like Salt Lake has a lot of repurposing.
Like there is a down on South State Street, there's
I think the classic apartments, new brand new apartment complex.
But they kept the old bowling pin and you know,
they of course they adjusted it to their needs, but
(41:56):
they still kept some of that old old signage. There's
a kind of there's a dentist office that was an
old bowling alley as well. I think I've got pictures
of it up on my site. And they've kept the
old bowling Marquee up top.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
That's phenomenal. That's great.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
And we have we have a here in Humble, we
have an old oh of course I can't remember the name,
but we have an old Marquee theater Marquee and it's
a lawyer, lawyer office, law office. Oh, that's cool. So
and also Huntsville, Texas has that as well. There's a
(42:35):
couple like real estate agency that used to be an
old motel or not old motel, but old theater and
stuff like that. So yeah, it's it's not the same,
I know, but they're still trying to keep the past
going exactly.
Speaker 2 (42:53):
We have a couple of examples like that in l
A too. We have the Tower Theater downtown Apple it's
an Apples Are now, and we have uh Studio City.
We have Bookstar which is part of Barnes and Noble,
and that used to be the Studio City theater. So
they kept the marketing and then out in covena. We
(43:15):
had the Covena bowl, right, yes, And they so they
kept the facade and the and part of the building
and build apartments, you know, condos. I think around it
so and I think there's still room for a restaurant.
So it's you know that repurposing is so important. It's
(43:38):
so when you have architects and and uh builders and
and developers that are sensitive to that, you really can
get some interesting results.
Speaker 1 (43:50):
Yeah. Oh man, Uh, there's one before we go to
break there's one I wish that they would somehow. I
know it's all rusted out, but it's an old dot
coffee shop telephone road. It's one of my favorite signs.
It is so mid century. I mean, if you're making
a mid century sign and go a little bit over
the top, this one kind of reminds me of something
(44:11):
like that.
Speaker 2 (44:12):
Uh where is that?
Speaker 1 (44:14):
It's here in Houston. Yeah, And it's been like a
salsa place, it's been a Mexican restaurant. It's been so
many different things, and now it's it's in front of
a new building. I know what it is and I
just hope they don't tear it down. It's one of
my it's I go every so often, just to make
(44:34):
sure she's there. You know, my friend is.
Speaker 2 (44:36):
There exactly check on her, Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4 (44:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:40):
There's some boys I check on too, Like, uh, was
one I was checking on the other day. Oh, it's
a new one. It's fannin square, simple old school looking
type sign. It's brand new. I just checked on to
make sure it's there, still glowing. The nice guy is
still glowing around it.
Speaker 2 (44:59):
So quell.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
That will bring us to the end of our second
and third segment or four segments.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
I think it's the seventh.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
You're right, Yeah, we're going in the segment fifteen. We've
lost track. We've just been talking that and sometimes we
just got to do that. And the commercials you just
don't have to wait. So we have Kathy Kicker, author
of Hollywood Signs. When we come back, I'll ask her
some places she'd like to go or she'd like to
(45:29):
revisit in her sign finding quest. You're listening to International
sign Finders. Welcome back to International Sign Finders. Glad you're
(46:24):
still with us. Glad you're still with us. We've been
shooting the whatever breeze. I can't say the other word.
I might have mss S Gathy get on to me
for that. Not me, I'm saying, yeah, I probably shouldn't
say that word anyway. But we've been talking about, you know,
(46:47):
signs and the restoration of signs in La around l A.
The amazing job that you know, the Neo Museum of
Cincinnati's done. The was it the Museum of Neon Art?
Speaker 2 (47:02):
There?
Speaker 1 (47:02):
Is it La or Glendale?
Speaker 2 (47:04):
It's in Glendale? Okay, yeah, yeah, but I think that's
La County.
Speaker 1 (47:10):
I've got a friend who's a mart who works at
a mortuary there in Glendale and go see.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
Oh really yeah, okay.
Speaker 1 (47:18):
Give me an excuse to go see him. We talked
about the Boneyard in Vegas. H Unfortunately, the Museum of
Neon in Philadelphia, you know that it's gone the way
of the earth. And also to two wild cars you
never think of. Edmonton has a Neon museum slash building,
(47:40):
and the Amazon headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia apparently has
a boatload a boatloadable Neon signs.
Speaker 2 (47:49):
Really, yeah, I have to look at that. Yeah, you
just added to my list. Yeah, that's a good thing.
Speaker 1 (47:58):
And then you're thinking, like and then ten Alberta, Yeah,
they've got Uh. I think they've got him on the
outside as well. Also Helper Utah, and you know was Durango,
Colorado has like me on ali Yeah.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
And there's a AG night in Arizona, Oka, believe. Also
in Bakersfield, the Current County Museum has a really great
collection of Neon signs.
Speaker 1 (48:28):
Oh what, Yeah, that is awesome. Good Bakersfield. Uh now
did you get now, just did you get the big
huge thermometer in Baker to be Neon with the alien
on top or something like that. I think it's alien
jerky where the big thermometer is at?
Speaker 2 (48:46):
Oh? Oh nice? Okay, yeah, the list.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
It's just weird, like you're passing through Baker like two
in the morning, you have a slept for forty eight hours,
and you're looking over it's like, what, there's a big
thermometer in Aliens. Maybe I'm mixing two things up. I
will be I'll be the first to admit that. So
we've talked about a lot of things. We probably have
you back on to talk about the book more. We've
(49:12):
had it. I've loved this conversation. It's been fun. Yeah,
it's me andering, but it's been fun. But so now
in your you've done a lot of traveling. I've seen
that you've got pictures of the Sandman, you know, I
think and Helene took it out.
Speaker 2 (49:32):
Yeah, that's I love that time.
Speaker 1 (49:34):
Yeah, And I talked to the guy out of South
Florida who does a lot of signs, and he's gonna
kill me because I forgot his name again. Like I said,
I'm tired, but I've interviewed him awesome, awesome interviews Todd. Yeah,
that's right. I can't remember anybody to I am that bad.
(49:57):
I'm absolutely that bad.
Speaker 2 (49:58):
Oh, you have to remembers you own, that's all worry.
Speaker 1 (50:01):
Oh, I'll forget it. So what's on your bucket list
of places you'd like to see in our last five
ten minutes?
Speaker 2 (50:09):
Oh my goodness. I have such a long list and
you've just added to it, which is great. I love
that's what I do. Yeah, I have a friend that's
doing a resident and art residency in Montana, and I'm
thinking I might drive up there and stop in Salt
(50:32):
Lake City, which has been on my list for a
long time. Yeah. It's a great like neon uh stop
tour because you stop in Vegas and then Salt Lake City.
And she's already given me the list of stops and
places that I need to take photos.
Speaker 1 (50:48):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (50:48):
So yeah, so that's that's gonna be fun. I'd like
to go up the coast more up up sort of
northern California, north of San Francisco, I mean yeah, north
of San Francisco and into Oregon. That's kind of one
of my lists trips that I want to do. And
(51:12):
then back east. I mean, I grew up in New
Jersey and New York City and there was so much
They Wildwood I've been to, I mean, I've been to
a few times. I love Wildwood and they're yeah, they're
you know, preservation oriented, which is cool. They have the
do Op Museum there. Yeah. Yeah, more of Florida. I
(51:39):
have family in Florida, so I have an excuse to
travel and visit there. Yeah. But all of I mean, yeah,
there's so many. I have a list. I have a
running list in notes on my phone and every time
I hear about something, I just add it, so then
I'm ready to go whenever it hit the road.
Speaker 3 (51:57):
Project Yeah Todd, yes, yes, sorry, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (52:08):
I have one of his miniatures of the of the
signal about the elephant uh sign in rancham.
Speaker 1 (52:20):
So so.
Speaker 2 (52:22):
But I've also done a number of trips with friends.
I mean, that's the thing that Another aspect of all
this that I love is Instagram has brought all of
us together, all of all of us that didn't know
we were all obsessed with neon signs and topography or whatever,
(52:42):
just you know, going on Instagram whenever however many years
ago and adding some hashtags and then finding that there's
all this community. So I've I've met so many wonderful
people through this. So and then we've gone on road
trips together, you know.
Speaker 1 (53:03):
So I know Will and Steve color re Spiegel and
three year Grabbit y'all do some amazing road trips.
Speaker 2 (53:14):
Yeah, I've been on trips with the two. Oh wow,
it is a trip. It's so much fun. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (53:23):
Yeah, I remember Will was my second or third interview.
Speaker 2 (53:29):
Oh really, I was surprised.
Speaker 1 (53:31):
I was surprised. I'm like, he's kind of a heavy
hitter in the neon sign community. But he was awesome,
just so late back. And then Steve, I didn't realize
he was an imagineer, yes, because I know nothing about
it's man, we and his him talking about the neon
(53:53):
at Disney and how a lot of the Neon is recent. Yes,
I'm gonna say within the past twenty maybe twenty five.
Speaker 2 (54:03):
Thirty years exactly.
Speaker 1 (54:05):
It's that this boggles my mind.
Speaker 2 (54:08):
He just did a great He just did his the
Neon Disney talkot on SCA on zoom for all that
a couple weeks ago. And yeah, it's a great talk.
It really yeah, really interesting because it's such a you know,
Disney is its own universe.
Speaker 1 (54:26):
And it's kind of tight lipped about some things, it
feels like. And for him to be given permission to
go into some of the archives and things like that,
to get to dig around to find stuff amazing.
Speaker 2 (54:43):
Yeah. And he also talks about like cars Land, you
know how that is, like like people wait for the
neon to be turned on every day, like it's an event.
Speaker 1 (54:55):
He gave me the inside scoop on that one. It's sundown.
It's like, dag go that that should be so surprising,
but it is. And around here a scary but cool
(55:15):
tip is because you know we get those dark clouds
of thunderstorms when those hit. You know, some of the
neon signs had that eye, the electronic eye. So when
the sun goes down it turns on automatically. Some of
the neon signs will turn on and yeah, and so
(55:36):
we had a horrible, horrible tornado. I was in the
class one day and the tornado came through and it
was still super dark outside. So I'm going down FM
nineteen sixty, which is one of the big thoroughfares of
on the north side of Harris County, and I live
kind of close to nineteen sixty on the east side
of it, and some of the restaurants their neon was
(55:59):
glowing when it normally doesn't. I was like, that's kind
of a mixed blessing because there's some damage that's been happening,
but it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (56:11):
Wow, Oh that's cool.
Speaker 1 (56:13):
Did you grab any like Cabo Cabo Sam's uh? I
think it got break check break Check is old break
of course break Check company. Yeah, but they still have
like that mid century hexagon with two checks on either side,
and a lot of places still the neon tubing, but
(56:36):
they don't turn the neon on. But there's one that
is basically eye level and you just pulling bop and leave.
It's amazing. When do you find one of those. I
don't care how many times I've taking a picture of
it if I if I'm buying one, I'll take a
picture of it again, just to keep the memories going.
Speaker 2 (56:56):
Oh yeah, We're always saying like, yeah, but I didn't
get it on Tuesday sundown, you know, like yeah, like
I think we all tend to photograph our favorite signs
over and over again. Yeah, so you know, yeah, I
want to get it with this light and at night. Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (57:14):
I'm one of the few people. I don't know if
I'm few people, but I will take a picture while
it's raining outside or if it's overcast, because the way
the light bounces off the clouds, or the way the
light kind of goes through the rain, you know, and
sometimes even the myst that comes up during the rain
(57:35):
can add kind of a cool little.
Speaker 2 (57:38):
The atmosphere.
Speaker 1 (57:39):
Atmosphere. Yeah, so I know, not everybody likes to do that,
especially John Marclise. Is it Marcalise that did all the photos? Yeah,
apparently from understanding he didn't. If it was if it
wasn't just right, he would go on or something weird
like that. Oh wow, it would be kind of funny.
And I could be wrong about that too. My memory,
(58:02):
as you see, my memories crap.
Speaker 2 (58:08):
Well, I've taken some pictures like through we don't get
a ton of rain here, but I've taken pictures through
my windshield of Neon signs that have come out really cool. Yeah,
the rain with rain drops and yeah, that's a really
fun thing to experiment with.
Speaker 1 (58:25):
And also sometimes give me reflection off your like going
out and getting reflection off your windshield or even off
the metal of your car or plastic whichever you drive.
Speaker 2 (58:36):
Done that too, I've done that too. I drive a beetle,
so I kind of cool shape in front of the sign. Yeah,
I've done that too. I love that.
Speaker 1 (58:44):
Yeah, my uh my sign finding van. I got to
crash in it back in May. Somebody pulled. Somebody darted
in front of me and it was like last second,
so I see tore off. It was like one of
those old like hybrid explorer trucks and they did make those.
(59:07):
Uh So he would dart in front of me and
I swerved and I almost took off, like the whole
back section of his pickup. Whoa, I was in a
Dodge care van. Those things are sturdy. Even with it
leaking transmission fluid all over the place, it still drove
up an incline onto the back of the bullback truck.
(59:27):
I was like, I'm sad to see you go girl.
He was a good van. So we have reached the
end of our interview. This has been a longer one,
but it's been worth it. Katy, thank you so much.
This has been so fun. I know we have a
stayed on one track. Yeah, thanks so much. I know
(59:48):
we have a stayed on one track. But you know,
this is also part of when people get together that
have similar interest You don't stay on the same track.
Speaker 2 (59:57):
Very often exactly because one to its leads to another
one and another one. Yeah, we have yes, all the overlap.
Speaker 1 (01:00:04):
And ADHD comes comes up strong on me. So are
there any websites you want to plug besides your book
or anything like that where people can find you On Instagram?
Speaker 2 (01:00:15):
Yeah, it's easy. It's my name Kathy with a K
kicker k I k k e r T. So that's
my Instagram and it's also my website.
Speaker 1 (01:00:24):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:00:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:00:26):
Is that dot com or dot website or dot com
dot com? Okay, I just learned about dot website not
too recently. You can get a website called dot website.
How generic sounding is that oh man? So uh and
also your book they can get it Hollywood Signs. They
(01:00:47):
can get that on Amazon or.
Speaker 2 (01:00:50):
Is there available yep, where yes, wherever books are sold
Amazon and Angel City's website was angel City, which is
now part of lapl But I so you can order
it from them. It's yeah, it's any in multiple places
online or reach out to me and I can sign
(01:01:12):
one for you and send it to you.
Speaker 1 (01:01:15):
Hey. Yeah, awesome. Well that'll bring us to the end
of I think episode forty six, forty five, forty six
of I know my goals get to one hundred. I've
been slacking, but thanks so much Kathy for joining me.
Thank you, You're welcome so much. Oh wow, it's my pleasure.
(01:01:36):
I will say that it's been my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (01:01:38):
Yes, I've been looking forward to talking with you and
this has been so much fun. Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (01:01:43):
No worries, and it is worth the wait. I will
tell you that, very worth the way. And also one
thing I try to close out. We don't care if
you have one hundred thousand followers or two. Get out there,
hit the pavement, take the pictures. You can go. You
could go to Kathy's neck in the woods and get
pictures of signs that everybody's seen one hundred and fifty times.
(01:02:06):
Guess what, one hundred and fifty one is just as
good as one hundred and fifty or one. Well, I'll
say that, and also I agree, And also it's you
helping keep the history going.
Speaker 2 (01:02:21):
I was just gonna say that, Yeah, exactly, exactly. The
more things are photographed, the more important they become culture.
And yes, I totally agree. Couldn't agree more so.
Speaker 1 (01:02:32):
And also one thing I will tell you, especially if
you're a night owl like me, keep your head on
a swivel and me, yes we're both night outs because
I'm not. Everybody's bad. But you you might see some
weird stuff too. I've seen naked people I didn't want
(01:02:53):
to see, but I saw nick person. Yeah that was weird,
but anyway, uh, and also tell us those stories. Those
are hilarious too, But so for Kathy and me jor Rabernathy.
Thank you so much for joining us as international sign finders.
Until next time, Happy sign finding.
Speaker 2 (01:03:45):
H
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