I think we’ve lost some fun in this modern age before billboards. Really quite a few things but one was the colorful barn and store advertising in the 1950s that painters used to put on buildings for certain products. They were eye-catching and, the money they paid the owners was more than they had.
Painters of such were known as “Wall Dogs.” Don’t ask me why. I get the wall part but dogs?
Whoever came up with the idea of using barns to tout products was pretty smart. The barns were just sitting there all plain and nondescriptive and ended up really different. Of course, it depended on the product too. One of the largest advertising to grace barns was Mail Pouch Tobacco. Painters put that on 20,000 barns in sixteen states. Quite a sales tactic. Plus, they gave the farmer free Mail Pouch tobacco for a year.
Lucky Strike cigarettes featured a smiling doctor on the ad. You sure wouldn’t see that anymore.
There were a lot more barn advertisements up north than down here in the south and I don’t know why that was. Maybe there were more painters up there. I read that one painter could do three barns in a day. Man, that’s fast! They didn’t do only barns either. They put their advertising on the sides of businesses as well.
The Highway Beautification Act brought this practice to a halt and they all disappeared. But the art is kinda catching on again a little bit, not products but murals. I noticed in several Texas towns, someone painted beautiful scenes on the sides of buildings in the downtown areas. They were so eye-catching.
As a girl, I always loved to read billboards as my family traveled across the country. My paternal grandparents lived in Southern California and each year we would make the trip to see them. Our route took us across the Mojave Desert. It took us hours to cross that scorching part of America and it was very boring. Then the Burma Shave company began to put billboards across there, spaced every mile or so, and they had the cutest sayings. Here are a few:
- Does your husband / Misbehave / Grunt and grumble / Rant and rave / Shoot the brute some / Burma-Shave
- A shave / That’s real / No cuts to heal / A soothing / Velvet after-feel / Burma-Shave
- Shaving brushes / You’ll soon see ’em / On the shelf / In some / Museum / Burma-Shave
They were quite entertaining. Not as good as a barn though. Do you remember seeing some of these barns or signs when you went down the road?
Here in the Texas Panhandle, we do love our cowboys. There's just something about a man in a Stetson and jeans that makes my heart beat faster. I'm not much of a cook but I love to do genealogy and I'm a bit of a rock hound. I'm also a NY Times & USA Today bestselling author of historical western romance. You can contact me through my website and I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. HAPPY READING!
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When I was little, See Rock City signs still were around.
In our county, barns for farms that sell ag products (eggs, dairy, beef, lamb, pork, etc…), have a universal logo painted on red barns.
That’s interesting, Denise. What’s the harm in painting things on barns? They’re just sitting there in the fields. I’d love to see them come back. I’m glad your county is still doing this. Thanks for coming.
There are still a few barn advertisements in smaller towns in my state, but you have to be watching for them and DON’T BLINK or you might just miss them!
Ami, I know! Gotta be quick to see them. They relieve the boredom of a road trip. 🙂 I’m glad you stopped by to read my post. Have a beautiful day.
We have a barn in our small upstate New York town that had an advertisement for a local restaurant on it. I do remember Burma Shave signs.
Thanks for coming, Elaine. I always laughed at the Burma Shave road signs. Whoever wrote them had a great sense of humor. I’m glad you still have one barn with an advertisement on it. Take a picture or it’ll be gone. Have a blessed day.
I remember them on road trips but we lived in a city so never saw them where I lived
Rhonda, I thought it was fun to see those and they broke up a boring drive. Just a walk down memory lane and a little slice of history. Thanks for coming.
I do remember seeing a few, although I was young at the time and have likely forgotten many. I especially remember “See Rock City,” some tobacco ones, and soft drinks.
Janice, I forget some followers aren’t as old as I am. Ha! 🙂 Thanks for coming. Have a blessed day.
I remember the mail pouch ones. Last year the Meijers store torn down an old barn to build a store. There was a sign on one side of the barn. Someone bought just that one side of the barn to keep the advertisement.
Karijean, I totally understand. I’d be that person too. It needed to be preserved because it’s a slice of American history. I just loved those. Thanks for stopping by. Have a blessed day.
I live in Indiana and remember seeing both the Burma Shave signs and barn ads!!
Kate, you must be around my age. 🙂 Some of the younger people missed that slice of American history. I thought they were fun and I don’t know if these advertisements helped the companies but they made a road trip a little less boring. I’m Glad you came by. I always love seeing you.
Yes here in Indiana we seemed to have a lot of the barns painted with ads!
Teresa, maybe Indiana area had a lot more barn art than many. That’s good. Keep history alive. Better than billboards!
Barn signs are so fun and we love seeing them in our travels. Enjoyed reading your blog Linda.
I agree, Kathy. And you must have seen tons of them in all your travels. Thank you so much for reading my posts. I love you dearly.
We still have a few barn signs and you will see one every now and then. I always enjoyed seeing them. I think I would rather see the signs on a barn then on a bill board.
Quiltladyblog, oh me too. I much prefer barns to billboards! Absolutely. They just bring a smile. Have a blessed day and thanks for coming.
I do remember barn signs! Especially the See Rock City ones!!! So much nicer than the ones we have to deal with today!
Trudy, there must’ve been thousands of those Rock City advertisements. It was an ingenious idea and gave the farmers some extra money. I once had a friend whose backyard backed up close to the road and a company paid her a lot of money to put a billboard in her backyard. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a glorious day.
Hello Linda! I like barn ads way more than billboards now! So much more character! Of course, I don’t particularly like that they promote tobacco or such but still, I love barns! I do remember seeing them occasionally although growing up in Southern California, we didn’t see many but when we took road trips, we’d see some!
Hi Valri! Love to see you, lady. I agree about the subject matter but better than a billboard. Lots of character and I’m sure the cows and horses love it. Ha! Especially the farmer who earned a little money by accident. Happy Belated Birthday! I don’t think I got over to FB to send you one. Love you, dear friend.
I remember seeing the tobacco barns and the See Rock City barns. They were cool.
Naomi, thank you so much for coming to read my post. It must’ve brought back a few memories. Circuses also painted advertisements on barns. Have a blessed day.
Since I am 79 I have seen plenty of painted barns as well as a service station with all different signs from other gas companies all over their building. I lived in Belle Plaine, IA and a local station became famous for all the signs on each and every side of the building. It was on highway going through town. Quite a site and now it is being refurbished as a historical site.
Hi Judy, thanks for coming! Yep, we’ve seen plenty that younger generations have missed. What a sight that service station was! I’m glad they’re preserving it as a part of history. Makes my heart happy. Have a lovely day.
Hey Linda! Oh yes! Rock City is the one I remember! We sold our silos on the farm after my father died, but seems like I remember seeing signs on them too! Now that make cool buildings and porches out of them. I remember our small town, Live Oak, FL, had many signs on the old brick buildings through out the town. I love murals. And the sidewalk chalk drawings which were very popular a few years back! Anything to do with art, I’m all on it! Heh.
I enjoyed your post today Linda! Another winner to share with my grandson today!
Tracy, I didn’t know they put these on silos too but it stands to reason they would use them. And yes, they’re using the advertisements they still find occasionally to make other useful things and I’m so glad. They should be preserved. Oh yes, murals are so fun to look at and add such character to a town. I agree about art. We don’t have enough of it. Glad you can share with your grandson. Thanks for coming.
Here ya go Linda! It’s paintings!
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I don’t remember them, unfortunately, but my hubby does. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by, Barbara. Glad to see you. You never know what you’ll find on P&P!!
I enjoyed your story about the barns. I have seen a few but they were not a lot of them where I grew up.
Linda, they were more up north I think than in the south. I’m glad you enjoyed my post.
Ah, Burma Shave, I miss their signs and a lot of barns were saved by that paint. Great post.
David, I totally agree. I miss them too. Every day we’re losing a bit more of history and that’s sad. I really loved the Burma Shave signs. Thank you for coming.
Hi Linda! SO INTERESTING! I never thought much about this, maybe because by the time I became aware of it, those old barns were falling in or the paint had faded, but I do remember talking to my mom about them on the way down to my grandparents’ house a few times. Back then, and this would have been the early-mid ’60’s, there was a stretch of road that had those Burma Shave signs up ever few yards that had just a few words on each sign and that really fascinated me. GREAT POST! LOVE YOU, GIRL. We need to catch up.
Cheryl, I’m glad you enjoyed my post. I didn’t know if anyone could or would relate to this subject. Advertisements on barns was a common thing until it wasn’t. But I still remember how we’d laugh at those Burma Shave signs. Yes, we’ll catch up soon. Love you, Filly Sister.
My Dearest Linda- I love this topic. I see many barns painted (some with an old advertisement) some with new in my travels in SW KS. I’ll have to remember and take some pictures next time I come upon one.
The murals in towns are catching on for sure.
I have to agree the barns are the best. I loved the catchy phrases they used back then advertising products far better than now. Things were not as “politically correct!”
Now I’m going to be looking as I leave out tomorrow morning going over to Eastern Kansas for barns. I’ll send them to you, if I find any.
Have a great day. Love you.
Oh Tonya, I hope you see some and take pictures for me. That would be wonderful. Have a safe trip in the these next few days as you have to travel so far. And don’t wear yourself out. Love you, sister friend.
Hi Linda, Love your post on barn signs. Yes, I live in Indiana also, and we have a lot of ads on the barns here.
Saw, the See Rock City, when we traveled. Now, Indianapolis, is doing signs on downtown buildings with lights. The ones at Christmas, were Awesome!!! Your reader….
Miss Lois, it’s so good to see you! I think Indiana must’ve been the painted barns capital of the world. Lots of them there. It makes my heart happy to hear that Indianapolis is doing murals on buildings. I think they make any town beautiful. Always so nice to see you. Love you, lady.
Hi Linda, yes I remember seeing them and there are still some around, I think they are pretty neat . Have a great day and a great week.
Alicia, thank you for coming to read my post. I hope it jogged a few memories. Have a blessed day.
Hello Linda, Yes I remember seeing these barns like this as I have always lived in the country here in Ohio Have a Blessed Week Always love seeing this ole barns
Sarah, I love old barns too. They’re special. Thank you for coming and reading my post.
Hi, Linda,
The outskirts of Wash., D.C. (Pr. Georges Cty., MD) are too urban for me to have seen much of what you describe in our neighborhood and I don’t recall them from traveling. Politically correct? In 4th grade we had a field trip to a tobacco barn (it was a cash crop in the mid-60’s) and another one to the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Did Brylcreem show up on any of the barn advertisements? My husband, 8 years ahead of me in age, talks about it. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Mary, I laughed at your 4th grade field trip to a tobacco farm! They sure wouldn’t today. I don’t know if Brylcream got in on the barn advertising but they sure did have lots of billboards. Glad you stopped by.
Yes I remember seeing many of these. And mom would somehow find where a lot of them were in our travels and we would pass them. So cool. Thanks for sharing today. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net
Lori, how cool of your mom to try to keep you entertained but she might’ve been looking for them for herself because she liked them too. Thanks for coming. I’ve enjoyed it.
I remember the barns and the Burma Shave signs.
Thanks for stopping by to read my blog, Rhonda. I hope it sparked some memories for you.
I remember them well. We saw some Burma Shave signs not that long ago. There was another series of billboards you would see coming north and going south on I-95. They were for a pull off called South Of The Border located just over the North Carolina border in South Carolina. There were so many of them, they becam rather annoying. The stop had a mexican restaurant among other things, and was basically a tourist trap. Our West you have a similar billboard set-up for Wall Drug which is a much bigger tourist spot.
There are still some painted barns here in our area. They are mostly for Rock City and Ruby Falls. There was an uproar in a few cities several years ago when a local artist painted a beautiful mural of a train on one of the downtown buildings. They fought over it for years and now almost every blank wall in the town has a mural painted on it. They all look really nice. Our town is has historical designation and things are much more tightly regulated. There were a few faded advertisements on buildings. They resisted having them refurbished until about a year ago. They are Coca Cola and flour ads that are appropriate for their location and the time period of the buildings. The redone ads look really nice and add to the historic atmosphere.
Thanks for an enjoyable post.
Pat, I was sure you had run across some in your travels across the U.S. I saw the Wall Drug ones too but had forgotten about them. I’m so happy those towns got the murals. Yes, they sure add to the beauty and give a bit of history at the same time. And YAY for refurbishing the old Coca Cola and flour ads on those buildings! Keep the old alive and enjoy them while you can. Love you, Pat.
I love these barn advertisements. One thing I noticed on my way up to Lubbock last weekend was several semi trailers with advertisements on them sitting near the road. Interesting. Love this!