Published: April 11, 2009 11:44 pm      

Sweet find: Demolition uncovers old-time ad

PATTON — Like a flower rising out of ashes, a piece of history that few in this borough knew existed has been revealed by demolition of Bowman’s sporting goods store.

The landmark store at 429 Magee Ave. was destroyed by fire the night of Nov. 3-4.

Recent demolition of the burned-out brick structure brought to light a well-preserved advertisement painted on the side of an adjacent brick building housing the Tidy Laundry.

“It was a hidden surprise they found when they took the building down,” Patton Mayor Steve Bakajza said.

The sign features a smiling cartoon-type character pointing a finger to a highlighted area promoting Wrigley’s P.K. Chewing Sweet gum with a message that says, “The Flavor Lasts.”

It was painted by the Thomas Cusack Co., a Chicago-based sign advertising company founded in 1875 when Cusack was about 17.

Information on the history of outdoor advertising found at the Duke University library describes the Cusack company as one of the prominent outdoor advertising companies in the United States.

Locals think the Patton sign was painted in the late 1920s or early 1930s.

“I would imagine it was probably in the 1920s,” said Albert Haluska, a 94-year-old lifelong Patton resident now living at the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home.

“You used to see (the signs) on barns and sheds all over the country, but they were usually for chewing tobacco.”

The building at one time was a department store in what was a bustling town fueled by the area’s numerous coal mines and the brickyard where Patton Pavers were produced.

“There were a lot of miners around. It was big business, and the store was right smack in the middle of town,” Haluska said.

Bakajza said the sign was preserved because it has been protected from the elements for the past 70 or 80 years.

There was a 2-foot walkway between the Central Hotel and the building that most recently housed Bowman’s store, but there was no space between Bowman’s and the building with the chewing gum sign.

“Some believed the two buildings shared a single wall,” Bakajza said.

Meanwhile, preserving the sign could be a challenge.

“The sign’s there because it was never exposed to the weather. But now it’s out there,” the mayor said.

The Irish-born Cusack eventually served as a congressman from Illinois.

He died in 1926.