07/16/2026
For the first time in at least 45 years, the sign pole is standing and a big yellow Shell shines in the sun!
Last fall, I worked with Steve Meadows to create a carved 4 ft x 4 ft Shell sign. This sign is a beast. Its 2" thick solid poplar and weighs almost 60 pounds. I patterned it off of an original 1930s metal Shell sign that I saw at the Wood River Refinery History Museum (thanks again to the museum staff for allowing me access to their piece of history for the pattern). Steve did an awesome job on the sign. It really surprises people when you tell them its wood.
Since September, the sign has been hanging in the shop, just waiting to go outside. Unfortunately, I didn't have a sign pole to support the sign. Our original sign pole had been cut off flush with the ground decades ago and was long gone. Unfortunately, I didn't have many of photos of our sign pole, which would have helped me with design the new pole. In all my old photos, the sign pole is just barely out of view. So, I researched gas stations of this period (late 1920s) and did my best to design a sign pole that would be similar to what we likely had here originally. The end product looks like what you would have found back then, with a few exceptions in the design. I am planning some sign pole improvements down the road. I would really like to add spear finials to it and it will get some lights next year after I trench new underground electrical service to the pole.
After I had the design figured out, I ordered all the fittings and the pole was welded up by welder and former McCoy Bros. dairy farm employee-of-the-month Cody Miller. After Cody expertly welded it up, I primed and painted it. Then Dad (Jim McCoy) and I stood it up with the tractor and bolted it down with new anchors that I drilled and set last week in the exiting concrete based. With the sign pole up, it was time to hang the sign last Sunday morning. After I hung the sign and stepped back to take a look, I knew it was a homerun. It looks awesome! When the sun hits that yellow paint, you can really see it from a long distance.
It was my goal to get this sign up before the American Graffiti Cruise - 2026 on July 25th. I'm so glad we finished this project in time for our first cruise-in. No doubt this sign will appear in many photos from our up-coming event when we make new memories while honoring the past. Thanks for reading.
PS: Come and see this sign in person. Join us here at the Station for American Graffiti Cruise - 2026 , July 25th, 3-8pm, 120 W. Grand Prairie, Palestine, IL. See you then.
