Signs of the past in Jacksonville and Rusk

Jacksonville is one of those little Texas towns that for whatever reason, has kept a lot of its old neon (and other ephemera of the early to middle 20th century).
the older part of Jacksonville, of course near the railroad tracks
As I pulled into the outskirts, these beauties caught my eye:
It appeared to be a fully functioning oil company(?) and/or fueling station. I wonder if any of them still light up. It may be worth another, nighttime visit, to see.

Although it's probably a dump, I dug the tiki vibe exuded by the Trade Winds Motel (by the signage, anyway; the website is decidedly non-retro):

Strongbad tiki
I've seen one of these awesome, intricate and colorful Masonic lodge signs before. Again, I need to get some of these at night, assuming it still works. It's really nice, either way.


According to contributors at this site, kids could buy a "Brown Bag" from the Holcomb Candy Co. for a penny. Apparently it was broken odds and ends (of candy) in a brown paper bag. Depression Era kids were easy to please, and grateful for what they could get.


Source: Cherokee County Historical Commission
This business was still...in business. Pavletich!
Another small Jacksonville business still hanging in there:
And one more thing to show you from Jacksonville (gee-tars!):

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Rusk, 37 miles NW of Nacogdoches, 120 miles SE of Dallas, was named for Nacogdoches' own Thomas Jefferson Rusk, who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.



The first thing I noticed was this new neon sign. It's nice to know these still get made and used outside of Las Vegas.

The Rusk Motel had seen better days.
No refunds!
Rusk is one stop on the 25-mile Texas State Railroad route. The other stop is Palestine.
I love the red bricks and the yellow!
Those children are probably grandparents now.
When you travel to the green hills of Ayr
Where the sea breaks windows on the border line.
Remember me to a girl who lives there
For she once was a true love of mine.

Please see for me that her red hair is long
And flows and curls down to her back and breast.
Please see for me that her red hair is long
For that's the way I remember her best
North Country girl..,
- Bob Dylan via Pete Townshend
Still open, and a girl walking by as I was taking this picture said, "The food is much better than the sign." Somehow I'm skeptical.


Across the street from this cool old Rexall::


Nice.



This place was right across the street (I wonder which was there first):