The historic “Yukon’s Best Flour” sign on top of a mill off Route 66 in Yukon, Okla., will be relighted by early summer due to the successful fundraising efforts of a local nonprofit group, according a recent print edition of the Yukon Review newspaper.
The mill itself, which contains a gigantic painted sign on its side that says “Yukon’s Best Flour,” will be repainted if another $90,000 is raised.
Friends of Yukon’s Best Inc. bested its initial sign-relighting goal of $150,000 by more than $13,000. The group received a boost in February when the Yukon Community Support Foundation announced a matching grant of up to $40,000. A dinner and auction at the Green Chile Kitchen on Route 66 also generated $12,000.
A spokeswoman with the nonprofit said the sign’s 2,200 bulbs will be replaced with longer-lasting and energy-efficient LEDs. The letters are being rebuilt because they’re structurally “past their prime,” although they will resemble the old as much as possible.
According to the newspaper, the flour mill was built in 1902, and the sign erected on top of it in the 1940s. The sign last was refurbished in 1989.
UPDATE 3/24/2013: Rick Martin sent me this animated GIF of what the sign looked like when lighted, several years ago:
(Hat tip to Rick Martin for sending the story; photo of Yukon’s Best Flour mill by Nicolas Henderson via Flickr)