I was born and raised in the most southwestern corner of Pennsylvania. Mail Pouch employed one man to paint Chew Mail Pouch onto the sides of barns in this rural area. He traveled throughout Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.
My father introduced me to this man, who had quite a few stories to tell. When he retired somewhere around 1979, that was the end of an era. He worked alone, and there were no apprentices to follow in his footsteps.
What I found interesting, was the fact that he did so many barns and yet never used stencils for the lettering. It was all done freehand in yellow paint on a black background. He would paint the black on the prominent (road facing) side of the barn one day, then letter it the next day.
I am at work now, but believe I have some artwork at home that has one of the actual barns in it. I will attempt to scan it later. I also have some work I did several years ago that closely resembles what this folk icon did. Sorry, it was not done in Xara, as I did not discover Xara until 1999. But you may find it interesting.
Thanks Gary for reliving some of my old memories.
Mike
"You can't grill 'em, 'til you kill 'em"
Ted Nugent
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