Terre Haute's iconic Clabber Girl billboard fully restored
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) - After six months of work, including installing and then removing panels as well as restoring a built-in clock, a historic Indiana landmark once again greets travelers along U.S. 40 on Terre Haute's east side.
The 80-year-old Clabber Girl billboard, on the southwest corner of U.S. 40 and Hunt Road, was first erected by Hulman and Co. president Tony Hulman in the 1930s as part of the national branding effort for Clabber Girl, with the now familiar words "Five Minutes to Terre Haute . . . The Home of Clabber Girl Baking Powder."
Clabber Girl baking powder is the top-selling baking powder brand in the United States, according to the company, which has its headquarters in downtown Terre Haute. The private holding company has produced the baking powder since 1899.
Robert A. Coons, president of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, said the restoration project ran into some foreseen problems.
"The mounting and removing it required for some adjustment in the actual structure itself to strengthen it, so it could withstand the weather. Part of it was the foundation of the panels themselves and the wind had some impact on them in the interim, when we were installing the panels," Coons said.
"It took a little longer than we had hoped originally, but we are really happy with the end product," Coons said. "The clock (on top of the billboard) has been an important part of the community for a lot of years," however, workers had to remove the clock to "rework it and make it a bit more electronic, more automated. The community really missed it while it was down," he said.
"We believe it was one of the earliest electric clocks in billboards around the country. We were just trying to automate that and make it a little more streamlined, so it is easier to operate, not quite as manual to change," Coons said.
The clock can now be changed remotely "versus using a long stick to actually move the hands on the clock to change the hours," Coons said.
The institute took over ownership of the sign in the fall of 2017 as part of its purchase of more than 1,100 acres from the Hulman family, founders of Clabber Girl.
The billboard has a long history and is symbolic of one of the most important early industries in the Terre Haute, Coons said.
"As members of the community for a very long time as well, we just wanted to be a part of that and see that that was preserved," Coons said.
"And the Clabber Girl name is well known nationwide, and Terre Haute has been recognized quite a bit as a part of the progress of that company, and we appreciate that association. The school has had a long association with the Hulman family as well, so it seemed like a natural for us," Coons said.
Coon said the restoration project included a collaboration with Clabber Girl, whose representatives worked with the institute as well as Wabash Valley professional artist Becky Hochhalter.
Coons, who declined to give the restoration price, said the project was reasonably close to budget, adding the Institute had "some generous contributions to help us with that process, so overall we are really happy with the product. We are really happy we made the commitment to reinstall it. The only thing left is there is some landscaping that is coming ... as soon as it stop raining for a few days," Coons said.
"It creates a really nice footprint on the corner of the property there for us and for the entry to Terre Haute, and we are really proud to have it there," Coons said.
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Source: (Terre Haute) Tribune-Star
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Information from: Tribune-Star, http://www.tribstar.com