Vintage ice cream sign is a real treat

A piece of Youngstown history will soon reappear at the place where it started.

An advertising sign from the 1920s for Good Humor ice cream bars is being reproduced on the side of the Tyler Mahoning Valley History Center, downtown.

The sign, which is about 15 feet high, includes the following ad copy:

“Good Humor ice cream suckers”

10 ¢ each

The New Clean Convenient Way To Eat Ice Cream

It shows a young girl eating one of the frozen treats on a stick with the caption “In a good humor.”

Ice cream on a stick is nothing new today, but it got its start in Youngstown.

And the Tyler center at 325 W. Federal St. is in the building where Harry B. Burt mass produced the Good Humor bar.

Burt (1874-1926) came to Youngstown in 1893 and started a candy business. He invented the Good Humor bar in 1921. He bought the building at 325 W. Federal St. that year and reopened it in 1922 as his production and distribution hub.

After his death, investors bought his company and formed the Good Humor Corp. of America, which made the ice cream bars a national phenomenon.

Leann Rich, spokesperson for the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, isn’t sure if Burt had the sign — or a similar one — painted on the side of the building when it served as the Good Humor facility.

But it is a very appropriate reminder of the Valley’s history in several ways. I expect the sign to become inextricably linked with the Tyler center, and to help shape its identity.

It has a vintage look and wording, and it entices people to come inside.

It just puts you in a good humor.

“It’s such a cool advertising piece, and it’s in our collection,” said Rich. The MVHS owns and operates the Tyler center, as well as the Arms Family Museum on Wick Ave.

The sign is also in keeping with the history of Youngstown, because in the early 1900s, advertising signs were routinely painted on the brick side walls of downtown buildings. Several of the faded signs are still visible today, and when a building is razed, it often reveals new ones.

Mural artist Christian Mrosko is painting the Good Humor sign. He expects it will be finished by this weekend.

In the near future, there will be big changes to the inside of the Tyler center as well.

The MVHS is currently working with Exhibit Concepts of Dayton, a firm that designs museum exhibit space. Exhibit Concepts is putting together “The People of the Mahoning Valley,” a permanent exhibit that will be located in the main room of the Tyler on the first floor.

It is tentatively scheduled to be installed in February or March.

“The People of the Mahoning Valley” will tell the story of the area in three parts: Early Settlers, Arts and Culture, and Business and Philanthropy.

“It will use people stories to tell the history of the Mahoning Valley, instead of doing it chronologically,” said Rich.

Although the exhibit will be permanent, the MVHS will routinely change out artifacts from its vast collection, to emphasize different aspects and to give visitors a reason to return.

The Tyler ballroom on the second floor is being considered as a space for traveling exhibits, while the Community History Gallery on the first floor gets a new show every three months.