Recently unearthed Coca-Cola sign has rich history behind it
RIDGWAY- As construction for a new Sheetz store on North Broad Street commenced, a relic from Ridgway’s past was discovered on the side wall of the 219 Antique Store.
What was revealed through the rubble was an estimated 100 yearold painted Coca-Cola advertisement, which gives those who see it a look back in time.
Stephen Bagley, he owner of the 219 Antique Store, was made aware of the centuryold advertisement and could not believe how well maintained it was.
“It’s a piece of Americana,” Bagley said. “With the ad being that big and in that condition it has to be 100 years old.”
Bagley was aware of a garage being built in the 1920s next to his store, which later became the Ridgway Ambulance Garage and was recently torn down to make way for the new Sheetz store. He went on to share that the garage was built brick by brick next to the building he owns now, so he speculated that the sign has to pre-date the construction of the garage.
The sign, which figures to be 30 ft. long and 15 ft. high, is a commercial sign. This means the painting of the sign was likely done by contractors who the Coca-Cola company hired to complete.
Bagley thinks that the vintage sign will attract people from across all areas outside of Ridgway and become a popular stop for people that pass through Ridgway. This year, Bagley is celebrating 10 years of ownership of his store, and he considers it his “10 year anniversary present.”
In light of finding this historical sign, Keith Mader Jr. and his family added context to the mystery of the story of the building itself. Mader’s grandfather, Frank Dahlquist, owned the building from 1925 until the early 1950s and was convinced by Lyle G. Hall to buy it. Hall was a strong contributor to the community during his time and his influence in the town still lives on today.
Prior to Dahlquist taking over ownership, the space was a car dealership known as Curry’s Garage, which was affiliated with the Ford agency due to Hall’s influence in business dealings with Ford.
Hall was unhappy with the direction the business was going, and asked Dahlquist to take it over. Dahlquist maintained business relations with Ford and turned it into the Ridgway Garage.
Dahlquist ran a successful dealership and was always willing to tend to people’s needs, according to his daughter, Louise Mader. The now 91 year-old Mader remembers pumping gas for a quarter and polishing the cars for her Dad to make some spare money.
She gave more intricate details about the layout of the garage itself.
“There was a goodsized showroom where you could put two or three vehicles in there, and they had a great big floor where they kept all the cars,” she said.
The family spoke about Dahlquist’s legacy and his willingness to help those in need, especially during the years of the Great Depression.
“He was more than happy to help those out who were in financial straits,” Mader Jr. said. “During the depression he was able to keep the business running.”
He said the business flourished after World
War II, and it reached their peak success going into the early 1950s. Dahlquist passed away in 1958, and his loss left a huge hole in the Ridgway community at the time.
On the day of his funeral, all of the businesses in town were closed for several hours that day, according to Mader Jr.
After Dahlquist, John Pizzaro took over the dealership under the name Pizzaro Ford in the mid 1960s and eventually closed after a few years of being in business. The town of Ridgway is filled with lore from the past, and the re-emergence of a Coca-Cola sign that is over 100 years old gives us a window to see what life was like back in those storied times.