Barn in Le Roy to get fresh color on iconic signs on Saturday

CLARIFICATION: Only the Jell-O side is being painted on Saturday.

The iconic Jell-O/Mail Pouch Barn on Asbury Road in Le Roy will get a fresh coat of paint on the old advertising signs on Saturday by John Doemling, who originally painted the signs on the barn in 2013.

The public is invited to stop by to watch Doemling bring back the vibrancy of the signs, which have faded over the years.

The barn was built in 1820.

Jell-0, as many know, was founded in Le Roy in 1897.

Up until 1992, the Mail Pouch chewing tobacco company of West Virginia maintained signs on 20,000 barns in 22 states around the country, paying a small fee to farmers to advertise their product on the side of barns.  The big benefit for farmers was getting a regular coat of paint on the entire barn for free, which helped maintain and preserve it.

Federal government regulation, the Highway Beatification Act, curtailed barn advertising, but historic landmarks, such as Mail Pouch Barns, were exempt.